The man who sold the moon

Harriman and the escape from Earth to the Moon!

by
No cover

Robert A. Heinlein: The man who sold the moon (1950, Shasta Publishers)

288 pages

English language

Published Dec. 30, 1950 by Shasta Publishers.

OCLC Number:
1933095

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4 stars (1 review)

In 1949, Heinlein wrote this story about an entrepreneur who foresaw that future of manned space flight could not be left to governments. His protagonist, D.D. Harriman, risked his reputation, his fortune and his very life to make his dream a reality. The prescience of Heinlein's tale is embodied in a modern-day entrepreneur, who looks beyond the moon to Mars. The future of humans in space cannot be trusted to governments, whose inefficiencies would make it impossible. Though almost seventy years old, this story is more pertinent today than ever.

18 editions

reviewed The Man Who Sold The Moon by Robert A. Heinlein

Review of 'The Man Who Sold The Moon' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I've now read 3 or 4 of Heinlein's "Future History" universe, and knowledge of this isn't required to enjoy this book. The main character is charismatic, rich, and driven, and aptly compared to Elon Musk - who says that Robert A. Heinlein's stories inspired his career.

This novel moves along at a good clip, with rapid dialog pushing the story quickly along. The reader, like some of the characters, feels bamboozled at points. Reaching the moon is wonderful, and the ending works very well for this book. Or is it a novella? Regardless, it's included (with many other Future History stories) in [b:The Past Through Tomorrow|121581|The Past Through Tomorrow (Future History, #1-21)|Robert A. Heinlein|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1325885616s/121581.jpg|49669]. Recommended.

Subjects

  • Science fiction, American