Stranger in a Strange Land

NAME: Valentine Michael Smith
ANCESTRY: Human
ORIGIN: Mars

Here is Heinlein's masterpiece — the brilliant spectacular and incredibly popular novel that grew from a cult favorite to a bestseller to a classic in a few short years. It is the story of Valentine Michael Smith, the man from Mars who taught humankind grokking and water-sharing. And love.

"A brilliant mind-bender." Kurt Vonnegut

"Stranger in a Strange Land is an international best seller and a landmark in more ways than one....Heinlein has been rightly criticized for presenting as facts his opinions....Yet the book is hard to put down; in its early pages it is a truly masterful sf story." Library Journal

One of the greatest science fiction novels ever published, Stranger in a Strange Land's original manuscript had 50,000 words cut. Now they have been reinstated for this special 30th anniversary trade edition. A Mars-born earthling arrives on this planet for the first time as an adult, and the sensation he creates teaches Earth some unforgettable lessons.

In the 1960s, Stranger in a Strange Land became the first science-fiction title to appear on The New York Times Book Review's best-seller list.

Valentine Michael Smith is the stranger. A young human, reared by Martians on Mars, he is brought to Earth where he must adapt not only to the planet's social injustices and its population's foibles, but to its strong gravitational field and rich atmosphere.