The Rolling Stones by Robert A. HeinleinMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Original review below the line. Just a brief update:
This book still brings me to tears in places. And the rant about automobiles is one of the funniest things I have ever heard (or read).
Sometimes I wish I had pursued mathematics the way the Unheavenly Twins did. But my life has been good, and I'm not a genius. And reading about the plague on the other spaceship with COVID19 still visible in the mirror lends a sort of verisimilitude to the whole thing. Yes, the out-of-date stuff is still out of date. But the story of adventure never will be.
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(Copied from my review on audible.com. Additional detail: I listened to The Rolling Stones when I was in the hospital. It helped the empty hours go by very well.)
I first read this book when I was in Jr high. (Anyone else old enough to remember Jr high?) While the planetary information on Mars and Venus is out of date, there's enough about astro-navigation to make anyone — young, old, anywhere in between — curious about the mathematics, perhaps curious enough to take the time to study the relevant bits. Heinlein could do the math, shaping his story with as much finesse as Andy Weir did in The Martian.
The performance is spot on, with Tom Weiner finding a unique pitch, accent, and elocution for each character, making even complex scenes easy to follow, and helping the dialog sparkle.
The only thing I might be tempted to modernize is the language, but as a product of the 1950s it still works completely acceptably. (Think, for example, of the difference between Agatha Christie of the 1930s vs. the 1970s.) If I were in charge of the Heinlein estate, I would be tempted, but I'd still say no.
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