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39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book got me through Calculus, February 10, 2006
_I have heard this book dismissed as "just another space cadet story." Check the date of publication (1948), this is THE first space cadet story. It started the genre. I've also heard it dismissed as a "kid's book." A "kid's book" would not have stuck in my memory for four decades now and provided me with inspiration and a model when I most needed it. A "kid's book" wouldn't have inspired me to stick out high school and college physics and mathematics instead of just throwing in the towel. It was remembering the example of this book, and _Starman Jones_, that got me through Calculus. I just wish the rest of the world would have lived up to the high ideals expressed in these books....
_I recently reread this tale after many years. I was amazed at how "nondated" it was. Heinlein has a perfect description of cell phones and cell towers. Something else finally hit me too- this is where Gene Roddenbury got most of his ideas for Star Trek. Heinlein actuallly uses the term "the Federation." His Interplanetary Patrol is obviously the inspiration for Star Fleet with it's noble ideals, multi-cultural make-up (in 1948), it's commitment to keeping the peace, and it's 100 year record of keeping the peace (a phrase right out of Trek.) The importance of the Academy and its naval style of organization came from Heinlein, the Annapolis graduate. The way that the organization is entirely composed of officers and officers in training- that's also pure Star Trek. Heinlein wrote of all this almost 20 years before the television show aired....
_It used to bother me that the Heinlein that wrote this book and the Heinlein that wrote _Stranger in a Strange Land_ and all that came afterward seemed like two different men. I now think that I understand that too.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Timeless military SciFi, February 3, 2008
In 1948, Heinlein wrote a book based on his (limited) military experience that pinpointed underlying cultural issues in the U.S. military that are still plaguing the Dept. of Defense after sixty years (despite the current lack of space-based Marines). No spoilers, but I'm refering to the discussion of the Space Patrol Academy's curriculum.
If a writer can identify an underlying issue that cannot be fixed even after 60 years, and offer visionary (still) solutions, I have to think he's earned the title "master".
"Space Cadet" offers inspiration and an element of hope while acknowledging that human nature is innately flawed. It speaks to the interrelationship between technology and humans, making it clear that technology should serve people, not people serving technology. It sketches out what looks like a viable organizational structure for an arm of the military that the U.S. will eventually need (and despite their claims to the contrary, the Air Force's belief that their culture can be adapted to extended spaceflight with crews of more than 4-5 people lacks plausibility). The emphasis on the need for cultural studies and language skills in his fiction rings true as the U.S. services realize that these are at least as important as vehicles and weapons.
In all, brilliant. Only four stars because it is not Heinlein's best work (though superior to 95% or more of the fiction in any bookstore today), and it was written for the adolescent market, when these concepts and the story line could have supported twice as much book as we have here.
Still, I'll probably read it again, and I would recommend it to any youngling who was considering the military (along with Starship Troopers).
E.M. Van Court
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The master of sci-fi will never stop being reprinted!, October 31, 2006
This review is from: Space Cadet (Paperback)
Follow young Matt Dodson as he enters the academy in hopes of becoming a Space Cadet. Matt makes friends with Tex, who always has amusing tales about his Uncle Bodie, and a few others, as lessons are learned ... usually the hard way.
Space Cadets are the elite guard of the solar system. They accept missions others fear, take risks no others dare, and uphold the peace of the solar system for the benefit of all. (Much like the Jedi Order!) This novel will take you from Earth, to Mars, to Venus, and beyond. Matt and his friends are tested in the most severe and extraordinary ways that will change them forever, but still not prepare them for the alien treacheries that await.
**** If you have never read a novel by Robert A. Heinlein, then please keep in mind that this was written in the year 1948. The author renewed the copyright in 1975. I stress this because even though the story begins in July 2075, there are a few references to events that supposably happened in OUR past, such as the notation of the person who created the Patrol's Tradition who lived 1969 - 1996.
The fact that Robert A. Heinlein's novels are still being published today clearly expresses how outstanding readers find his science fiction novels. Once you read this, or any other novel by Heinlein, you will have no doubt as to how the man came about being crowned "The Master of Science Fiction". ****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
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