Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
2nd out of 296 books
—
189 voters
The Man Who Sold the Moon
D.D. Harriman is a billionaire with a dream: the dream of Space for All Mankind. The method? Anything that works. Maybe, in fact, Harriman goes too far. But he will give us the stars....
Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Published
March 1st 2000
by Baen
(first published 1950)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
A collection of 5 short stories by Heinlein and the title novella. I opted out of the last two short stories because a) in the Heinlein timeline displayed at the beginning of the book they, chronologically, came before THE MAN WHO SOLD THE MOON and appeared after it the book and b) I have another collection of his short fiction (EXPANDED UNIVERSE) in which they appear. So I'll read them eventually, but here I'm just going to talk about the first two short stories and the novella involved.
Startin...more
Startin...more
Mar 20, 2012
Mark
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Just about anybody
Shelves:
science-fiction
This is a collection of short stories from the master of Science Fiction, Heinlein. I’ve been a big fan of his for years, devouring a lot of his novels. Amy bought this for me for Christmas thinking that it was a novel. I was, admittedly, a little put off from reading it initially because I don’t typically enjoy short stories. But I read the foreword and discovered that Heinlein had written several of his books with the same overarching “story” such that the events of one story are the history a...more
This is a collection of five short stories and the titular novella, all set in Heinlein's own future history. I enjoyed most of the stories, although the behaviour of the union in The Roads Must Roll (about the union that brings the America's trunk moving walkways to a halt) took me out of story completely. Mind you, this may be a trans-Atlantic difference - Americans have had a very different history with unions to Europeans, and may find this more believable.
The title story took a long time to...more
The title story took a long time to...more
This is a fantastic collection of sci-fi shorts, all interlinked by Heinlein's 'Future History'. Each book can be taken in its own right but the book is more than the sum of its parts, weaving the stories together and building the 'history' from an unknown future perspective. New transportation, energy production and even a shot at the moon are undertaken in this pretty forward looking (if not radically unbelievable in parts!) book for its time.
The title short is a great book, although the follo...more
The title short is a great book, although the follo...more
A book about one man's dream. All Heinlein's short novels are united with specific spirit of hope and aspiration. But some heroes didn't aspire their aims though they did a lot of things for it. Delos Harryman is a man of real insight, he is not afraid to make a step into the unknown and he has the power to pull other people with him. But after all IMHO he was betrayed by his companions, they killed his dream and so they killed Delos (because he lived only for his dream). In another Heinlein sho...more
The book is a series of short stories and a novella, which are somewhat linked together. The world Heinlein creates is interesting, but I don't get a complete sense of it. The reason I picked up the book was for the title story. It seemed a little drawn out by focusing on the main characters battle to find funding to go to the moon. There was talk of doing more creative ways of funding space travel, but it was never really shown and that was the story's loss. I think the themes were interesting...more
"The whole principle [of censorship] is wrong. It's like demanding that grown men live on skim milk because the baby can't have steak." - Robert Heinlein, The Man Who Sold the Moon
Heinlein's monumental "Future History" series continues. Two scientists develop cheap solar power-and threaten the industrial status quo. The nation's cities are linked by a system of moving roads-and a strike can bring the entire country to a halt. Workers in an experimental atomic plant crack under the mental strain...more
Heinlein's monumental "Future History" series continues. Two scientists develop cheap solar power-and threaten the industrial status quo. The nation's cities are linked by a system of moving roads-and a strike can bring the entire country to a halt. Workers in an experimental atomic plant crack under the mental strain...more
Päätarina, "Mies joka myi kuun" on vanhahtava, ja sen vuoksi kenties teknisesti hieman naivi kuvaus yhden miehen lapsellisesta pakkomielteestä päästä Kuuhun. Sinne pääsy edellyttää kokonaan uudenlaisen kuljetusmuodon kehittämisen ja vaatii siksi suuria taloudellisia ponnistuksia. Henkilökohtaiset uhraukset ovat myös kuvauksen kohteena.
Kirja alkaa muutamalla lyhyemmällä tarinalla, jotka tuntuvat liikkuvan ainakin osittain samassa maailmassa kuin kirjan päätarina, joka on lähes romaanimittainen.
Y...more
Kirja alkaa muutamalla lyhyemmällä tarinalla, jotka tuntuvat liikkuvan ainakin osittain samassa maailmassa kuin kirjan päätarina, joka on lähes romaanimittainen.
Y...more
L’homme qui vendit la Lune est le premier tome de l’histoire du futur d’Heinlein, récement réédité, mais que j’ai récupéré dans une version plus ancienne. Cela dit, ça n’est pas si grave, parce que les différentes nouvelles qu’on y trouve sont pour la plupart exceptionnelles. Et, surtout, elles dressent un portrait sympathique, quoique parfois effrayant, d’une valeur qui est désormais complètement périmée (même si pour ma part j’y crois) : le progrès scientifique.
Ca peut paraître un peu ridicul...more
Ca peut paraître un peu ridicul...more
It seems to me that Robert Heinlein had a lot of interesting ideas, but he never took the time to organize them into a consistent story. It is as if he had an idea, started writing, got halfway through the story and discovered some problem with the plot, then decided to ignore it and just finish his story. This would explain why so many of his books simply turn into rambling social commentaries.
In "The Man who Sold the Moon" Heinlein describes the financial manipulations of a group of business...more
In "The Man who Sold the Moon" Heinlein describes the financial manipulations of a group of business...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Oct 30, 2009
Valerie
added it
The title story stretches a simple (if innovative) concept to the breaking point. Once you get the concept, the rest is just decoration.
Again, I'm not sure what other stories are in this collection. There are some stories I rather liked, and I should get a copy to see if they're included--I read Heinlein collections indiscriminately, and didn't keep a record of what was where.
Again, I'm not sure what other stories are in this collection. There are some stories I rather liked, and I should get a copy to see if they're included--I read Heinlein collections indiscriminately, and didn't keep a record of what was where.
May 11, 2009
Avani
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Heinlein fans, Future History fans
Recommended to Avani by:
Chris
I read this after reading Requiem, one of Heinlein's Future History stories that takes place long after this one. It was nice to read the main character's background, and the dialogue was very entertaining, but it isn't a great work in and of itself. The plot has some clear "But why didn't he just do X" moments. Also, the ending is really really sad: much sadder than Requiem.
3.5 stars. This set of short stories plus the title Novella is a good introduction to Heinlein's "Future History" especially the title novella and "The Roads Must Roll." The latter is my favorite from the collection and was included as one of the best short stories of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America.
I go into anything Heinlein knowing he is sci-fi royalty and trying to balance my expections vs remembering many of these are 70 years old.
The stories in this collection have a definitely PULPY feel to them, lots of - "Hey chum what do you think you're doing?" - type of lines in them. A bit corny really, but all in good fun, and written in a WWII world, you have to take them with a pinch of salt.
This being a cog in the wheel of what has come to be called Heinlein's Future History - these are req...more
The stories in this collection have a definitely PULPY feel to them, lots of - "Hey chum what do you think you're doing?" - type of lines in them. A bit corny really, but all in good fun, and written in a WWII world, you have to take them with a pinch of salt.
This being a cog in the wheel of what has come to be called Heinlein's Future History - these are req...more
A story of business, a story of risks, starting up, capitalism of the last century. I guess several technological ideas are excellent. The marketing ideas about a private company organized moon travel are hillarious, they show the true face of what money can buy.
One of Heinlein books as it tells the story of the guy that works the system and makes the ultimate real estate deal.
One of those crazy sci-fi ideas that is written in such a straight forward, matter of fact manner that you start thinking it could really work here in the real world.
One of those crazy sci-fi ideas that is written in such a straight forward, matter of fact manner that you start thinking it could really work here in the real world.
История летит на всех парах. Немного — пародия на американский образ жизни. Как и "Небесный фермер", заставляет лететь к звёздам.
I don't normally like short stories, but these each have enough heft to and continuity of past to catch me. I've always enjoyed the thought Heinlein puts into technology and how it enables people to continue to be people.
A rather sad tale about a businessman who wants to organize commercial travel to the moon. Most of the short story is taken up by his unfruitful attempts to raise money and find the required technology. Ok, but not spectacular.
I didn't realize this was a collection of stories (all set within the same universe) when I picked it up. In most respects, they're very much a product of their time, but the human aspect of "Requiem" transcends that.
Some of the short stories in this book were a bit combersome to read but all in all it was enjoyable. Especially we you realize that the stories follow a specific "related" time line.
I've loved this book for a really really long time, and what i learned is that anyone will buy anything if you package and promote it right, also, i want to go to the moon.
"The Man Who Sold the Moon" is one of my favorite shorts. Although, I have this collection because this seems to be the only place that "Let there be Light" is published.
The Man Who Sold The Moon is my favorite Heinlein's book - it has enough passion and drive to make you want to never stop until you've achieved what you set out to do.
In this era of private spaceflight supplanting government-funded programs, the exploits of Harriman are well worth reading!
See, the government's never really going to organize a project that will send a man to the Moon, are they? Course not. Just a huge, bloated bureaucracy that's going to waste billions of dollars of the taxpayer's money without achieving a goddamn thing. The only way to do it is to have a smart, unscrupulous entrepreneur, who's determined to make it happen and is willing to bend a few rules to get there. Trust me, the profit motive is more powerful than you think.
Well, having worked at NASA, I mus...more
Well, having worked at NASA, I mus...more
3 likes · like · see review
It was ok. It is really a handful of loosely related stories- two of which are closely related. The Man Who Sold the Moon, the story, was pretty good especially followed by Requiem, but some of this book dragged on a little.
On to the next Heinlein novel.
On to the next Heinlein novel.
Jul 27, 2011
Apryl Anderson
added it
(22.12.1993), Assorted and interesting views of the future as imagined in the 40s and 50s.
Okay, but lacking an ending. Usually, short-ish stories pack way more of a punch than this.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American novelist and science fiction writer. Often called "the dean of science fiction writers", he is one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of "hard science fiction".
He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. He was the first SF writer to break into mainstre...more
More about Robert A. Heinlein...
He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. He was the first SF writer to break into mainstre...more
Share This Book
2 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“Damnit! Nationalism should stop at the stratosphere!”
—
21 people liked it
More quotes…
Mar 03, 2013 02:51am