American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

A great story by Robert A. Heinlein, "Jerry Is a Man" (1947) explores the nature of humanity, animal rights, and genetic engineering. It is hard not to think of this story in terms of Star Trek's great episode "The Measure of a Man"

I complete my look at Mark Twain with one version of "Mysterious Stranger" known as "No. 44: The Mysterious Stranger". The other versions have interesting things to say as well, but this one focuses on work, automation, and technology.

A better novel than TOM SAWYER ABROAD, TOM SAWYER, DETECTIVE by Mark Twain picks up as a sequel to THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. It also is a window into Tom Sawyer's potential adult life.

It's Nazis on the moon in part two of ROCKET SHIP GALILEO by Robert A. Heinlein. While it does not compare to some of the short stories and later juvenile we will look at soon, there is some staying power with in this novel.

The review of the first half of Robert A. Heinlein's ROCKET SHIP GALILEO, the first of his famous young adult novels. A rocket club gets a chance to go to the moon.

In the short novel TOM SAWYER, ABROAD (1892), Mark Twain takes Tom, Huck Finn and Jim on a balloon voyage to Africa. In this episode are my thoughts on this book.

In 1892, Mark Twain published a sequel of sorts to THE GILDED AGE called THE AMERICAN CLAIMANT. It goes back to an old theme Twain was fascinated by: the mutual misunderstandings of Europeans and Americans. Throughout this story, Colonel Sellers is up to his old schemes.

In this episode of the Robert A. Heinlein Book Club, I look at "Free Men", an interesting and moralistic look at the duty of free men to resist authoritarian state power. More of a political tract than a story.

Finale of my review of THE GILDED AGE by Mark Twain. While not one his most popular novels, I think this one deserves a read for its important themes and reflections on American capitalism and politics.

In this episode of the Robert A. Heinlein book club, I look at this odd little story "A Bathroom of Her Own," a non-science fiction tale of housing and politics.