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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heinlein's 1st juvenile novel, basis for "Desitination Moon", October 26, 2002
This was Heinlein's first novel published in book form, and the first in his excellent "juvenile" series which included Space Cadet, Time For The Stars, Starman Jones, The Star Beast, Tunnel In The Sky, etc., and it is still my all-time favorite. Heinlein manages to make believable the tale of a scientist (Dr. Cargraves) organizing three 18-year-old boys of a rocket club to build a nuclear powered moon rocket. If you have an interest in space travel you'll get sucked in and won't put the book down until it's over, no matter how dated and unlikely the premise at first appears. It is written with Heinlein's usual skill (that earned him four Hugo awards), and the characters are easy to identify with, especially for any young space enthusiasts. This was also the basis for the 1950 classic film Destination Moon, although about all that remains unchanged in the film is the name Dr. Cargraves. In the book there is a veiled threat from unknown enemies that turn out to be Nazis (this was the first thing Heinlein wrote after the war) - in the film there's just a veiled reference to a communist threat. I suspect the film also draws from Heinlein's more sophisticated treatment from the same period, The Man Who Sold The Moon.
On 6 October 1988, after Robert Heinlein's death, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded him the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal:
"In recognition of his meritorious service to the Nation and mankind in advocating and promoting the exploration of space. Through dozens of superbly written novels and essays and his epoch-making movie Destination Moon, he helped inspire the Nation to take its first step into space and onto the Moon." -- James C. Fletcher, Administrator, NASA
Read Rocketship Galileo, or get it for your kids. If it's not available here, search the auctions.
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The beginning of a great series of juveniles, July 25, 2000
Let's say this right up front: "Rocket Ship Galileo" is not Heinlein's best novel. But it just might be his most influential work, and given that the competition ranges from "Stranger in a Strange Land" to his early groundbreaking science fiction before WWII, that's saying a great deal. After his return from civilian service for the Navy, Heinlein wanted to break out of the pulps he'd written for before the war. He didn't want to stay trapped; he wanted to write for the slicks, for girls, for boys, for the movies, for nearly every market that he could break into. "Rocket Ship Galileo" is not his first novel -- he'd written several novel-length works for the pulps. But it is his first work specifically written for young boys, and the first of the dozen or so juvenile classics to follow. Heinlein's greatest literary hero, Mark Twain, had written for boys; the market seemed open to him, and the money looked good. Heinlein always loved teaching young people, and this novel would prove his greatest triumph in that regard. Yes, the storyline is somewhat hard to believe: three high-school age boys get taken to the moon. But that was right in the tradition of the Tom Swift novels that had sold so well to young boys. Yes, the ending is corny to us now, with Nazis on the moon: but in 1947, the Nazis has just been defeated, and they had been the world's greatest rocket scientists: it seemed perfectly plausible in 1947. The novel hasn't dated well in some respects; the dialogue is a bit cheesy, and the characters are a little hard to tell apart. But it still moves with great excitement, and the science hasn't dated very badly at all; Heinlein's experience developing high-pressure suits proved sufficient to create a space suit remarkably like that later developed. So why is this novel so influential? Because it was read by hundreds of young men and women who went on to work in the Apollo program in the sixties; Heinlein, in this very novel, had convinced them going to the moon was exciting, achievable, and important. If any work of fiction has that kind of impact, it deserves to be read. But in and of itself, "Rocket Ship Galileo" is still a page-turner, and a wonderful read. Enjoy!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An important book in Science Fiction and Space History, January 6, 2005
When I was a kid, I dreamed of being an astronaut. That wasn't to be, but this book inspired me to go into science and engineering and now I'm a successful programmer; I've heard the book influenced many other people similarly, including many who worked on the space program. If you have similar interests, I think you'll find Rocket Ship Galileo absorbing, even if dated.
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