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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780312863555
ISBN number: 0312863551
Label: Orb Books
Manufacturer: Orb Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: June 15, 1997
Publishing house: Orb Books
Sale Popularity Level: 10261
Studio: Orb Books
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Product Description:
Robert A. Heinlein was the most influential science fiction writer of his era, an influence so large that, as Samuel R. Delany notes, 'modern critics attempting to wrestle with that influence find themselves dealing with an object rather like the sky or an ocean.' He won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, a record that still stands. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was the last of these Hugo-winning novels, and it is widely considered his finest work.
It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of the former Lunar penal colony against the Lunar Authority that controls it from Earth. It is the tale of the disparate people--a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic--who become the rebel movement's leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to this inner circle, and who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of the high points of modern science fiction, a novel bursting with politics, humanity, passion, innovative technical speculation, and a firm belief in the pursuit of human freedom.
Amazon.com Review:
Tom Clancy has said of Robert A. Heinlein, 'We proceed down the path marked by his ideas. He shows us where the future is.' Nowhere is this more true than in Heinlein's gripping tale of revolution on the moon in 2076, where 'Loonies' are kept poor and oppressed by an Earth-based Authority that turns huge profits at their expense. A small band of dissidents, including a one-armed computer jock, a radical young woman, a past-his-prime academic and a nearly omnipotent computer named Mike, ignite the fires of revolution despite the near certainty of failure and death.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein rates as one of the ten best adult SF novels of all time. To put it mildly, this book was revolutionary at the time it was written. If you are a science-fiction fan, this novel is mandatory reading. If you are not a science-fiction fan, this novel should be mandatory reading.
Fair warning: this novel really is adult reading and the easily offended and various prudes have never liked it (that includes the leadership of many totalitarian nations). While it has been described as 'libertarian', it isn't, especially the military aspects. You may (?) be shocked by some of the content. If you are smart and intelligent, I guarantee that some of the content will keep you thinking for days (or weeks) after reading the book.
By the way, the science is correct and, at the time it was written, some of the science was absolutely cutting edge. The psychology is reasonably accurate and quite interesting.
Read the book!
Rated by buyers -
Don't pick up this book expecting a poetic tour-de-force, or a dorkily technical sci-fi creation that struggles to maintain plausibility. Instead, expect to find a fun, inventive (albeit imperfect) futuristic plot acting as a vehicle for nuggets of pure truth. Nerds won't like it, and neither will grammar nazis, but revolutionaries will love it and libertarians will re-read pages 300-305 over and over for the amazingly simple reason therein.
Story is decent, principles are sweeping and inspiring. If Harrison Bergeron woke you up, this will be just your cup of coffee.
Rated by buyers -
This is one of the better books out there that covers one of the alternative universes in Robert Heinlein's space series. The book is about a revolution that happens on the moon, when the moon wants to be free of earth influence and control. This is a standard discusion point in many of the science fiction stories out there, where colonists eventually want to be free of political or economic control of Earth. What makes this story unique is Mycroft Holms, the computer. It is the computer that runs the various environments on the moon that is the biggest support to the revolution.
The book has a lot of detail when it comes to how the revolution happens, and what it takes to overthrow power. Most of the theory used in this book can be traced back to the book he wrote about the second American revolution. Many of the standards and tactics used in that book find themselves better fleshed out in this book. That makes it a compelling read for people, what is also interesting is that there are also allusions to the Russian Revolution of 1917 as an historical template for the revolution on the moon. The other compelling part of the book is when it is tied into the book "The Cat who Walks through Walls", and other books that feature the computer, and how that timeline had evolved in light of the events in the book "The moon is a harsh mistress".
Overall, this is a very enjoyable book, dark, brooding, humorous, full of surprises, not one to keep you up reading all night, but one that is fun to read. This is truly a masterful book, and shows Heinlein's writing prose at its story telling best. Five of Five points, it is a well-written and enjoyable story.
Rated by buyers 
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The concept of a lunar colony seeking independence from the world government-supported corporation that owns it excellent. Unfortunately, that's the only excellence in this abysmally bad novel.
Heinlein uses one main character as the very first person narrator, an approach I usually like. But, Heinlein gives this educated computer repairman a ridiculous speech pattern that omits definite articles, mangles grammar, and reminds me of the idiotic way that Chekov spoke in the Star Trek series.
Heinlein did not understand economics and agriculture. Sending criminals to a lunar prison cannot be economical, even with the future technology described in the novel. Worse yet, Heinlein structures a significant amount of the plot around the fact that the lunar colony exports wheat to Earth! Supposedly, the colonists could grow wheat at less cost than Earth's farmers. That's hard to believe since lunar rock dust cannot support lichen (and certainly not higher plant life), so the lunar farmers must add nitrates, phosphates, and trace elements; water is scarce on the moon and (in the novel) requires the mining of tons of 'rock ice' to yield liters of water; the underground wheat 'fields' need many kilowatts of power for the growing lights; and transportation requires a nuclear powered catapult that launches a capsule fitted with retro-rockets for braking at earth. Even if the Earth were out of surface growing space, lighted tunnels on Earth would be much cheaper as farms than tunnels on the moon.
The annoying dialog from the narrator and the idiotic economic premises detracted from the plot, which unfortunately did not measure up to the excellence of the concept. As other commenters noted, the entire revolt was based upon an AI and a few people lying to and manipulating their fellow Lunarians into a revolt. The Lunarian revolt succeeded, and then the main fear was that the world government would shoot nuclear missiles at their multi-trillion dollar lunar colony that held over three million people. That's an unrealistic threat (like destroying a village to save it), especially because the Lunarians had a catapult for throwing wheat capsules which easily could handle maneuverable payloads for destroying missiles or warships.
This book also features the usual Heinlein sexism. Heinlein novels seem to reflect the sexist beliefs of a 17-year-old boy raised by Bible-thumping parents on a midwest farm in the 1940s, and this novel is no exception.
Finally, I am disappointed that so many libertarians recommend this novel. There is nothing libertarian about it. The revolution and the subsequent government were both autocratic with an AI and a handful of people running everything. Their stated goal was a minimal libertarian government, but actions count more than intentions.
Rated by buyers -
This book arrived well before the expected date and was a great buy. I will be buying from them again.
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