Rating: 
Summary: An Awesome Book!!!
Review: "Tunnel in the Sky" is one of Robert A. Heinlein's juvenile science fiction novels, which he wrote to target the young adult audience. People may think that since this book is targeted at juveniles that it is not a good read for adults. That is untrue and this wonderful novel can be enjoyed by an adult as well as a juvenile. The book takes place in a 1950's or so time where interplanetary travel happens by many people of the public every single day. People move through the planets by going through gates, where they are transferred to a plantet that can be millions of miles away in a matter of seconds. This is a very ineteresting idea that Heinlein brings forth. Rod Walker is a high school teen that is enrolled in a survial course at his school. For the final exam he and his peers are asked to travel to another planet to stay for a maximum of ten days and survive there. Rod goes and at first is lost and has absolutely no clue where any of his friends are. He eventually meets up with a student from another school and they start a colonization on the planet that they ended up on. The instructors of the course were supposed to get the kids but you will learn at the end of the novel why the kids were never retrieved. This novel shows how government forms and how it works among the people that are governed over. In the book, a whole new civilization is started on the planet and at first everybody works together to make a habitable living area and to get enough food for everybody. The colony that is formed starts of with just two people and grows to a very large amount of students that were taking the final exam for the survival course. There are elections to elect people to govern over the people of the colony and this book can show how people can start a new life when they need to. Heinlein is a very interesting author to read and it fascinated me how he was able to put in very important messages, such as the importance of working together and believing in yourself, in a fun read. This is not only a science fiction novel but it is also a book on adventure, friendship, and hark work. This is a wonderful science fiction novel that is worth reading. I look forward to reading more of Robert A. Heinlein's novels in the future. This is a miraculous read that shouldn't be passed up. Happy Reading!
Rating:
Summary: Survivalist Hi-jinks with a Libertarian Viewpoint
Review: Although I am not a rabid fan of Mr. Heinlein, considered by many to be the grandmaster of science fiction, I do believe that Tunnel in the Sky is one of his better efforts. The book, which apparently was originally slated for the juvenile market, tells the story of Rod Walker, a bright young man on the verge of graduating from a futuristic high school. In the book's future, the Earth is a vastly overcrowded planet, and teleportation has supplanted the internal combustion engine and its (hell)spawn as a form of mass transportation, especially over great distances. In the book, teleportation also presents a solution to Earth's bloated population: all the excess people were 'teleported' to new worlds surrounding distant stars, and as such they became de facto colonists. It turns out that the young Mr. Walker aspires to be an explorer of these new worlds, or at least involved in some way with their governance and/or exploration. As one of these 'Space-Age' pioneers, he could participate in establishing a beach-head for humanity in some far-flung area of the universe, scout the terrain to get the lay of the land, and give the all-clear for human habitation and colonization. Under this system, he could even a group of colonists to a new world. However, in order to do this, Rod must first pass a survivalist's exam. Before embarking on his challenge, to which his parents vehemently object, he gets more than a little helpful advice and a few useful life skills from his older sister, a futuristic sort of Amazonian warrior, and a schoolteacher named the 'Deacon' (an apt title for he preaches quite a lot) who thinks fondly of Rod, calling him 'a hopeless romantic born into an age of practical men'. I think Heinlein wrote this yarn as an extended lesson on good citizenship for minors. I especially liked the insights the 'Deacon' had on the human animal, and the advice that Rod's sister gave him with regard to the choice of a knife over a nuclear-powered Ray Gun in the bush. Awesome weapon power often breeds over-confidence, and can become a substitute for using one's brain, and powerful weaponry is absolutely useless against a thinking and determined adversary (certain dunderheads running strategic operations vital to our nation's well-being should take note of that particular lesson!). In the end, the exploration bug gets into Rod's blood, and his fate is sealed. Unlike more than a few Heinlein novels, which tend to be preachy and over-bearing, this little gem passed on some very useful insights and life lessons. It would have been nice if Heinlein had written an encore, so that we could catch up with Rod in the future, to see what kind of man he had become as a result of his fateful choice.
Rating:
Summary: One of Heinlein's best -- ever.
Review: Except perhaps for _Citizen of the Galaxy,_ this is Heinlein's best juvenile, and one of his best novels of any sort. Rod Walker is in high school, preparing himself for some kind of career in the Outlands -- the newly-discovered, newly-settled worlds now so close at hand through hyperspace gates. That means a bare-hands survival course with a final exam in which the class is dumped on an empty planet to survive however for a week or so. But something goes wrong with the gates, and nearly a hundred high school and college students are stranded on their test-world, perhaps forever. Setting up a new society, virtually a new civilization, won't be easy, but it gives Heinlein the opportunity to show the reader how *he* thinks it ought to be done. This is well-written, thoughtful adventure and the author avoids (for the most part) the syrupy overwriting of which he was often guilty in his later work. The portrait of Rod learning to cope, finding himself, and discovering what makes him happy, is very, very well done.
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Summary: Should be a Real School Course
Review: Heinlein felt that anyone who could not do everything from plan an invasion, change a diaper, butcher a hog, write a sonnet, design a building, or program a computer was at least partially incapacitated. In addition, he felt that our schools did a very poor job of preparing young people for what life was all about. This book presented at least one partial solution to both problems: have a school course in survival, whose final test was to be dropped onto some unknown 'wilderness' planet for a week and forced to actually survive. Around this basic concept Heinlein fashioned what is probably one of the best of his so-called 'juvenile' novels. Roderick Walker is the prime character, a young man with some doubts about whether he is really ready to take the final exam in this course. With some encouragement and advice from his older sister, he decides to proceed, going through the 'gate' to a new world where nothing is familiar, where everything must be viewed as potentially deadly. But after managing to survive for the prescribed time, there is no pick up signal, no return gate, and Rod slowly comes to the conclusion that, regardless of what has gone wrong, he must make a go of really living long term on this new world. Along with other class survivors, a small society is formed, initially with Rod as the nominal leader. From this point, Heinlein manages to show the essentials of how and why a government is formed, what type of government make sense for a small group, how a society protects itself from 'bullies' (the only truly deadly animal is the two-legged variety), the contribution made by both sexes to a properly functioning society, just what makes a man a man, and the essential qualities of a leader. All buried within a fine adventure story of just how the little group builds itself from an unrelated bunch of people huddling in a cave to a bustling, forward looking industrious town, with excellent characterizations of not just Rod but most of the people around him, and with very little direct preaching, but rather showing his points as results of the events and actions of his characters. Heinlein's typical unforced, simple American prose style is much in evidence here, making both dialog and descriptions seem perfectly natural. This makes for a very fast reading experience, with a lot of his philosophical points sliding in under the reader's conscious radar, only to wake you up at 3AM with an 'Oh, yeah! That makes sense.' And perhaps you will come away from this book, as I did, thinking that the idea of a school course in survival is something that should actually be implemented. Everyone, from teens to adults, homemakers to rugged individualists, engineers to social workers, can enjoy this book. There are very few works that can appeal to such a wide range of audience as this one does, but this is something that Heinlein made a habit of. Written almost fifty years ago, it reads just as well, if not better than anything published today.
Rating:
Summary: Not so juvenile.
Review: I never liked when they would tag a Heinlein novel as part of his "juvenile" series. It would tend to make adults not want to read it and that really is their loss as most of the juvenile books are every bit as good as his "adult" novels.
Tunnel in the Sky has variations of the themes covered in "Lord of the Flies". A group of youths are cut off from the world and must establish their own civilization.
"Rod" the survival trainee is one of Heinlein's most human protagonists in that he is not a superman but a regular guy that most readers can relate to.
The story deals with both the growth of a new society and the growth of a boy to a man, and what it means to be one.
Don't get me wrong though there are some great science fiction concepts going on here. Fans of Star Gate will give this book a knowing nod.
Don't hesitate a second to buy or read this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Still a great read
Review: In the future, Earth is bulging at the seams with people. Fortunately, a technology is developed which allows gateways to be opened to far-flung planets. By stepping through the gateway, you are almost instantaneously transported light years across the galaxy. This technology paved the way for the colonization of the galaxy by the immigrants eager to leave the crowded confines of Earth.
Naturally, with a colonization boom on, high school and college students are trained in survival and pioneering techniques to prepare them for being colonists. The culmination of these training courses is a survival course. The participants in the course are sent to a remote planet fraught with peril and must survive for up to ten days utilizing only the scant belongings they have carried with them through the gate. Usually these tests proceed with minimal injuries and casualties. But, what if something went wrong and the students could not be recalled?
Heinlein explores the disaster of students stranded among the stars with his usual precision and non-wordy prose. The character development is sufficient for the male characters, but a bit sparse for the females (somewhat typical of Heinlein). You can really empathize with these poor kids who are stranded, most likely without hope of ever being rescued, as they contend with the hardships of survival. Dangerous animals abound on their planet and they must learn to work together to be able to thrive as a group and survive the perils of their environment. Predictable as it may be, the most dangerous creatures often prove to be the students themselves, but not always for the reasons you would suspect.
As the students organize, Heinlein does explore the folly of trying to organize a government in the harsh surroundings. Fortunately, Heinlein uses this side plot to effectively advance the main plot line instead of digressing into a pointless discourse on the importance of government to achieve an orderly society (as other authors might have done).
Like Asimov, he tends to focus more on his characters than science. And even though this book was written in 1955, it still holds up very well today and can be enjoyed by all science fiction fans.
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Summary: GREAT BOOKS MAKE YOU THINK -- THIS ONE IS ONE OF THE BEST
Review: One of the best fiction books I ever read. When I first read it as an 8th grader, I couldn't stop thinking of what I would do if I were stranded on a strange planet. How would I survive? How would I protect myself from alien creatures? How could I anticipate unknown dangers? How could I find directions? And a host of other survival-related questions. These are still the questions that need to be answered as we think of exploring space. When I was a Boy Scout, whenever I learned another constellation, or learned how to use a compass, I occasionally remembered this book and how important these skills could be to me in a survival-type situation. Definitely a great book to get any young adult thinking about serious issues.
Rating:
Summary: I've read this many times, it's always great.
Review: This is an excellent adventure by the main charachter. I always enjoy the libertarian viewpoints countered with the mostly socialist/communist settings he portrays. Heinlein has this theme in many of his books, of moving from bondage in an overly controled society(and includes well thought out reasons to how society progressed to that state), to freedom and anarchary, then finding equilibriam between the two in a free, but structured society(this is also a strong theme in 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress'). This book couples that theme with coming of age, and survival. When I first read this book when I was 13 it prompted me to learn about survival and gardening, and when I just re-read it a few weeks ago(I'm 24 now) I reflected on the state of government and our place within. A thought-provoking, funny at times, tragic at times, and in all excellent as Heinlein always is. I highly reccomend this book.
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Summary: My favorite Heinlein juvenile
Review: This was the book that got me hooked on Robert Heinlein, the Grand Master of science fiction. Unlike most young science fiction readers of the 50s, 60s, or 70s, Heinlein was not my first introduction to the field: that was Frank Herbert's "Dune." But I read "Tunnel in the Sky" one day at school (I hid it in my notebook all afternoon and read it faster than any book I'd ever found) and within three weeks I'd read every single one of his books. That was the first time I'd ever done that. And now, twenty five years later, I teach "Tunnel in the Sky" to my freshmen English class. None of Heinlein's juveniles create a future world so fast, or so different from our own; when Rod Walker and his class become lost on an alien world and have to fend for themselves, my entire class starts ripping through the pages as fast as they can. A great read, full of ideas and adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Heinlein at his best
Review: Tunnel in the sky was the first Heinlein book I read. I haven't stopped. "Red Planet", "Have a Space suit will travel", his all famous "Stranger in a strange land", "Citizen of the Galaxy" and a few others, some of which I cannot recall at this time, include the long list of books that have touched my life at one time or another, but "Tunnel in the sky" started it all. Except for "Stranger in a strange land" this is his best novel. While the characters names have gone and went throughout years since reading this novel, the stories essance remains in my heart. It is a book of survival, of civilization, of building and rebuilding, and of friendship. Heinlein is a master at story creation. When the last page swept threw my fingers, those many years ago, I couldn't help but feel delight, sarrow, anger (that it was over), and everything else all at once. I had finished a great book and I thank Heinlein for allowing me to experience this. If you enjoyed this book as much as I than I highly recommend you read "Survivor" by Robert Gray, and the Riverworld series by Philip Jose Farmer. You wont be dissapointed!
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