The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Read book from library many years ago, instantly loved it. Purchased paperback copy soon after and love it every time I read it. Purchased from audible and love it some more. Great, believable story, and having it read with a slight Russian accent makes it even better.

if you dond wanna think about what sentences mean font get this book. sux because reading it it was great.

Enthralling science fiction with a compelling story about the pursuit of liberty, dangers of statism, and the question of personhood.

Bonus - triggers tyrants and socialists.

I got my first Robert Heinlein book when I was a teenager and this particular novel has always been a huge favorite with me. I was delighted to find that the person doing the narrating was well chosen. His voice sounds EXACTLY like what you would expect Manny to sound like. This book is an utter joy!

give it a listen. drags a bit with explanation but just wonderfull to listen to.

How do I write the review without revealing too much of a story? Well… Reading a book from 1966 year about the machine being able to demonstrate human qualities such as sense of humor, ability to empathize and take just the right side and me living in 2019 where AI is getting quite real feeling about it is surreal. Fifty years ago, RH was able to come up and deliver the story about the most eccentric way the machine and the human can co-operate delivering the revolution…

I read this book as I, like so many others have become frustrated with government control over our day to day lives. I liked hearing about how a society might be able to function without a ‘big brother’ over looking out every move.

science fiction, as separate from fantasy, should be a speculative story which explores some idea or technology. although many of Heinlein's books were bland vapid affairs more in the fantasy-in-space direction, this book explores a number of both.

you may like this book if you are interested in ideas around anarchy/libertarianism, anticolonialism, revolution including some ugly associated topics such as propaganda, and/or technological exploration around self sustaining communities, life on the moon, artificial intelligence, and linear accelerators for transport in space.

the story is about a moon colony used as a prison colony by all the various earth regimes because, after a time in the low gravity, the people sent there cannot physiologically return to the gravity of earth without extreme disability and risk of death. of course their innocent descendents can't either but that's ok they can just stay there growing grain to feed the masses back on earth. there is no real law on the moon but a society forms based mostly on individual accountability and risk of being thrown out a airlock to die if you offend your neighbors. eventually the moon people realize that as they keep sending grain to the earth but receive no water or nutrients back, they will eventually run out of the moons short supply and they will all die. so they find a way to rebell against the massively greater power of the earth.

there are many flaws with the "libertarian paradise" described in this book but to be fair, Heinlein does go out of his way to show some of the questionable ethical problems and behavior (for instance, the propaganda and constant threat of violence) of various characters. the society is not actually portrayed as an ideal but rather as a flawed attempt that has failed due to the moral or intellectual imperfections of humanity.

This is my favourite Heinlein novel by far.
An excellent tale of revolution taking place on the moon in 2076.
The story, while being sci-fi, is detailed and believable.
The characters are wonderful, relatable, loveable and feel like real people.
This book is about as far from the pro-military propaganda that is starship troopers (do not misunderstand, I really love that book but I call it like it is).
As for performance, the main character has a Russian accent, but is very understandable. And felt natural after a chapter.
A++ will listen again.

Jumps right into the setting, so it can be difficult to follow right away, but gets you hooked! Very enjoyable and recommended.