The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Robert A. Heinlein

Language: English

Publisher: Hodder

Published: Jan 1, 1966

Awards: Hugo.Best Novel.Winner.1967
List Of Awards: Hugo
Date Read: Mar 1, 1997
Form: Novel
Pages: 419
Read Status: read
Shelves: read, books-i-recommend, favorites
Word Count: 119912

Description:

On Luna - an open penal colony of the twenty-first century - a revolution is being plotted. The conspirators are a strange assortment: an engaging jack-of-all-trades, his luscious blonde girlfriend, and a lonely talking computer. Their aim - the overthrow of the hated Authority. Everything goes well until... ** ### 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. ### Review Adrenalizing, mind-stretching, conviction-testing...unmatched by any contemporary! --Theodore Sturgeon We proceed down the path marked by his ideas. He shows us where the future is. --Tom Clancy It is the year 2076, and the Moon is a penile colony for the rebellious and the unwanted of Earth. The exiles have created a libertarian society in order to survive in their harsh and unforgiving environment, their motto being TANSTAAFL: "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch". Looming over them is the Luna Authority, the heavy-handed Earth administration, who trades life necessities to the "Loonies" in exchange for grain shipments to the starving populations of Earth. As the situation steadily deteriorates the inhabitants of Luna come to realize that they have little choice but to revolt against Luna Authority in order to save themselves from resource exhaustion and a subsequent environmental apocalypse. A small band of dissidents emerges to lead the revolution. This consists of a one-armed computer jock, a radical young woman, a past-his-prime academic, and a nearly omnipotent computer named Mike. These people ignite the fires of revolution, despite the near certainty of failure.