Methuselah's Children

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

After the fall of the American Ayatollahs as foretold in Stranger in a Strange Land and chronicled in Revolt in 2100, the United States of America at last fulfills the promise inherent in its first Revolution: for the first time in human history there is a nation with Liberty and Justice for All. No one may seize or harm the person or property of another, or invade his privacy, or force him to do his bidding. Americans are fiercely proud of their re-won liberties and the blood it cost them; nothing could make them forswear those truths they hold self-evident. Nothing except the promise of immortality…

©1958 Robert A. Heinlein (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Timeless space travel

I enjoyed the story about turmoil within a specific​ group of individuals, the Howard families, and the larger society after the second American Revolution.

The best

One of the masters best, touch on so many subjects of the human psychology. Show that we are animals but we don’t give in to anything!

Another great yarn by RAH!

Loved it. A great bridge to explain events only alluded to in Time Enough for Love and To Sail Beyond the Sunset.

The master never dissapoints

This is one of those stories you can read over and over, and always find some new tidbit that makes you think. Heinlein was a master at making his characters human and believeable. Crusty old Lazarus is my favorite science fiction character, and i say that the day Spock actually did pass away. Spock is my other favorite, as I grew up with him and captain Kirk. This book, along with time enough for love are some of the best writing Heinlein ever did. i actually listened to this entire book during the course of a single day. Once started, you cannot tear yourself away. The narrator was also excellent on this one. Time well spent.

Book 5 is off to the races

In this 5th book in Heinlein’s world we meet Lazarus Long and are introduced to the Howard Families. Other books cover more and earlier in Lazarus’s life but this book is a good introduction to Lazarus himself.

Love Heinlein's books.

This is one of my favorites! I have been reading science fiction for over 50 years. Heinlein truly is a superb writer. His stories and characters come to life and survive the test of time! It was truly a joy to listen to this book via Audible!!

A delight to revisit a science fiction classic

I first read Methuselah's Children as a young woman and, although I was already hooked on Robert Heinlein, I fell in love with the characters of the Howard Families. I especially loved the amazing and swashbuckling free spirit, Lazarus Long (Woodrow Wilson Smith.) The story is sheer fun, although the message about the value of life and the importance of knowing it will end and facing that without fear, along with other thought-provoking themes elevated it above just "fluff."

The original story was serialized in a Science Fiction magazine in 1941 (very common in those days.) It was expanded into a novel and published in 1958. It is part of what Heinlein called his "Future History" series. For me, having been alive - albeit very young - in 1958, the anachronisms seem both shocking and hilarious. As wise and "forward thinking" as Heinlein was for his time, there was much he didn't foresee. Two aspects most stand out as products of the time. The first is the ubiquitous smoking everyone was doing, which was hilarious. The second was the role of women, which was less hilarious. Admittedly, they weren't pictured quite as fully second-class citizens as they really were in the first half of the 20th century, but the firm hold of power that the men hold in this story is a stark reminder of what life was like then.

Nevertheless, if you bring your imagination and remember when this was written, you'll enjoy it.

Now I shall begin "Time Enough for Love," the sequel to "Methuselah's Children," and my absolute favorite Heinlein novel (well... along with "Stranger in a Strange Land," my other absolute favorite Heinlein.)

Very hard reading.

Would you consider the audio edition of Methuselah's Children to be better than the print version?

I would have not read the printed version.

Would you ever listen to anything by Robert A. Heinlein again?

??????????????????

Have you listened to any of MacLeod Andrews’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I expected it to have more action, therefore I was not impressed.

a must for Heinlein fans

a great bit of history from the future history realm. Good overall story and good character development.

Iconic Classic

Requires little in the way of accolades. Of particular interest is the prescient insight into social machinations that make life and society function.