Methuselah's Children

Written by Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by MacLeod Andrews

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..

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jul 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781455878994

Robert A. Heinlein

Robert A. Heinlein, four-time winner of the Hugo Award and recipient of three Retro Hugos, received the first Grand Master Nebula Award for lifetime achievement. His worldwide bestsellers have been translated into twenty-two languages and include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers, Time Enough for Love, and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His long-lost first novel, For Us, the Living, was published by Scribner and Pocket Books.

Reviews for Methuselah's Children

[simsj825 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Amazing this was written in the 40s and some of the social issues are the same ones we face today - A very good audio book.

[Will Fowler · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have been reading Robert hineline's books for over 70 years and I re read them because they are wonderful. When young his stories got me. Later his views of science explained We're a perfect mix of science and fiction. I will always remember him for that.

[Mary Ramsey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Can’t go wrong with Heinlein. I recommend The Star Beast.

[Alexander Anderson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hadn’t read any RAH for ages.

Considering MC was originally published in 1941, the book handles some of the basic problems that it addresses reasonably presciently.

Classic Heinlein, well narrated.

[jkantor · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The reader is terrible. The story of course, is brilliant.

[kookiemomster48 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read this one several times. It was fun listening to it!

[Duderinole · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nothing special, but seems to clearly have inspired Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow. This is better.

[Asim Gasimzade · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I heard Heinlein is a hit-and-miss author. This must be one of the misses. Probably not a great book to be introduced to the author. Cardboard characters, underdeveloped world and lengthy descriptions of made-up science were off-putting.

[Delia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is an interesting book with a lot of unexpected ideas. Knowing that it was first published in 1941 made it more intriguing.

[Terry Hill · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Robert Heinlein never disappoints. Excellent story teller, and excellent tale.

[Christopher Ross · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Read it years ago... Was great to listen again! Some home truths about human nature I needed to hear again...

[ikeman100 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As usual Heinlein's stories are above average. I like this one as it kept my interest. It's an early work so not as polished as his better known novels. Of course it displayed his great imagination.

[tatoosh-3 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This pulp science-fiction novel was first published in 1941 and expanded and re-released in 1958. The unifying theme concerns the search for a place where the central characters, collectively known as the Families, will be accepted. As a result of selective breading the life span of Family members typically exceeds two centuries common.

Part One tells the story of the group’s escape from earth. Government officials, desperate to secure long life, refuse to believe that the longevity of the Families is due to selective breading. They threaten the extermination of the Families unless they reveal the secret of their longevity.

Part One can be seen as an allegory about the willingness of governments to suspend constitutional safeguards regarding individual rights as an expedient when confronted with a frustrating, intractable social issue. The decision to intern Japanese-Americans without due process in World War II confirmed Heinlein’s prophesy almost immediately. The recent refusal of the Republican Party to consider President Obama’s last Supreme Court nomination and its willingness to deport individuals from the U. S. without due process illustrate that contemporary governments are still willing to resort to the fascist behaviors Heinlein prophesied.

Part Two can best be seen as short stories, stitched together with some connecting material. The themes—the importance of individual identity and the desirability of living in a utopia—are afforded only a superficial treatment. Sacrificing an individual identify can be seen as a form of death—the individual ceases to exist—or a form of eternal life—aspects of the individual’s ego are perpetuated in the group identity. Utopia might be satisfying to some but not to those who value personal accomplishment.

Like most early science fiction, an emphasis on explaining, “how it works,” appears throughout the novel.

This is an early science fiction classic by “the dean of space age fiction,” but Heinlein would have been well advised to stand pat with Part One. Part Two is not particularly insightful or interesting and the ending appears to reflect a weariness with the project rather than the attainment of a planned objective.

[griffin22 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn’t even know that ‘Time Enough For Love’ was part of a series, turns out it is book 2 and this is book 1. Interesting look at the history (for me) of Lazarus Long. And there are more books, apparently!

[johnfair_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Families had been breeding for long lives for centuries now, largely hidden from their neighbours but after the overthrow of the Prophets, they thought humanity had developed in more a enlightened fashion. But humans were still humans and feared those who were different and there were fewer people more different than the Howard families with their gift of an extended life. In order to spare the world a bloodbath, the Planetary Administrator and the leaders of the Families had to develop a daring heist...

This book was written in the late fifties and it has dated badly in some ways while remaining fairly fresh in others. Heinlein would develop the background stories of the Howard Families in various other books, some written in more... enlightened... times. All in all it still read fairly fresh.

[ed0jones · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Timeless SF. Originally written in 1941 but uses the most advanced science of the day which to the average person still is new. And has a lack of anachronistic items.

[wdwilson3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Re-reading the Lazarus Long series after over 40 years, this first episode seems simplistic in its character development but a fun "space opera" with some interesting sociological issues. As in most early sci-fi, anachronisms abound, such as Long hunting for a phone booth before he takes an interstellar trip. Lots of pseudo-scientific gobbledygook, too, but who cares? Fun, quick read.

[thomasjamo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first of the Lazarus Long series. This one should be read first so you get a good idea of what the Howard Family Foundation is all about.

It is very apparent that this story was written in a very different era than our own. A lot of the gender roles are very old-fashioned, but if the reader can get past this it is a wonderful story.

[jimmaclachlan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an important book if you're in to the Heinlein universe. It is the first good introduction to Lazarus Long who is the central character in many of Heinlein's later books. Unlike his later books, this one is a short, fun read. The basic premise is an oppressed minority fleeing before the public & government can get their greedy hands on them. There are some interesting looks at aliens & human nature along the way.This book has been included in a couple of his collections as it is really a novella, although it has also been issued as a stand alone novel. I'm not sure if the novella versions are edited down as I've never read any.

[vvilliam_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A below average Heinlein book, as the first 100 pages are a dull political piece as the long-lived Families strive to coexist with short-lived humanity. Once the families leave Earth, however, the book really picks up to be an intergalatic jaunt featuring two different alien planets. The message of the book becomes clear in this second part, as Heinlein explores what it means to be human, and what lifespan means. There's a lot of futuristic physics thrown into this book too, which I think adds to the overall flatness of the book.