Robert A. Heinlein
1 At age 40 - this book has left an impression..
I read this book at age 8 and remembered its fantastic story so many years later that (thanks to Google-searches) I was able to buy three more copies three decades later. What better review than to say; Although I didn't remember the title - I remembered "Mother Thing" and was compelled to seek out this novel, as a present for a young reader!
2 Full Cast Audio Makes This Worthwhile Even If You've Read It
While other reviewers have covered the content I'd like to cover the format here. The production is excellent. This is not a radio adaptation being faithful to the words on the page but it feels like one. Having different voices for the characters, music, and sound effects enhances this recording and makes it well worth your time.
3 One of Heinlein's "juveniles" great for adults too!
Between 1947 and 1959 Robert Heinlein wrote a series of outstanding juvenile science fiction novels, including Rocket Ship Galileo (filmed as Destination Moon in 1950), Space Cadet (which spawned the Tom Corbett TV series), Starship Troopers (basis for the 1997 movie), Starman Jones, and several others. They were all written with respect for real science, in a style that appealed to adult readers as much as teens, with reasonably advanced vocabulary and character development.
Have Space Suit Will Travel is one of the least dated, scientifically (no Martians in this one), and a bit more humorous.
The story concerns a boy named Kip who dreams of flying to the moon. Kip wins a space suit in a contest, and while testing it he is intercepted and abducted by an alien space craft. He get's to the moon all right - and much farther than he ever dreamed!
4 Quick and Fun Science Fiction
This is the first book I've ever read by Heinlein, and I suspect that this will not be the last. Any book/author that encourages youngsters to learn more about science and the applications of math, enhances the imagination about the far reaches of space and what it holds, and makes it fun and entertaining will, of course, be highly recommended by me.
This is the story of Kip Russell who's biggest desire is to make it to the moon. This story not only takes us to the moon but also to the edge of our solar system and beyond.
There were two things that I really liked about this story. The first was the desire by Kip's father that Kip obtain a REAL education, not just the simplistic and spoon-fed "education" of our public high schools. I was also very impressed that this book shows the applications of math in science, though now-a-days a computer or a good calculator would be used instead of a slide-ruler.
There were some things that bothered me about this book, though. First, the dialog was a little bit surreal and watered down. The two "geniuses" seemed to be spending WAY too much time explaining to each other what was going on. The other was the trial of the human species at the end of the book. Actually, it was a trial of two different home worlds and it struck me that while there was very little difference between the two races, they received two very different sentences. Those who stood up to support the human race did nothing to support the "worm faces," and the result of the trial didn't amount to very much anyways.
However, I would highly recommend this book to anybody who enjoys science fiction and I'm looking forward to picking up more works by this author.
5 A stellar novel
Have Space Suit - Will Travel, is an excellent example of Heinlein's juvenile works in his early career. The plot is deceptively simple. Clifford 'Kip' Russel is an average (but fairly bright) teenager who wins a second hand space suit in a contest. Through the influences of his father, and his own desire to visit the moon he educates himself and brings his dump-ready space suit up to operational readiness. Of course he becomes enmeshed in an interstellar plot filled with exotic life forms and intergalactic politics.
Like so many of Heinlein's novels this one draws you in with its adventure and accessible characters. As always, the plot is built upon a foundation of solid science and technology. It is a wonderful way to press knowledge on young people in a palatable format. I know it worked on me as a youngster.
One of the things I love about this book is its datedness. While it is nominally science fiction it provides a fascinating view of the life and culture of the 1950's. As is so often the case with science fiction they make drastically unrealistic leaps with their visions of the future, while society and its moral and political structures remain fixed as they were when the novel was written.
Despite its having been aimed for a pubescent audience, I find myself digging this one out to read at least once a year. I would highly recommend it to you as well.
6 Dated SF that still works well.
Capsule Summary: Kip wants to go to the moon, but tickets are far too expensive. He enters a contest, and ALMOST wins the trip... but, instead, gets a spacesuit. His decision to keep the spacesuit and refurbish it is the catalyst that sends him on a literally Galaxy-spanning series of adventures, starting with an alien invasion and ending with the fate of the entire Earth resting in the balance!
Review: This, like Citizen of the Galaxy, is one of RAH's best "juvenile" novels. Unlike the latter, however, Have Spacesuit... retains the flavor of the era in which it was written; overall, Heinlein did not extrapolate much on the civilization of Kip's time and it is -- especially where Kip lives -- still a mirror of the 1950s, right down to the way in which television programs were promoted. This isn't really a failing of the book, as it's a useful sort of mirror to look at the past in, and other than that it isn't dated much. The prose reads smoothly, the characters are fun, and like so many other RAH juvenile heroes Kip has to THINK his way out of his problems.
This book also emphasizes one of Heinlein's favorite themes, which was that it was important for a man to get a broad AND deep education. Kip starts the book out drifting along through school -- bright as hell, but the schools he goes to aren't interested in pushing him. When he becomes obsessed with space, however, his father points out just how much he's going to have to know in order to get into any college that might possibly get him a spacegoing job, and Kip starts learning on his own. As it turns out, the wide-ranging subjects he learns -- ranging from pharmacy to Latin to orbital mechanics -- have essential application in his adventures across the Galaxy.
7 Why HAVE SPACE SUIT-WILL TRAVEL is Good...
I read the book HAVE SPACE SUIT-WILL TRAVEL by Robert A. Heinlein. The book is about a boy named Kip who is in his college years. Kip wins a contest that he is so excited about. He loves outer space and all of that stuff, but this time he got a real souvenir-a real working space suit!
Later on in the book, more amazing things happen that are out of this world! One exciting thing after another happens to Kip!
I liked this book and recommend it to people who like books with action and a lot of stuff going on.
8 This is hardly for younger children...
While the spankmeisters at Amazon can blithely recommend that your 1st and 2nd graders can tackle the GrandPooba of Skifi, YOU may want to wait a few years before unleashing your kids unto the world of Rah. (Rah! Rah! Rah!) A great yarn, with inspiration, adventure and a smattering of politics and complex ideas buried under rockets and ray guns, this is easily onf of Heinleins finest Juvies.
9 Fantastic book in terrible binding
Others have written about how excellent this book is and I fully agree. This book is fun and inspiring and one of my favorites.
I only wish that Heinlein's publisher would stop printing his books on cheap paper that is yellow when it comes off the press and the pages fall out before you finish reading the book.
I love Heinlein but can't stand the publisher!
10 Determination is what it takes
Have Spacesuit Will Travel is a fun book about a high school senior getting caught up in an adventure accidentally. His desire to go to the moon leads him to enter an advertising contest in hopes he will win his way(this after his dad says 'ok, sure, you can go to the moon son' and then Kip discovers it's just up to him to figure out how).
The storyline has been covered in several other reviews here, so I'll not cover that. Instead, what I gleaned from this book was that this is something excellent for jr high/high school students to read (well, anyone really, but it would be most benificial to this age group), and I'll make sure my kids do so when they're at that age(along with a stack of Heinlein's other 'juvies') as it really makes mathmatics and science sound like fun. I was even inspired to pull out my husbands ancient sliderule and figure out how to use it(ok, that part will take some more work). This also demonstrates the virtues of courage, self-reliance, honor and perserverance.
The story is quite entertaining, and quaint in it's 50's style setting. A fun book which should be in any sci-fi fans collection, and an excellent gift for any young person you may know.
11 A fantastic read for the young and old alike!
I first read this book when I was in the 5th grade. I bought this book because the cover looked interesting, but I didn't find the first few pages too interesting, so it took me a while to really get into it. I'm glad I did though, because the book evokes a sense of wonder that's beyond description. Like another reviewer wrote, I truly envy someone who is reading this book for the first time!!
12 One of the best!
Kip wanted to go to the Moon! Unlike most of us nowadays, he did something about it. Of course you should always be careful what you wish for!
This book should be required reading in every junior high school or perhaps every university. RAH has the gift of keeping you entertained, intrigued, and making you THINK all at the same time! Shakespeare is a quack beside him. This book was written 45 years ago and is as valid now as it was then (perhaps more so).
The question you have to ask yourself is if YOU had to stand in judgment for all of humanity would you be as qualified as Kip and Peewee? Are YOU as prepared to go to the moon?
13 For many years my favorite
Not a true review but I cannot resist. Although not perfect, for many years this was my favorite Heinlein novel. I have, however, finally read it too many times. Even after all these years I know what is going to happen next from page to page to such an extent that I am unable to finish the book for the first time ever. Prime Heinlein though.
14 if not for this book...
...I might have had a social life in high school. Instead, I read all the sci-fi I could get my hands on and wore lime green tube socks way into tenth grade. This was the book that made me realize not only that science was way cool (I can say that now that I have dispensed with the aforementioned tube socks) but that we never really know our parents. Now that I am looking to become a parent in the ever so near future, it gives me hope that my kid may some day read Have Spacesuit and realize that his old man is more than just the familial breadwinner.
15 A childhood favorite I still love to read
Kip and Peewee were kidnapped by hostile extra-terrestrial invaders, only to find that after defeating them with the help of "the mother thing," a being from the Vega system, they have to defend the earth in a trial. The trial concerned nuclear weapons (this being that period of Heinlein's life when he tried to "save the world"). Intermixed in the story is a look at how a 1950's person saw the near (50 to 100 years or so) future, as well as the universe. A hyperspace hypothesis that included time travel was mentioned but glossed over, and the main character misunderstood the theory of relativity, probably on purpose. Most interesting was the growth and maturation of Kip, an 18 year old who nearly slept through most of his schooling, then all of a sudden took seriously math and science, and how to deal with life in general, because his father insisted. He used the new-found knowledge to survive in the universe. After having saved the world, getting into MIT with a full scholarship turned out to be comparatively simple.
It's the kind of story you would give your junior high child to read if you want her or him to grow up to be an engineer.
16 Is this the best of Heinlein's juveniles?
---
Or does that honor go to CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY (1957)? The weary old man who looks back from more than four decades' distance finds the story of Thorby Baslim the more interesting, but the kid who came across HAVE SPACESUIT, WILL TRAVEL in the first real library he'd ever entered (with that black and yellow and red Scribner's dust jacket, illustrated by Clifford Geary) demands prior consideration. I fell instantly in love with the story of Kip Russell and gutsy little Patricia Wynant (Peewee) Reisfeld, who represented to me the essence of that unassuming courage and simple decency to which any honorable adolescent boy should aspire.
Other recent reviewers have summarized the novel well enough on this Web site, so I won't recapitulate. I *will*, however, remark on the fact that Robert A. Heinlein is the only writer of my experience to have tucked the proverbial "expositional lump" into a juvenile novel and successfully delighted the majority of his readers thereby, going on for ten pages -- *TEN* solid *PAGES* -- about the design, maintenance and repair of a vacuum suit, and not only kept the pace of his story but used every lick of that engineering tutorial to strengthen the suspense and enhance the reader's involvement in what happened later to the protagonist, his allies and his opponents. Hellacious writing, "juvenile" labeling be damned.
(Incidentally, youngsters reading this review might like to know that Heinlein was a graduate of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, and was trained there as an engineer. Pulmonary tuberculosis resulted in his medical discharge from the Naval Service in the '30s, but he gave up a prosperous writing career at the beginning of World War II to join fellow SF writers Isaac Asimov and L. Sprague de Camp at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where he did much work on high-altitude pressure suits -- what we would call space suits today. As such, Heinlein made a personal professional contribution to the technology that today allows shuttle and space station astronauts to spacewalk in safety and comfort, and his technical expertise is undeniable in the pages of HAVE SPACE SUIT, WILL TRAVEL.)
---
17 An heroic quest, a wild toot
I first read this book in 7th grade. Now I'm 41, and when I re-read it, the novel still leaves me with a sense of awe and deep pleasure akin to the special feeling I get from The Wind in the Willows or The Hobbit. The storyline flings the heroes further and further away from home, and the stakes rise steadily, making for a riveting read. This technique - the expanding sphere of influence of the action - means that the book must keep one-upping itself to deliver. Which it does, admirably.
The novel has some unforgettable prose: at one point the hero says of the villain/monster, 'I had a dirty hunch I knew Wormface's home address." Capturing perfectly the book's Boy Scout sense of morality and adventure, he asks his companion, who is tying a knot on their vital oxygen tank, "Is it a square knot?" Peewee answers, "It was a granny, but it's a square knot now." This coming of age novel has some thoughtful insights into young Kip's budding sense of ethics, like when he is given a chance to speak in defense of the mailicious race that planned to destroy humanity and he decides not to: he reasons that there are limits to mercy and that, "when you see a black widow, you step on it."
This book will forever be in my pantheon of cult classics, because it helped me fall head over heels in love with reading, and I have never lost that feeling.
18 A fine Heinlein juvenile--teenager saves the world!
Kip Russell lives in average small town America with slightly eccentric father and loving mother, when he wins a space suit in a competition. He rehabilitates same and is suddenly kidnapped and finds himself in an alien spaceship headed to the moon. He teams up with a supergenius little girl and a friendly alien to defeat the aliens and save the world.
While this is a simple adventure story on its face, it has deeper levels. First of all, there are discussions of science which are interesting and educational--look at where Kip figures to himself that they are really going to Pluto, and how he schemes to fill the cell he is in with water so he can float out the top.
There are also social messages woven in. Kip learns to appreciate his parents a bit more--to him, they are just "his parents", but through hints dropped several times in the book, we come to appreciate his father far more than for just, rather oddly, bundling up a box of small change and shipping it off to the IRS every April 15. Even if we were not explicitly told about Mr. and Mrs. Russell towards the end (and, frankly, I wish we weren't, it is too unsubtle), we would come to appreciate them for the way they steered Kip to maximize his potential. However, they were less successful in making Kip a social individual, and that is what starts to change during the novel.
At the start of the novel, Kip displays really good relations with adults, but limited, and not so good, relations with his peer group. Kip starts out a bit of a loner--he has friends, but none seem really important to him (certainly no one helps him in Oscar's renovation). At the end, he's more assertive and, having identified himself with humanity in the climactic scene, may have found himself quite a bit more. I suspect there's a lesson for Heinlein's juvenile readers there, many of whose spiritual home was in the stacks of the library. Nothing wrong with that, but . . . Heinlein manages this better than he does in Glory Road, where Scar comes home, wins the lottery, kicks sand on the bully, etc., etc.
A good read, but then go back and read it again.
19 My personal introduction to SF
I think I must have been around 9 or 10 when I read "Have Space Suit Will Travel". I found it in the school's library and was immediately taken with the book. I must have read it and re-read it a dozen times by the time I moved on to Junior High. Heinlein took a common theme in boy's literature- the young boy who goes off to sea- and moved it into the twenty-first century in this tale of a boy who finds himself suddenly swept off Earth and involved in a struggle far away in space.
I recently gave a copy to my nine year old nephew who is similarly entranced with the book; not bad for a sci-fi epic written over fifty years ago. Any book that can drag a twenty-first century schoolboy away from the high-tech amusements of today certainly qualifies as a classic.
20 The One That Started It All for Me
As a 13-year-old (30 years ago), I devoured this book and became hooked on Science Fiction for life. Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury and Herbert followed, along with many more by Heinlein. But this is the one that captured my imagination. I recently bought it for my own 13-year-old and she has had the same experience. Good story telling holds up.
21 A showcase of Heinlein's storytelling prowess
Have Space Suit--Will Travel represents Heinlein at his storytelling best. Free of the esoteric themes that would appear in his later writings, this book is pure science fiction seemingly written solely for the enjoyment of the reader. Originally published in 1958, the story stands up well even today and will surely be read and enjoyed by untold generations to come. I am sure that many a young person read this book and yearned to reach the moon in the decade before the Eagle finally landed.
This is generally classified as one of Heinlein's juvenile books, but Heinlein's writing is for all ages. I am sure the book appeals to many young people because its protagonists are themselves young people: Kip is a high school senior, and Peewee is a girl of about twelve. Kip develops an overpowering urge to go to the moon, and he is lucky enough to win a real space suit in a contest. Heinlein's description of the many different features of the suit is fascinating. Resigning himself to selling the suit for college tuition money, Kip goes for one last walk; somewhat playfully calling out on the radio, he is surprised to hear an answer to his call. He is amazed when a space ship soon lands in his backyard and a decidedly alien creature comes out and collapses. A second ship lands, an entity gets out and conks Kip on the head, and the next thing Kip knows he is trapped inside a space ship on his way to the moon, suddenly in the company of a little girl. His captors are "Wormfaces," a species of alien that has been in hiding on the moon, looking at the earth with evil intentions. Peewee introduces Kip to the "Mother thing," a Vegan entity (and interstellar policeman) who radiates love and warmth, effectively communicates with the pair in a bird song type of speech, and inspires undying love and devotion. The book revolves around the youngsters' attempt to rescue the Mother Thing from the Wormfaces and eventually return to earth. Along the way, they endure captivity on Pluto, stare death in the face a few times, and ultimately find themselves representing Earth in an interstellar courtroom, the very future of earth shakily balanced in their own young hands.
There are juvenile elements here, such as Kip's tendency to hold back-and-forth conversations with his space suit (whom he dubs "Oscar"), but Robert Heinlein does throw in several sections full of mathematical formulas, high-level theorizing, and advanced scientific concepts. I dare say that these areas of tecnospeak will turn off some young readers and may well stymie a good number of adults. Aside from the mathematics of the thing, Heinlein can make any kind of scientific notion sound feasible and believable, and that is part of his magic and effectiveness. Most of all, though, Heinlein presents vividly real characters doing exceedingly interesting, heroic things. Heinlein's couple of technical forays may be literary speedbumps, but young readers will revel in and be inspired by this book. Adults who have not yet lost all of their imagination will also relate to the main characters well and delight in a good story line which takes the reader from the earth to the moon to Pluto to another galaxy and back again.
22 Relatively Well-Balanced
Robert A. Heinlein (author of "Starship Troopers," etc.) wrote this sci-fi novel that can be best be described as, well, well-balanced. Under its hood, the tale is basically a space opera, though it wears a hood of strong scientific reasoning. It does keep the reader hooked with its innocence and a strange sense of humor I've come to respect.
The main character is a high-school student named Clifford 'Kip' Russell, whose whimsical (read the first two pages, probably the most humorous in the book, and you'll see what I mean) and quite odd father has pushed him through his awkward education. (Footnote: The time period is strange, including obvious 50's elements -- Kip works as a soda jerk in a drug store -- but with technologically advanced portions, like moon tours and an evolved UN.) Ready to go to college, Kip instead yearns to see the moon. Entering in a soap contest, he devotes a large portion of his life to advertising Skyway Soap and receives a spacesuit. This suit leads to his kidnapping by an insidious space pirate. And so the adventure begins..
Accompanied by a bratty girl genius and a motherly Vegan (see "Barlowe's Guide to the Extraterrestrials"), the unlikely hero trudges 40 miles across the moon, gets drugged, spends a week in a dungeon, almost freezes to death and sees Vega and the place where the region's life began. I found a great deal of the story fascinating, from the lifestyle of the Vegans to the 1958 description of the moon and Pluto. The adventure comes to a close with a page-turning trial in which Kip must determine the fate of mankind and the ending is extremely weird.
The story may sound like a space fairy-tale, but plenty of science is packed in here (cosmology, mathematics, Roman history, and more about spacesuits than I'm sure you'll ever care to know -- during the Moon trek) but the way it's written (there is an unusual proliferance of the phrase, "I shut up," for example) will compel you back most of the time. One bad flaw: some pieces of the plot are never explained. How did the pirates take Tombaugh Station? Or, what exactly were the pirates' motives? Overall, though, you'll probably like this novel.
23 Great book for adolescents & teens
Robert Heinlein wrote two kinds of science fiction: adult and adolescent. Have Space Suit, Will Travel is one of the best for the younger reader. It's a great adventure story, and has a lot of good lessons for today's teens, who seem to think they can have the world for nothing. Lessons like "you are the result of your decisions" and "your education is up to you" and so forth. It also holds a lot of hope for humanity as we grow up and join the other beings in the Universe.
24 A classic -- irresistable.
Like a lot of the other people who wrote reviews, I picked this one up as a kid. It was one of the first SF books I ever read, and certainly the first Heinlein. It's astonishing how well it holds up. It's the best of Heinlein's juveniles -- a very fast-paced, witty, even somewhat satirical coming of age epic. The universe of the book seems both vast and lived-in; the science is hard and believable; the villains are genuinely scary, and our teenage heroes, Kip and Pee Wee, are Heinlein's most likeable and realistically-drawn. Every couple of years I reread this book, reconnect with my youth and take pleasure again in Heinlein's unmatched skill.
25 Very engrossing
Have Space Suit Will Travel is one of the best sci-fi I have read. The environmental descriptions are well done and the character interaction is believable even in the midst of a scene on Pluto (if you can believe that!) Mr. Heinlein makes the scenes come alive with descriptive narration and it is easy to suspend reality when reading this story. The story takes the reader on a journey from a young man's back yard to the moon then to Pluto and beyond. Of course, the message in the work is very strong. Definately a good read!
26 Have Book, Will Read
Have Spacesuit will travel is the type of sci-fi action adventure that keeps you captivated throughout the entire book. I don't read sci-fi or fantasy often but this book just couldn't be put down. You read through Kip competing in a soap contest which could get him his dream; to walk on the moon. He then is abducted by aliens and meets his new best friend. Peewee. A young, intelligent and emotionally girl. Together they escape enemy ships, travel to different galaxies and save the earth ,and all who populate it, from total destruction. All in all a thrilling, non-stop action packed sci-fi novel with more to it than lasers, aliens, and shoot outs that protect the earth from annihilation. A truly excellent novel.
27 Rock and Roll with Mother Thing
Junebug to Peewee! Junebug to Peewee! Read this book before aliens kidnap you! Eleven years after ROCKET SHIP GALILEO, a maturing Heinlein finds his stride in juvenile fiction. Whip out your slipstick and compute those vectors. Kip and Peewee actually are fairly interesting characters in their own right. Libertarians will like the shots at the school system of 1958. Predating THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS you can see the Libertarian leaning of Heinlein already. And, like his best juvenile fiction, it just rocks. Space ship chases, wise fathers, and racing over the surface of the moon in the restored space suit "Oscar" won in a soap jingle contest. Oh my GAWD they're running out of oxygen and just HOW to you get that screw on tank to interface with that cheap tourist spacesuit Peewee's wearing? Good thing Mother Thing is keeping the peace, but the wormfaces are lurking just around the next asteroid ...
28 Don't Be Fooled By The Intended Age...
This book is good reading for anyone. I reccommend it especially to young science fiction fans, or younger readers who want a good first taste of sci-fi. However, this book is excellent no matter who you are. I am an experienced science fiction reader, and I put this book right up there with anything else by Heinlein. Sure, it doesn't have the free love bits and controversial stuff of RAH's later works, but that's not why you started reading Heinlein in the first place anyway, is it?
This book is a science fiction classic, period.
29 Heinlein's best juvenile
I've ever been thankful that my home-town, gray-haired librarian so many years ago steered me over to the little shelf where an author named Heinlein was so prominently represented. Among the "juveniles" there, this title was -- and is -- the very best. It is fun fiction, good science fiction, and all-too-relevant satire. Kip's adventures with Peewee (and Oscar!) entertain me to this day. And little did I know that years later *I'd* end up at MIT...
30 Pure Magic
This is the best of Heinlein's juveniles and one of the three or four best books he ever wrote. When I first read it in seventh grade, it made me wish desperately that I was there, that it was all really happening to me, more than any book I had ever read (with the possible exception of Eleanor Cameron's "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet," for younger readers).
I was surprised, on re-reading, how well this book held up. I was also surprised by the intended age level. It is actually directed toward high school kids, and contains a lot of hard science technicalities that went right over my head in seventh grade--but that didn't detract from the story one whit. On the other hand, being able to follow those technicalities added to my enjoyment this time around.
I can only think of one group of people who wouldn't enjoy this book, and those are the poor unfortunates who have lost their childhood sense of wonder. That phrase is often associated with fantasy, which "Have Space Suit: Will Travel" is decidedly not. It is a good, taut, hard-science fiction novel that does not HAVE magic--it IS magic. If you can't sense it, you have my deepest sympathy.
31 This is where it all began
About 35 years ago this was the second book I ever read (the first was "The Prince and the Pauper"). Thanks to the librarian in Lawrence, Mass., where I grew up, who directed me to the Robert Heinlein in the juvenile novels section, I began a life-long love affair with science fiction. I've re-read this book as I've grown older, and the sense of awe and wonder that opened my mind so many years ago to a larger universe has never diminished. For those young minds just beginning to develop a taste for sci-fi, this is a great place to start.
32 Still a great book, years later
This is still one of my favorite books that I read when I was a kid. I think I read it the first time around 10, when I was mostly reading stupid romance novels or "teen" books. This book is somewhat aimed at kids in tone, but there are a lot of things you will pick up as an adult reader. What child stuck on earth couldn't sympathize with Kip and his desire to go into space? What child who feels ordinary and average wouldn't like to find out that they have extraordinary genius parents? This book works on a lot of levels and is very fun to read. And plus there is the fun tip of how to remember the order of the planets, which is still useful today. If I have a kid some day like Kip, I'll definitely encourage them to read this book. It's a great introduction to Science Fiction and Heinlein's works.
33 Not A "JUVENILE" Novel
Have Space Suit Will Travel is one of Robert A. Heinleins "juvenile" novels he wrote for Scribners from the late 40s to late 50s. The series is juvenile only because it was marketed as such. Note that Amazon has it listed for ages 4-8! The only thing juvenile are two of the protagonists.
I've also noted that one reviewer makes reference to the protagonists "talking space suit". For the record, the space suit does not talk. Clifford Russell talks to it the way some men talk to their cars.
Anyway the story is about about a teenager on the edge of manhood. Clifford Russell lives in a small town with his mother and his mildly eccentric father. His father has raised him to believe he can achieve anything if he works hard and systematically. Kip wants to be an engineer and go to the moon. Of course trips to the moon are common in this near future world if you have money. Kip doesn't but thru a series of circumstances obtains and refurbishes a military surplus space suit. Then one day a flying saucer answers his radio call. That's when the fun really starts....
This satire is a masterpiece. I first read it as 9 year old and I've re-read it annually. When I first read it, it was fun. As I got older I began to understand more the things Kip learned. Heinlein is one of the few SF authors to make the details of spaceflight (and the suits operation) accurate. The characters are interesting and the authors comments about people dead on.
34 Better for yesterday's kids than for today's
Apart from the kitchy title, this book represents a modest effort from Heinlein. The acknowledged master of juvenile science fiction isn't really at his best here, but longtime fans will certainly enjoy this sample of his work. After winning a used space suit in a contest, young Kip Russel is not long in finding a use for it, as bizarre coincidences and intergalactic invaders conspire to take him on a wild adventure to the Moon, Pluto, and beyond. Kip has just graduated from high school (a favorite age for the hero of a juvenile) and is trying to figure out how to pay for college, when he is captured in his own backyard by extraterrestrials. He meets a fellow prisoner, Peewee, who is a very typical Heinlein grrl: boyishly skinny, terribly spoiled, and absurdly intelligent. Despite her genius IQ, however, it always seems to come down to Kip's courage, determination, and perhaps most of all, his suit, to save the day. Heinlein takes great pains to describe the suit in loving detail, explaining the repairs needed to make it serviceable, how the various controls work and why they're needed, what manner of improvements Kip made to the design and why and how he paid for them, what sort of items were supposed to be kept in it and how he obtained them, or what he used in their place, etc... Of course this novel was written well before the development of modern space gear, and there's no doubt that some of Heinlein's suggestions were considered by the scientists who designed the real article; but for today's young readers, a space suit is probably a lot less interesting in and of itself than Heinlein makes it out to be. This book seems long for a juvenile, too, although things move fairly quickly except for a few slow patches: Kip's wearying moon trek, his very tedious imprisonment, and the whole last third of the book, after the real action is already over. More tellingly, the story is packed with melodramatic unpleasantness, as Kip and Peewee seem to be constantly near death or worse. Perhaps Heinlein thought that younger readers wouldn't see just how far over the top he was going with this book, but for a more realistic look at the dangers and discomforts of space travel, read his survival epic Tunnel in the Sky, or the superb colonial novel, Farmer in the Sky. Like so many of Heinlein's gems from mid-century, this book works better for readers who were kids in 1950 than for those who are kids today.
35 Still a Wonderful Adventure
At the beginning of Have Spacesuit Will Travel, Kip is just an ordinary boy who'd like to go into space. The story is placed in the near future when the moon has a colony and tourists. The nearest Kip thinks he can get to the moon is by winning an old spacesuit in a contest. The whole opening of the book is his cleverness and resourcefulness in figuring how to win the spacesuit and then in repairing the old spacesuit. Heinlein has a lot to say here about the importance of independence, resourcefulness and initiative. The lesson the book gives is that if you want something, go for it. Heinlein gets in some real swipes at the public school system that are as valid today as when it was written. His solution, if you feel you're not being educated in school, continue to attend school but educate yourself. Read, look up information. This doesn't mean the book is dull. All I've mentioned only begins the adventure. Having fixed up his spacesuit to the point that it's spaceworthy, Kip one night wears his spacesuit and turns on its radio, intercepts a call for help, tries to rescue a kidnapped girl who is fleeing her captors, gets kidnapped himself, gets his wish to go into space in a way he never dreamed of and suddenly the rest of the book is non-stop action. The scope of the book suddenly takes a giant leap out into the universe, a universe filled with alien races who frankly don't think much of the humans from earth. In a very moving scene, it's up to Kip to present a defense of the human race, with his life and the life of humanity hanging in the balance. It's a wonderful story and as good today as when it was written. If you have preteens who are ready to "graduate" from reading Harry Potter, this is the perfect book.
36 A good read
One of Heinlein's better juvenile novels, 'Space Suit' holds no thematic surprises: Right-thinking, clean-living, and hard-working intelligent young man is in the Right Place at the Right Time to save the world.
'G'-rated without a doubt.
37 Simply Amazing
Hard science fiction lovers, here is a book for you! Even for those who don't understand most of the science in the book, the story is so good, the characters so appealing and funny, you'll read it as fast as you can. Finish feeling as if you've been everywhere the characters have, then wish you had more Heinlein to read right away.
38 But not for adults
A great read for younger readers - 14 and below, I'd say - and an acceptable one for older readers who like their SF "light".
It's a great adventure story, and gives the protaganists (and the readers) many opportunities to try to think and act their way out of several fixes, and it takes itself seriously enough to engross the reader.
My favorite chapters are the last few. The book closes strongly, with a defense of the human condition, and its history and potential, to an alien court, with the fate of the world at stake. Even as an adult, that section of the book is still quite a read.
39 Atrocious!
The worst book by Heinlein by far (I have read at least 10!). One of the worst sci-fi books I have read in my life! Incredibly childish, primitive and boring! It's really hard to believe that such a great writer came up with this.
40 The Best of Heinlein's "Young Adult" books
I first discovered this book as an 8 year old in the public library in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The title reminded me of "Have Gun, Will Travel" and the line drawing on the cover intrigued me. I read it once, checked it out again, and re-read it countless times throughout the years. As a child, I paid no attention to the author; then as a teenager, I found out that the author of "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Glory Road" was also th eauthor of my beloved childhood friend. I defy you not to get the heebie-jeebies from the Wormfaces, or be haunted by Heinlein's description of a forced march on Pluto, or be moved when Kip has to defend the entire human race against destruction... This book Started Me Thinking about the world around me at an early age. It is also gently subversive about American education and conformity, and carries the wholesome message that it's ok to be different...I envy anyone reading it for the first time.
41 A Children's Novel, But Entertaining Nonetheless
Due to how much I absolutely loved Stranger In A Strange Land, I picked up this little novel.
Unfortunately, it's a kid's book. Not that this novel was not interesting because it was, just that it was no where near as good as Stranger In A Strange Land.
The story is about a boy who wins a real spacesuit. He unwillingly must save mankind. It started off pretty slow and childish I thought, but then you really get into it. It becomes and adventure novel with Kip (the boy) getting whisked into space and having all types of adventures. I can't say I didn't like this one.
42 Best Book I've ever read!
This is the best book i've ever read! It has a great plot and charactors! I didn't care wether it was "dated" or not! It also has lots of facts in it that make it realistic.
43 In the beginning....
This is the first science fiction book I ever read. And is still one of the best. Every 5-7 years I pull it out and read it again. Down to earth and written in everyday language. Kip is like the boy next door. Even today, it criticizes public schools, commercials, and the government. One of Heinlein's best!
44 One of the great Heinlein juniors -- but for adults too!
Okay, some of it's dated -- though drug stores that serve malts are making a big comeback! But the story is great, the characters are interesting, and like all the Heinlein juniors it illustrates the importance of responsibility, competence, and loyalty. It succeeds just as well for adults as for kids. Just a great book.
45 Good science fiction, but dated.
This is a good science fiction book, but it is dated. Quite a bit of the science pokes its head through the literature, which is nice but occasionally its age (40 +)shows when describing society such as a drug store with malts! Once you get past that, the book is fairly good for the young teenager.
46 A favourite with the whole family
This is the first science fiction book I recommended our three children read. They all enjoyed it and this has led them to more Robert Heinlein books. An excellent starter book for children 8 years old or more.
47 Its full of detail
its full of detail and i thought it was one of the best books i rea
48 great book
This was the first science fiction book I ever read, I found it in the public library when I was 12 years old, was intrigued by the title and took it home to read. I enjoyed it immensely and went on to devour Heinlein's other kid's classic, "Podkayne of Mars" which I thought was equally wonderful.
Thirty-five years later, Kip, Peewee and the Mother Thing have lost none of their charm. What I found most interesting about this book, however, was how very much things have changed since this it was first published: the story begins with Kip's attempting to win first prize in a soap slogan contest (he sends in 5,000+ entries) the grand prize for which is a trip to the moon. He doesn't win the trip but he does win Oscar-the-Traveling-Spacesuit, which turns out to be the best prize after all. Back to the contest: Kip can send in the actual contest form included with each bar of soap or he can send in a "reasonable facsimile." He entertains the idea of photographing the form 5,000 times before deciding that's impractical, so he settles instead for collecting the forms from the people who have bought the soap. I kept thinking, so why doesn't he just use the photocopier when it occured to me there weren't any photocopiers when this book was written. There weren't any intergrated circuits either, never mind microprocessors, which would have been necessary to achieve colonization of the moon in the first place. I also found it interesting that although when Kip graduates from high school he is reasonably well-educated in sciences and math (thanks to self-teaching -- and a diatribe from Heinlein on what he considers to be the sorry state of 1950's high school education) because he doesn't get a scholarship, he is faced with having to work while attending the local (read mediocre) state college. This book predates the arrival of college loans and grants as well.
I did like the fact that the other main character in this book is a girl -- it was good of Heinlein to provide his readers such an intelligent and resourceful role model.
49 TIMELESS CLASSIC
This is a perfect novel written in a unique way to appeal to youngsters and adults alike. I recall reading it many many years ago as a young teenager and being totally enthralled with the plot and the action. Re-read again as a young adult and recall being struck by the outmoded science, but very appreciative of the characters and humorous aspects. Now, having read this a third time, I can realize that its a great blend of plot, action, humor, with a satisfying ending. I will get my young son, a teenager, to try it and hope to take great satisfaction if he enjoys it as much as me...
50 A multi-generational read.
I read this book as a youth. When my son was young, my wife and I read it to him. It was his favorite book and probably responsible for his learning to read early so he could read it himself. Now, this Christmas, I gave him an original Hardback edition to read to his son. RAH gave us the ultimate adventure story that families can enjoy together.
51 How one boy saves the earth
I remember reading this as a child,It kept me thinking upward. The male character comes to know himself and then decides to work to make his dreams come true. I loved it and probably have read it a dozen times.
52 excellant & brilliant book of scifi fantasy realm
I truly think that this book was an excellant choice to read when I was 11.Now I'm thinking of reading this book AGAIN because I loved it so much the first time.It has shape shifters and a child kidnapped because of what he knew.Traveling from Pluto and back again and nearly dying on the moon was the real suspense that I loved of this book.
If you love scifi books as much as I do I recommend you read it.
53 What ever happened to those "essay" contests anyway?
In a novella where the main character can win a space-suit by writing a slogan for soap in one of those "Box-top" contests and the story not end up being cheesier than some B-rated movie, it has to be good. This novella is definitely worth reading. It is simply an adventure story, with many odd twists and turns, but yet it makes a reader feel good. If you have a spare hour or two, I suggest reading this book.
54 A Masterpiece
This was one of the two books that started me on the road to science fiction, the other being Pebble in the Sky. A lighthearted romp through the world of science with a healthy dose of adventure thrown in for good measure. I have read nearly all of Heinlen's books since then. A beauty to read.
55 Kip Russell has talking space suit named Oscar
One of the best Heinlein science fiction novels I've everread. Like Space Cadet, Starman Jones, Rocket Ship Galileo, andStarship Troopers, it's your average coming-of-age novel. Kip Russell has a surplus talking space suit named Oscar. He wants to go to the Moon. One night, he's in his space suit, walking in the backyard of his house when he and Pee Wee are abducted by the Mother Thing and they go to the Moon and have adventures beyond Earth.
56 Even after 40 years, still one of the best SF stories.
I first read this book almost 40 years ago and I still enjoy revisiting Kip, Peewee and the Mother Thing every few years. As a celebration of American values and great storytelling, "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" has few peers. Although it is considered one of Heinlein's "juveniles," this book is enjoyable by young and old alike.
57 One of Heinlein's Best
Have Spacesuit Will Travel ranks with Citizen of the Galaxy and Double Star as one of Heinlein's best novels. It is well written, a good adventure story, and full of marvelous ideas and characters. It's highly recommended. Don't let the title put you off.
58 Outstanding
What a great book, you gotta read this one. If you don't you'll have to read something else by Heinlein, anything at all in fact. I was sickened by one of the reviews here calling Heinlein's adult books "pornographic." Double Star, The Door into Summer, Starship Troopers, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, perfect examples of his adult books which are distinctively not pornographic. I am yet to read one which is. Oh yeah, almost forgot, Stranger in a Strange Land is considered to be one of the most important novels of this century and to be a literary landmark. I found it hard to believe that someone with enough incompetence to call Robert A. Heinlein a pornographic author, could have the good sense to call this a good book. Well, nobody can be all bad I guess.
59 Great Book
Although this book was originally written for kids, it has become one of the all-time classics of all science fiction. It is no longer considered a book just for kids, it is considered a great book for all ages. It was selected by David Pringle (a very distinguished SF Editor) as one of the 100 best Science Fiction novels. If you want to read a good book go for this one, or anything Heinlein wrote for that matter. All of his books, including the other works for children are outstanding achievements in the science-fiction field and the literary field in general.
60 It is great for kids from about 14 to 17
I found that it was a well writen story dealing with the truths of life and mixing them with fantacy. One of the best books i have ever read i suggest you try it
61 A book for all ages, timeless, truly a classic.
This fun filled adventure is one of the classic sci-fi adventures. Written in 1958, this story is timeless. It carries with it the hopes for future space exploration, and advances in technology. Like many sci-fi greats, Heinlein knows how to tell a story and keep you captivated from beginning to end. His characters are real, likable and full of emotions. Kip is his main character in this story. He is a very likable young man that every one can relate to. His hopes for the future are grand, and maybe unattainable, but that does not discourage him from pursuing them non the less. Peewee is everybodies little sister, lovable, and in a hurry to grow up, but some times a pest. Their adventure in space will keep you and the edge of your seat, from beginning to end. I loved it when I was 15, and still love it at 37.
62 Kip Russell tells his story
Kip Russell tells his story. One minute, he's playing in the backyard of his house with an old space suit named Oscar, and a friend named Ellie, the next thing he knows, he's abducted by aliens who take him to the moon. Blair Colquhoun @cybertours.com
63 Have Space Suit Will travel.. Everyones dream
I remembered reading this book when i was at school. It strated me on the road to Si-Fi. Now i have a 10 yr old son. I wish to get the book for him to read. A real must for for the new/old readers of the world. You wont regret reading it
64 A great book for a first time Heinlein reader
Like many of the others here, I read this about the third grade. It was my first SF book and I've been hooked ever since. For the young person (or any age, I supose) it grandly illustrates the values of determination and preparedness. As one of the characters stated, "luck" is something that happens to people who prepare for it. Because Kip had a spacesuit, he was able to go to the moon, Pluto, and even another galaxy. I've seriously thought of getting my own space suit, to be ready for a similar opportunity!
Though written for the young reader, I enjoy this book as much at 40 as I did at 8. Highly recommended for any age, but especially for young folks.
65 A science fiction classic.
My life-long love of science fiction began with this book. I found it on the bookshelf of my third grade classroom - in the "boy's" section. My teacher felt something sweet from the girl's section might have been a better choice! I stubbornly picked up this book and with it, the love of reading. Thanks, RAH, for introducing a child to adventure!
66 This book changed the way I thought
This was one of the first Heinlein books I read -- or for that matter, one of the first SF books that I read. I was maybe 9 or 10 and from that day on, my mind was changed. I understood that educating myself was my responsibility and that I must continue to learn. -- Pretty heady stuff for a youngster. The science will be a bit dated today, but the story and the underlying plot are still wonderful. Buy it for a child you love --
67 A boy a girl go on an adventure on different planets.
It is a very exciting fast moving book. It has very interesting characters. I think it is worth reading.
68 One of the best!
I read this book at an early age, and it introduced me to a whole new way of thinking. Kip's rugged individualism and determination inspired me like nothing else in my life. This book also served as a springboard to other Science Fiction books and authors. Kip, a "typical" teen, wants to go to the Moon. Following his father's advice, he eventually wins an old space suit, which he meticulously rebuilds and eventually tests in his back yard. Then a space ship lands on him. Captured by space pirates and their alien master, Kip meets Peewee, the daughter of a famous Princeton thinker, and her Vegan companion, the "Mother Thing". After adventures and defeat on the Moon, the action shifts to Pluto, where escape seems impossible, and death inevitable. The "Mother Thing", however, proves to be more than a match for the alien "Wormfaces" who are intent on conquoring the Earth. After a stay on Vega, the story culminates with a trip to the Lesser Megallanic Clouds, where Kip and Peewee must stand trial in the name of all mankind. I recomend children of all ages read this book. It is filled with wonder and adventure that nobody should miss.
69 Excellent Sci-Fi
I read this as a young teen and it started me off on a glorious quest of good Sci-Fi. I read all the Heinlein I could get my hands on. Thank goodness our library did not have the Heinlein Adult Books! Do not read those or you will be sorely dissolutioned. He is totally pornographic in those books and they are not suitable for anyone to read. But, his children's books are divine. Read all of them you can and then read them again.
70 I'm glad it wasn't just me!
I read this book in third or fourth grade too. I've been hooked ever since. A definate buy, a definate read
71 A very good Heinlein starter
This was one of Heinlein's first, and, I think, best books. I first read it in 3rd or 4th grade, and I would be glad to read it again. Despite the fact that it is far in the future and they are still using slide rules (the main incongruity in it) ,Heinlein still gave it just the right blend of setting, characters, and accurate scientific details that many of his later books lack
72 Fun, but not technical
Let's get this straight right off the bat. This is not one of Heinlein's most radical books, it is not brimming with abstract speculation on the human condition and how our current paths shall take us only to ruin and destruction. There is no future prediction, no hard science showcasing something new and possible. It is merely a science-fiction adventure novel.
It is also one of the best science-fiction novels ever written. While it may not have all that was stated above, it does have one thing: humor, a brisk sense of fun, and a rapid pace that makes this book fly all too quickly. This is one of those rare science-fiction tales that, like a good cartoon, can be easily read by a child, but there is enough to keep adults interested also.
Also, this book is probably one of the greatest of Heinlein's wish fulfillments ever. Kip might have to go through heck in this novel, but everything works out perfect in the end, and who wouldn't want a life like that? Ah, the temptations of fiction!
And, as a final aside, I think the last couple of pages is one of the most classic endings of any science-fiction novels, just on sheer wit alone. Heinlein outdid himself on this one
73 My favorite heinlein book.
This was my very favorite heinlein book! It went far above my liking of any otheer book. When I read it I promtly fell in love with pewee and wanted kip to be my friend. This book did have some rather strange stuff in it but that just made it more interesting. I think anyone should reas it old and young alike. It is a good book for children to read to get started liking good books. It is muxch better than sitting and watching telivishion"
74 It is a great book.
It was the first science fiction book I ever read and it got me hooked. I read it and then said to myself,"This is a great book." Ever since then I have loved to read, especialy scince fiction. I have read almost every book by Robert A. Heinlein and this is one of his best
75 If you want to turn your kids on to SF, this is the one!
This was the first SF book that I read. It was given to me by my 5th grade teacher. I was hooked! I have given this book as a gift to over 50 kids to get them into reading and thinking. Yea, they use slide rules and Kips' dad doesn't go to jail for tax evasion, but it's still a page burner with plenty of great stuff, even for the jaded youth of today. Got a kid just burning to read something challenging but not too technical? Give them this book and ask them to tell you what they thought of it. You won't be disapointed
76 I read this when I was a Kid.
I echo the review I just read at this site--I read this also in fourth grade, and never forgot it. Now I have a 7 year old son who is a book nut like I was, and I had a revelation--wow, I can try to find it for him at Amazon (all I remembered was the title), and lo and behold--not only was it there--but seeing the review reminded me so much of me, it was a real kick.
scotvee@progressive.org
77 Fantastic young-adult book good enough for adults!
When I was in 4th grade the librarian noticed that when our class made it's weekly visit to the library I absolutely refused to check out a fiction book. One day she took me to a section I'd never noticed before, where little spaceships with a stylized atom orbit were on the spine of each book. She pulled one down and said "I think you might like this." That book was "Have SpaceSuit -- Will Travel" and to this day I wish I could thank her for what she did.
HSWT was the first fiction I had ever seen (at the advanced age of 9) which was not of the "see Spot run" variety. The hero, Kip, is a normal kid a few years older than I was at the time, who has willingly learned latin and french, can do math, has read history, and desperately wants to go to space. He's not a genius, just a normal, smart kid.
While walking in his back yard one night pretending to be on the moon he accidentally contacts (via radio) a spacecraft in earth orbit. The spacecraft (to his utter surprise) then lands almost on top of him. Kip meets Pee-Wee, a 9 year old girl smarter than him, the Mother-Thing, and Wormface. He gets to travel to Luna and the Magellanic Cloud and save the earth. This book has everything young people should be exposed to: action, intelligence, a non-condescending authorial voice and, MOST importantly, STRONG moral values, such as loyalty, bravery, and the importance of education.
In one scene, Heinlein teaches the reader a mnemonic for memorizing some important facts about our solar system and demonstrates how to solve a problem involving the speed of light mathematically.
Importantly, Heinlein was generations ahead of his time when he made the girls and women in his books as smart and brave as the males. Protagonists in all of his juveniles (including HSWT) are of various races and both genders, which makes them great for both boys and girls today.
When I finished (in two days!) HSWT I went back to the library and proceeded over the next few years to read every book it had with the little spaceship & atom logo. To this day, I read voraciously, and I know that if I hadn't become one of Heinlein's Children, I would not be the man I am today. If you want to give your kis a reading jones, buy this book. Trust me!
(PS: Heinlein has an entire string of juveniles which are still in print. "Podkayne of Mars", "The Puppet Masters", "Citizen of The Galaxy", "Space Cadet", "Starman Jones" and "Tunnel In The Sky" were some that I loved best as a kid."
Email me if you want more info. :
78 A golden piece of sci-fi pulp that shines even today.
This is one of those books that seems like it's a byproduct of the true publication date (it's old enough that people use slide-rules, not calculators). Many of the science fiction works of yesteryear are outdated leftovers, left behind because technology has far surpassed the writer's wildest dreams. Not so for Heinlein, whose vision is powerful enough to make this book still enjoyable (despite the ever present slide-rules). It's one of those "perfect timing situations" in which the main character wins a spacesuit as a second place prize, refills its airtanks, and then when he realizes he has no use for a spacesuit at all, is kidnapped by aliens -- of course! Although it may seem like light-hearted pulp fare, it has an underlying seriousness that makes the novel exceptional. It may also be a sad testament to our own space programs that Heinlein's work, after all these years, is not yet outdated.
