Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, but badly out-of-date
Review: A daring young atomic scientist teams up with three high school seniors to attempt the first-ever rocket trip to the moon -- that's the premise of Heinlein's Rocket Ship Galileo. Readers who aren't immediately turned off by the story's wild improbabilities and dated subject matter may find this book an entertaining adventure. To begin with, Heinlein's story is well paced and solidly constructed for once, a pleasant change from the episodic hodgepodges he created in his later years. He skillfully introduces elements of conflict at an early stage of the story, (as sinister forces seem to be trying to prevent the voyage from taking place) and he even manages to build some suspense, an effect Heinlein is not usually noted for. His descriptions of the mechanics of the moon rocket and its voyage are both convincing and interesting, despite being badly dated. One real letdown is the characters, who are curiously undeveloped, even for science fiction. The three boys themselves are virtually interchangeable, and Doctor Cargraves isn't much more distinctive. If some attempt had been made to give these young men their own individual personalities, the readers might find them easier to identify with. As it is, it's hard to really care about these characters, even when something horrible happens to them. The really big problem, though, is that this book really hasn't aged very well. For example, Heinlein tries to show us how a moon rocket was outfitted and launched privately, by one scientist and his youthful helpers, working on a shoestring budget, after a few months of labor; when after all, any schoolchild knows that it took NASA and the U.S. government billions of dollars, working with hundreds of the finest minds on the planet for nearly a decade, to accomplish the real thing. Once our heroes reach the moon, the story gets even more improbable, as they find that the moon is already inhabited. Naturally, Heinlein wrote this novel for younger readers, and it was published at a time when space travel seemed utterly impossible. As such, it was written for the tastes of the times, and times have changed dramatically. For instance, the only women in this book are the boys' mothers, who have very little to say about anything important. The villains are cartoonish stereotypes, who are summarily dispatched without any show of remorse. Although the book is reasonably well-written overall, and older readers may take some nostalgic pleasure in its simplicity and naiveté, today's young readers may want something more wildly speculative than a moon landing. On average, if you're old enough to remember Sputnik, you can be forgiven for loving this book; but if Neil Armstrong is just another boring guy you heard about in school, you probably won't be too impressed by Rocket Ship Galileo.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but badly out-of-date
Review: A daring young atomic scientist teams up with three high school seniors to attempt the first-ever rocket trip to the moon -- that's the premise of Heinlein's Rocket Ship Galileo. Readers who aren't immediately turned off by the story's wild improbabilities and dated subject matter may find this book an entertaining adventure. To begin with, Heinlein's story is well paced and solidly constructed for once, a pleasant change from the episodic hodgepodges he created in his later years. He skillfully introduces elements of conflict at an early stage of the story, (as sinister forces seem to be trying to prevent the voyage from taking place) and he even manages to build some suspense, an effect Heinlein is not usually noted for. His descriptions of the mechanics of the moon rocket and its voyage are both convincing and interesting, despite being badly dated. One real letdown is the characters, who are curiously undeveloped, even for science fiction. The three boys themselves are virtually interchangeable, and Doctor Cargraves isn't much more distinctive. If some attempt had been made to give these young men their own individual personalities, the readers might find them easier to identify with. As it is, it's hard to really care about these characters, even when something horrible happens to them. The really big problem, though, is that this book really hasn't aged very well. For example, Heinlein tries to show us how a moon rocket was outfitted and launched privately, by one scientist and his youthful helpers, working on a shoestring budget, after a few months of labor; when after all, any schoolchild knows that it took NASA and the U.S. government billions of dollars, working with hundreds of the finest minds on the planet for nearly a decade, to accomplish the real thing. Once our heroes reach the moon, the story gets even more improbable, as they find that the moon is already inhabited. Naturally, Heinlein wrote this novel for younger readers, and it was published at a time when space travel seemed utterly impossible. As such, it was written for the tastes of the times, and times have changed dramatically. For instance, the only women in this book are the boys' mothers, who have very little to say about anything important. The villains are cartoonish stereotypes, who are summarily dispatched without any show of remorse. Although the book is reasonably well-written overall, and older readers may take some nostalgic pleasure in its simplicity and naiveté, today's young readers may want something more wildly speculative than a moon landing. On average, if you're old enough to remember Sputnik, you can be forgiven for loving this book; but if Neil Armstrong is just another boring guy you heard about in school, you probably won't be too impressed by Rocket Ship Galileo.
Rating: 
Summary: Good!! But Mindset was Effected due to WWII
Review: A good book, considering it is one of Heinlein's first books. I find the Idea of Nazi's on the moon a bit Resentful seing as how 47 or so Nazi's die. I like the book but believe the ending coild be a bit more like an ending.
Rating:
Summary: Heinlein can't write a bad book!
Review: Although this book is not my favorite Heinlein novel, it still charaterizes what I liked most about Heinlein's work. Touring the lives of intelligent young men who use their brains instead of their brawn to take them to extraordinary places. A good read with a surprise ending!
Rating: 
Summary: Too dated to be enjoyed as much as his other "jouveniles"
Review: Being one of his first novels (the first, perhaps?), I don'twant to be overly harsh, but this book seems quaint and silly today,even bearing in mind it was written for young readers. The Nazis arehackneyed, the kids (!) that build the ship are essentially interchangeable cliches, and the leader of the expedition is 2-dimensional. Having said that, I enjoyed parts of the book; it was certainly worth the ( ) (Canadian dollars, even) I paid for it. Read it as a nostalgic trip down memory lane from the time when men were men, women were women, and fuzzy little creatures from Alpha Centauri were fuzzy little creatures from Alpha Centauri. Oops, there I go mixing up quotes again. END
Rating:
Summary: Too dated to be enjoyed as much as his other "jouveniles"
Review: Being one of his first novels (the first, perhaps?), I don'twant to be overly harsh, but this book seems quaint and silly today,even bearing in mind it was written for young readers. The Nazis arehackneyed, the kids (!) that build the ship are essentially interchangeable cliches, and the leader of the expedition is 2-dimensional. Having said that, I enjoyed parts of the book; it was certainly worth the ( ) (Canadian dollars, even) I paid for it. Read it as a nostalgic trip down memory lane from the time when men were men, women were women, and fuzzy little creatures from Alpha Centauri were fuzzy little creatures from Alpha Centauri. Oops, there I go mixing up quotes again. END
Rating: 
Summary: A Science Fiction Milestone
Review: Heinlein's first "juvenile" novel was written skillfully and is highly entertaining. The tale of a scientist enlisting the aid of 3 boys of a rocket club to build a nuclear powered moon-rocket was scientifically accurate for the time, and inspired future NASA engineers, though the first moon-flight turned out differently. However, Heinlein's realistic characters are easy to identify with, making the story believable even to a modern-day reader.
Rating:
Summary: Local boys voyage to the Moon
Review: I first read this book many years ago, and I still reflect on it from time to time. It changed the way I looked at the world. Simple in content, and perhaps a story out-moded for the present adventures found in SF, it still has a particular value to the reader that will make it a favorite. This book was about unbridled ambition. A handful of young rocket enthusiasts and a instructor build a rocket ship and go to the moon utilizing their own wits and resources. Heinlein taps into the possibilities that could shape the future, and essentially poses the question 'How long will space exploration remain only a government exercise? Why couldn't private citizens take it upon themselves to explore the stars themselves?' This entire book may seem simple at first glance, but I consider it an important and thought provoking concept for any dreamer with a vision. At the time this was written, it was very much ahead of it's time.
Rating:
Summary: Local boys voyage to the Moon
Review: I first read this book many years ago, and I still reflect on it from time to time. It changed the way I looked at the world. Simple in content, and perhaps a story out-moded for the present adventures found in SF, it still has a particular value to the reader that will make it a favorite. This book was about unbridled ambition. A handful of young rocket enthusiasts and a instructor build a rocket ship and go to the moon utilizing their own wits and resources. Heinlein taps into the possibilities that could shape the future, and essentially poses the question 'How long will space exploration remain only a government exercise? Why couldn't private citizens take it upon themselves to explore the stars themselves?' This entire book may seem simple at first glance, but I consider it an important and thought provoking concept for any dreamer with a vision. At the time this was written, it was very much ahead of it's time.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: I read this book many years ago and had forgotten about it until I began searching for any Heinlein books I have not read yet. I couldn't find any titles that I've missed unfortunately. There are lots of great sci fi writers but nobody did more to change sci fi than Robert Heinlein. I believe Rocket Ship Galileo was his first novel and while it was not his best work, it certainly deserves to be read. Heinlein's so-so work is better than most writers great works.
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