The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

In this major new novel by the dean of American science fiction writers, Robert Heinlein has again made the future as real as today. The place and time: Luna, in the 21st Century.

Brought vividly ( and frighteningly ) alive is an open penal colony where everyone lives under the benign dictatorship of the Authority—manifested by the Warden and his police. The Authority is hated of course, but everybody just grumbles until Manuel Garcia O'Kelly, an engaging jack-of-all-trades, begins repair work on Mike, the master computer who controls everything on Luna.

The extraordinary computer Mike, who is lonely and enjoys talking to people, foments a revolutionary plot with Manuel, Wyoming, his beautiful blond girlfriend, and the Professor, Bernardo de la Paz. With Mike as the symbolic figurehead of the revolution, the conspirators succeed brilliantly until . . .

The fast-paced plot, the lively humor and fascinating computer lore—together with views of brand-new and curious cultures—make this both entertainment of a high order and solid food for thought, of interest to everyone curious about the world of space just before us.