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Originally Posted by slayda
Actually, even though Heinlein is a favorite writer, "The Number of the Beast" is, for me, not re-readable, and in fact, I would not even call it readable. I enjoyed "Farnham's Freehold", perhaps due to the time and place where I grew up and the time I first read it. This is, to my knowledge, the only Heinlein book where black/white race was an issue. Mostly he picked fictitious distinctions to illustrate the bad points of racial prejudices, thus avoiding any preconceived notions regardless of the readers race. This was one of the things I liked about his writings. The main other thing is he made me think in ways that I wasn't used to. And I admit he did write from a male perspective.
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Correct on _Farnham's Freehold_. My problem wasn't the musings on black/white relationships: it was the framing device he used to tell the story. I thought Fritz Lieber did it better on one of his tales with a similar subject. But RAH could be sneaky about it. Consider _Starship Troopers_ Protagonist Johnny Rico wasn't a Caucasian...
And yes, I agree entirely about making you think in ways you aren't accustomed to.
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Also I do believe "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is his best. I found his idea of a "line marriage" quite interesting, although probably as impractical as any other multiple marriage in a society of at least nominal equality between the sexes. (Not trying to start a discussion on equality or the lack thereof! )
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Remember the environment in which it was set. It might have been quite practical there.
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My second most favorite is "Starman Jones", a juvenile fiction that is scientifically very dated but I still enjoy it. I imagine that young people today would just totally not understand all the analog computers and log tables.
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I enjoyed that, but found it weaker than some of the others. I'd rank _The Rolling Stones_ and _Farmer In the Sky_ higher. And I think _Citizen of the Galaxy_ stands with anything he's written, despite being nominally a YA title when produced. (And I've always been tickled that the climactic sequence was a corporate proxy fight.)
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Dennis