I started reading Heinlein novels back when I was a teenager, and managed to plow through the Heinlein library between the ages of 16 to 25. This set of thought has played a large role in shaping who I grew up to be. And re-reading those novels now makes me think how amazing it was that I *did* read those novels at the time, and happy that I did.
"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is one of my most favorite of Heinlein's novels, but one which I haven't re-read (until just now) since I first read it 20+ years ago. It's great. It's how revolution should be done, if you've got top-notch communications and smart computers. But even more than that, it's a celebration of being smart and having common sense.
In the end, Heinlein's characters don't grow a whole lot... If anything, they learn that they can accomplish great things with the heads they already have on their shoulders. There's not a lot of angst, self-doubt, or anything that causes emotional drama. The ideas are very much "see a problem, think about the problem, solve the problem" --- very direct, very straightforward. Heinlein's characters see what's in front of them and face it squarely. If only the powers-that-be in the real world did the same thing.
And it's this characteristic which is so refreshing, and why Heinlein's books had such great influence on my own style of thinking.
"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is one of my most favorite of Heinlein's novels, but one which I haven't re-read (until just now) since I first read it 20+ years ago. It's great. It's how revolution should be done, if you've got top-notch communications and smart computers. But even more than that, it's a celebration of being smart and having common sense.
In the end, Heinlein's characters don't grow a whole lot... If anything, they learn that they can accomplish great things with the heads they already have on their shoulders. There's not a lot of angst, self-doubt, or anything that causes emotional drama. The ideas are very much "see a problem, think about the problem, solve the problem" --- very direct, very straightforward. Heinlein's characters see what's in front of them and face it squarely. If only the powers-that-be in the real world did the same thing.
And it's this characteristic which is so refreshing, and why Heinlein's books had such great influence on my own style of thinking.
