Publication Date:November 1, 1998 Shipping:Eligible for Super Saver Shipping Promotion:Buy 4 eligible items in the 4-for-3 promotion offered by Amazon.com and get 1 of them free.Terms and Conditions Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
Product Description "Revolt in 2100": After the fall of the American Ayatollahs (as foretold in "Stranger in a Strange Land") there is a Second American Revolution; for the first time in human history there is a land with Liberty and Justice for All. "Methuselah's Children": Americans are fiercely proud of the freedom they seized in "Revolt in 2100". Nothing could make them forswear it. Nothing except the secret of immortality.
Good starting place for early HeinleinNovember 1, 2008 Knowing where to start with Heinlein can be a tricky business. Some of his early work is both stiff and/or dated. His later work is very divisive due to some of his themes and opinions. Methuselah's Children (An early novel, first serialized in the 1940's) suffers from neither of these. It is solid science fiction, telling the story of a group of extended families endowed with unusually long life. They find themselves persecuted by the rest of the population who mistakenly believe they hold the secret of immortality. Threatened with extinction, they take to the stars to find a new home. From that point we see some of why Heinlein is such a lauded writer. His descriptions of alien cultures are both plausible and intriguing while the aliens are thoroughly alien in nature and appearance. Also, this novel introduces one of the most interesting of all Heinlein's characters, Lazarus Long, who makes a stronger appearance in Time Enough For Love, and to a lesser degree in some of Heinlein's later novels. If you are interested in the works of the master, Methuselah's Children is a great starting point with a small investment, as it is a short book. Revolt in 2100 was originally published as a novella along with some short stories. Revolt is good, but Methusela's Children is the clincher for me.
Essential for better understanding of Heinlein's later books.October 26, 2008 "Revolt in 2100" & "Methuselah's Children" by Robert Heinlein are two short early novels paired together in this book, with added related materials. This is part of Heinlein's "Future History" series of stories and the start of a series of Heinlein novels that continued later in his career. Each of the stories here is good science-fiction. However, the reader may conclude that Heinlein shows his philosophical side more than his science fiction side.
Over fifty years, I have read everything I can lay my hands on that Heinlein wrote. I came to appreciate Heinlein's philosophical side. He helped me exercise my brain. I promise, there is more plot here than may seem apparent. "Revolt in 2100" concerns itself with a second American Revolution; this time, against a religious dictatorship. However, the real story is about human relationships. The short story "Misfit" introduces the math genius, Andy Libby, who appears in two more novels, later. "Methuselah's Children" introduces us to the 'Howard families' and Lazarus Long, a character that appears in a number of Heinlein's later novels. It also introduces two separate 'interstellar drives' as well as some unusual 'aliens'. (Question: If we travel to a planet with sapient beings, are they the aliens or are we the aliens? Answer: Good question!) When I first read this story, the ending seemed to be a bit of a letdown. However, four decades later (mostly spent in laboratories), I realize that it does reveal something about the nature of human reality and technological problems. I guess I might say that 'obvious' alternate solutions to technological problems can be non-obvious to someone who is too close to the challenge. Sometimes, you really can't see the forest for all the trees getting in the way!
This is very good science fiction reading! I recommend this book.
Cheesy Cover But A Good StoryDecember 27, 2007 Revolt in 2100 is a solid little book but it gets a bit muddled toward the end. Some interesting ideas are peppered throughout for a book written around the start of WWII. Of course he could not predict WWII so some of his US History gets mighty distorted looking. Methuselah's children on the other hand has some thought provoking ideas on aging, human behavior etc. I liked learning about Lazarus Long and the families. Good stuff even if it was written in the 1950's
A satisfying addition to Heinliein's worksMay 10, 2007 I've always enjoyed Heinlein's works - his libertarian ideals and positive, if not conflict free, future visions have always made for appealing literature. Also, I really like the fact that much of his work is based in a consistent universe where one work leads into or foreshadows others.
Sometimes the writing can be a little pedantic, especially where he's trying to draw distinctions between the sexes, but this is just a `nit to pick in an overall enjoyable science-fiction tale.
Strong Heinlein novel still packs a punchJuly 15, 2006 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Please note that this review is just about Methuselah's Children in this volume.
Someone gave me this book recently and so I reread it again for the first time in probably 25 years. I was pleased to see how well the book held up. Published in 1948, Methuselah's Children shows Heinlein's ideas about politics in the future were becoming darker and more cynical and in some ways the book presages the concepts in Starship Troopers. In Methuselah's Children, governments are not trustworthy, and even your neighbor probably isn't, which our Founding Fathers would have agreed with, which is why our system has so many checks and balances (especially the cantankerous but brilliant, cynical John Adams).
The novel also contains some of Heinlein's most interesting ideas for alien races, and the "God" race was a fascinating concept, with their technology so advanced that even Libby couldn't figure it out. Some of his earliest speculation on telepathy is also present, which he puts to good use both for the Howard families and in their contacts with at least two of the alien races. The story features Lazurus Long in one of his most dynamic and prominent roles, so fans of Long won't be disappointed there, and also Andrew Jackson Libby has an important role.
The background story of a race of Methuselahs and how that might be accomplished through genetic breeding was not too far-fetched given the science of the time, since genetic engineering was far in the future. Finally, many of the ideas about electronic banking, email, and networking that Heinlein uses in the novel have come to pass. At only about 270 pages, I think it's one of Heinlein's best stories and still holds up very well considering it's now almost 60 years old.
