This is classic, well written science fiction.

Scaled down, lean and aggressive, bereft of the heavy, introspective reticence that weighed down Time Enough for Love, this is simply a good SF adventure with Heinlein's signature technical attention to detail.

The origin of Lazarus Long and the adventure referenced in Time Enough For Love, including Andy Libby and the beginning of interstellar exploration.

A must read for Heinlein fans.

45 s Paul Weiss1,316 353

A must read for any true sci-fi fan! Simply outstanding!

Selective breeding and carefully planned marriages with subtle financial encouragement from a secretive group called the Howard Foundation carried out over the last 150 years have resulted in a group of humans that have the extraordinary trait of extreme longevity - Lazarus Long, the patriarch of the Family, born Woodrow Wilson Smith, carries his two hundred plus years quite well! When pressed for his true age, he's either not telling or he won't admit that he truly doesn't know himself! In 2125, a series of events result in the global administration and the remainder of earth's population discovering the Family's existence. A frenzy of enraged jealousy erupts as a maddened, frustrated world seeks to discover the secret fountain of youth they are convinced the Family is guarding for their own use. Hounded by the threat of murder, torture, brainwashing and ultimate extinction by their shorter lived neighbours, the Family flees earth on an untested starship. The discovery of two planets and alien races that pose threats and challenges even more imposing than those from which they fled plus an overwhelming loneliness for the way of life they left so far behind lead them back to earth for a second try.

In METHUSELAH'S CHILDREN, Heinlein has crafted an exciting novel, a message, a screenplay and the movie script all at once. Descriptive passages, while compelling and very cleverly written are sparse and infrequent and the plot is almost exclusively driven by razor-sharp dialogue. Heinlein's method of conveying the story through his characters' mouths has got wit; it's got dialect; it's got humour and intelligence; it's got sensible science; it's got humanity and it's got credibility. Their expressions and manner of speaking firmly place the origins of the story in the 1940s USA but somehow Heinlein has managed to inject enough charm to leave it timeless.

For those me that frequently read for the thrill, the entertainment and the pure joy of a story without looking for any subliminal message or morality tale, Methuselah's Children succeeds in spades. Hard sci-fi runs rampant through every page and fleshes out a superb story line - "refreshers" (think Star Trek's sonic showers), private space yachts, hydroponics used for mass food production, psychometrics (no doubt, first cousin to Asimov's famous "psycho-history"), extreme enhancement of longevity through selective breeding, elimination of national boundaries and the implementation of a global administration, inter-stellar travel at relativistic speeds, super-luminal warp travel "in the dark" reached with instantaneous acceleration, cryogenics and suspended animation for long-term space faring, lunar and Venerean colonies, orbital construction of spaceships, blasters, aliens, communication in an alien language, telepathy, high speed bio-engineering, and lots more. Although Heinlein didn't use the word "replicator", he may well have been sitting on the script team for a Star Trek episode when he had Lazarus order up a customized kilt:

"He sat down in a sales booth and dialed the code for kilts. He let cloth designs flicker past in the screen while he ignored the persuasive voice of the catalogue until a pattern showed up which was distinctly unmilitary and not blue, whereupon he stopped the display and punched an order for his size. Ten minutes later he stuffed the proctor's kilt into the refuse hopper of the sales booth and left, nattily and loudly attired."

For those that wish to dig a little more deeply - don't despair - Heinlein has got much to say that will keep many a party conversation going on a variety of topics: the psychology and, oftentimes, fear of aging and death; mob psychology; prejudice and the abnormal fear of something that is different than we are; the importance of work, activity and a feeling of contributing as a part of the human condition.

This book was more than exciting - it was fun and entertaining in the bargain!

Paul Weissfavorites science-fiction30 s Gary442 207

Been slowly revisiting Heinlein lately, for the first time since I was a teen. This one confirms how I generally feel about his early period "adult" writings - that they are actually more juvenile fantasies, while his "juvenile" works are often better at communicating adult themes.
Full RTC, or perhaps I will just write a blog piece on early Heinlein at some point.20 s JimAuthor 7 books2,050

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. Un 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.1paper 2fiction scifi12 s spikeINflorida161 25

Robert A. Heinlein's Future History is a collection of short stories, novellas and novels. Quoted as "One of the Greatest Achievements in The History of Science Fiction"...uh, NOT! I found the short stories to be wooden, clunky, and anticlimactic. However, this novel Methuselah's Children was just simple fun...and I enjoyed the hard boiled, get-er-done, kilt cladden main character of Lazarus Long. However, I won't be reading the other Future Hstory stories as my life is getting shorter and my TR pile higher. My favourite Heinlein master works are still The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers.12 s Olethros2,665 490

-Los bellacos encantadores no dejan de ser bellacos, por muy encantadores que sean-.

Género. Ciencia-Ficción.

Lo que nos cuenta. La muerte prematura del magnate Howard provocó hace más de dos siglos la creación de la Fundación que lleva su nombre, que a partir de los fondos y deseos del potentado investigó en el aumento de la esperanza de vida. En la actualidad, los aproximadamente 100.000 descendientes de ese proyecto, y que han ocultado su longevidad al resto de la humanidad durante mucho tiempo, se plantean si deben darse a conocer, pero los acontecimientos se precipitan. Novela que forma parte de la serie “Historia del Futuro”, línea narrativa del autor que engloba varios libros y relatos, escritos en diferentes momentos a lo largo de su vida.

¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...8 s Ivo Stoyanov233

???? ????? ????? ? ???????? ????? , ? ?? ?????? ????? 80 ?????? ?? ??????.
??????????? ???????? , ????????? ?? ???? ?? ? ????? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ???????????? ?????? ? ????? ? ?????? .8 s Darth384 11

Finally a "CLASSIC" that live up to the billing.
I had grown weary of the same old trite - "You HAVE to read"s - that just didnt live up to the billing.

Having read a lot of Larry Niven, and now starting on the Heinlein series', I think it is safe to guess Niven grew up on Heinlein, as I see some pretty serious similarities between Lazarus and Louis Wu, but since I have loved the Niven, it follows I loved the Heinlein.

I may have been aided in this by expecting to be let down after slogging thru the endlessly repetitive Fantasy of David Eddings that folks seem to eat up crazy - dont get me wrong, I enjoyed the Belgariad, but everything after that just seemed to be a remake of the same story.

But Methuselah's Children was what I expect good old fashioned hard Sci-FI to be. Men of Earth head out to the stars - without all the mind-numbing complications and needless enumeration of every potentially adverse event taking place over the course of the story (Sorry Ben Bova - but you are the worst at this)

The almost scary part of this is that he wrote it in the 1940's (www.fantastic fiction.co.uk credits this at 1941) making it so ridiculously ahead of its time as to be either laughable or scary.

At any rate - if you hard sci-fi that doesnt get all bogged down in its own clever attempts to beat you to death with boring science, but still rings true enough to buy into, AND still maintains a level of human involvement - give this one a spin. It isnt perfect, but it is just what I was looking for.heinlein6 s Kat Hooper1,584 402

Originally posted at FanLit.

Methuselah’s Children introduces us to Lazarus Long, a popular character in several of Robert A. Heinlein’s books. Lazarus, who wears a kilt (but there’s guns strapped to his thighs!) and can’t remember how old he is, is descended from one of several families who, long ago, were bred for their health and longevity. Lazarus and his extended clan live very long lives — so long that they must eventually fake their own deaths and take new identities so that others don’t get suspicious about their supernatural abilities. This has become a problem, however, as technology in the United States has reached the point where people are identified by their DNA and it will soon be impossible to hide. So some of the family members are experimenting with a new plan; they’re outing themselves — telling their friends and neighbors about their longevity and hoping for a good response.

Unfortunately, this has backfired. The government doesn’t believe that genetics is the cause of their longevity; they think the families are hiding information and techniques that anyone could use to delay death, and they see this as treason. The families are now on the run. They plan to hijack a spaceship and escape the planet before they’re all rounded up for examination. Then they’ll cruise the universe, looking for some other world where they can live happily ever after.

Methuselah’s Children is short (7 hours on audio) and mildly entertaining. The book, originally published in 1941, has aged fairly well and deals with the topics of class warfare, civil liberties, personal property, privacy, freedom, and the need for meaningful work. Further features include some dull meetings, some aliens who remind us that humans are pretty weird, and a trite resolution to the whole affair. At the end I was left wanting to see more of Lazarus Long, and wondering if Heinlein has written any books for adults that don’t include incest.

Brilliance Audio’s version was narrated by MacLeod Andrews. He has a really nice voice and, judging by his photo on the back of the audiobook (which I enjoyed looking at much more than I d looking at the cheesy cover art for Methuselah’s Children) I thought he looked too young to pull off a convincing 200 year old Lazarus Long. Wrong! He was really good.audiobook4 s Krystelle Fitzpatrick649 38

This was a good, hard sci-fi piece, but it seemed to be missing a bit of emphasis and context. I’ve read so much other stuff from this genre and era, and there just seemed to be a bit of a gap here. It wasn’t quite what I hoped for, so a little more social discourse would have gone a long way. 5 s Starch173 22 Read

DNF at about 45%.

Nothing about it grabbed my attention so far.science-fiction4 s Adam253 232

Methuselah's Children is an early sci-fi novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It originally appeared in three parts in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction, in the July, August, and September issues of 1941.

In 1958 it was published as a full-length novel, expanded somewhat by Heinlein. I don't know what was added or changed, but it can't have been that much, because it's still a very short novel, despite there being enough plot to fill a 1,000-page epic.

The story involves a group of "families" who enjoy incredibly long life thanks to selective breeding. When news of their longevity is revealed, the rest of the world goes mad wanting to know their "secret formula," which doesn't exist. So they hijack an interstellar cruiser called New Frontiers and go in search of more hospitable planets. The fact that they find more than one habitable planet and make contact with more than one alien race is why I said there's enough plot to fill a book much, much longer than this one.

As it is, it's an enjoyable read, but the descriptions feel sketchy at times, and Heinlein employs more than one deus ex machina to move his characters around.

Your enjoyment of this book will probably depend on your enjoyment of Heinlein's wacky ideas. I'm not totally sold on his worldview, but I enjoy reading about it.science-fiction4 s Jeff Yoak816 46

I just loved this book silly. It's early Heinlein packed with adventure and excitement. Two of my favorite characters, Lazarus and Libby are front and foremost in this story, and it provides a lot of color and background for the Howard families. I read this story after others that are chronologically prior in the Future History, and it works either way. This would be a great starter book for new Heinlein exploration.

2015: I finally got around to reading this one with the kids. It really hooked them... enough that I'm going to try Time Enough for Love with them even though I had previously planned to wait until they were much older.audio-collection read-in-2003 read-in-2009 ...more4 s Craig5,359 129

I read the Signet paperback (with the inappropriate Gene Szafran cover) of this one many years ago and have just revisited it via my excellent local library's audio selection. I was surprised to have remembered it quite well; Lazarus and Andy and Mary were all quite well and waiting for me, just as fresh and thought-provoking as I remembered and not at all as distressing as I'd feared from my last memories of Time Enough For Love. If there is such a thing as an overlooked classic by Heinlein, I suspect that this is it. It's also a cornerstone of his future history series. 9 s Monica793

#21/ Los hijos de matusalén (1941)

Periodo en el que está basada:2136

Nos encontramos frente a uno más de las juntas secretas y de urgencia de la familia Howard. Ésta vez la amenaza del resto de seres humanos es real, ya que quieren capturar a todos los integrantes de dicha familia, especialmente a los más antiguos, y extraerles el secreto, mediante la detestable hipnosis e interrogatorio, (utilizada por el gobierno del profeta encarnado en ‘ Si esto continúa’) acerca de la eterna juventud y larga longevidad...cosa de la cual no hay secreto, sino un tema puramente genético, y descubrimientos bioquímicos ( debido a la especialización de parte de su colectivo en diferentes campos)
Así pues, éstos se verán obligados a un largo éxodo fuera de la tierra, ayudados por el administrador Ford ( que está en contra del resto del consejo administrativo, lo cual le supondré el exilio junto con la familia), robando ‘ Las nuevas fronteras’ ( consolidación del proyecto desarrollado por los protagonistas de ‘ La amenaza de la tierra’) una mastodóntica nave construida hace ya unas décadas, equipada con todo lo necesario para un largo viaje espacial: cultivo y alimentación, varios departamentos de equipamiento, desarrollo científico, cultural y de ocio.
A la cabeza de dicho peregrinaje, nos encontramos con Libby (‘Inadaptado’), el administrador Ford, y el integrante mayor de toda la familia, de 230 años, LARAZUS LONG, ARTÍFICE DE PARTE DEL PLAN Y LA HUÍDA.
En su travesía espacial de nada menos que 75 años, visitarán dos planetas, por primera vez más allá de la órbita solar. Uno aparentemente poblado por androides que están sometidos bajo tiránicos Dioses y el otro, un Edén, con unos seres globales ( varias mentes apiñadas en un cuerpo) capaces de los más desarrollados avances biológicos, incluso la vuelta a la niñez..
Con la experiencia de los aparentemente desarrollados planetas, pero caóticos y de fútil existencia, deciden regresar a la tierra. Allí les depara la sorpresa del descubrimiento científico del retraso real de envejecimiento. Lazarus no puede más que lamentarse, ya que el EGO DE LOS TERRESTRES SERÁ AHORA INTERMINABLE Y DARÁ COMO RESULTADO UN SUPER POBLADO SATÉLITE, DEL CUAL SE PREVÉ SE PUEDEN SACAR BENEFICIOS, CON EL SALTO ESPACIAL, DESCUBIERTO POR LIBBY, PARA HUIR DE AQUEL ‘ INFIERNO’ DE PLENITUD...

Los Howard son más de cien mil integrantes de una longeva familia, que ha ido prolongando su vida mediante el cruce genético. Desde 1874, mediante una fundación científica, para preservar la humanidad. Ésta Trust estuvo oculta por ser minoría sus integrantes durante ‘ Los años locos’ ( mencionado en el relato’ Las carreteras deben rodar’, Historia del futuro I), y perseguidos. Posteriormente, las inversiones obtenidas mediante el casamiento entre determinados seres y su dote obtenida, fueron distribuidas entre las familias y conservadas en usufructo; una política fija del largo árbol genealógico, así como la ‘ Mascarada’ , utilizadas para aquellos integrantes cuya estimación duraba excesivamente, los cuales se les daba muertos legalmente y se les otorgaba una nueva identidad. Éstas técnicas fueron especialmente útiles durante el gobierno del Profeta encarnados, en el cual parte de ellos, fueron de los integrantes e impulsores de La Cábala, gozando de un puesto clave en la reconstrucción del País.
Con la llegada del Convenio (‘ Conventry’) y la tolerancia y libertad, la familia creía que era la ocasión propicia para DARSE A CONOCER AL RESTO DE LA SOCIEDAD Y AYUDARLES CON SUS AVANCES EN BIOLOGÍA E INTERRELACIÓN GENEALÓGICA...PERO EL SER HUMANO, DESCONFIADO Y ENVIDIOSO, FRENTE A ÉSTOS INCREÍBLES DESCUBRIMIENTOS, COMIENZA UNA CAZA DE BRUJAS...A PESAR DE LO AVANZADO DE SU ACTUAL SOCIEDAD.

El último relato (bueno, novela) que integra y cierra el doble volumen ‘ Historia del futuro I / II’: ‘Los hijos de Matusalén’ o ‘ Las cien vidas de Lazarus Long’ ( mucho más acertado el primer título) es UNA MEZCLA DE CRITICA POLÍTICA Y SOCIAL, CON FILOSOFÍA EXISTENCIAL: ACERCA DEL PODER DEL COLECTIVO, LA IMPORTANCIA INDIVIDUAL, EL ETERNO DILEMA ENTRE VIVIR O MORIR, y CON UN IMPORTANTE PEDAZO DE FÍSICA, QUÍMICA Y MATEMÁTICAS.
El autor PASA DE UN GÉNERO Y TEMA A OTRO, MEDIANTE UN BRUSCO GIRO DE 180 GRADOS ( COSA APRECIABLE en las posteriores obras ‘Viernes’ y ‘Forasteros en tierra extraña’, del cual ES PREDECESORA ÉSTA NOVELA, ESPECIALMENTE SUS TINTES PSICODÉLICOS Y FILOSÓFICOS), DEL CUAL UNA PERSONA QUE HAYA LEÍDO ANTERIORMENTE AL AUTOR, DARÁ CUENTA DE ELLO ( y queda lugar a un amena y diversa lectura), POR EL CAMBIO DE ESCENARIO Y TRATAMIENTO, PERO NO DE MANERA TAN RADICAL, OTORGANDO UNA NARRATIVA COMPLETAMENTE DISTINTA (A EXCEPCIÓN DE LOS SIEMPRE BIEN PERFILADOS PERSONAJES DEL AUTOR), durante la tierra, realista y social y una vez en órbita, etérea y filosófica. CURIOSO MODO, PERO EFECTIVO Y ÚNICO, DE UN AUTOR CAPAZ DE CONSOLIDAR Y CERRAR UN SINGULAR DERROTERO NARRATIVO.

LAZARUS LONG
Párrafo a parte, es imprescindible otorgarle a éste PERSONAJE TAN CARISMÁTICO Y ATRACTIVO.
Aquí sale por primera vez , Lanzarus Long, el protagonista de la famosa epopeya existencialista ‘ Tiempo para amar’, y que tanto estimaba el autor.
Lazarus es un Truhán, un trotamundos muy vivido, con una lógica y práctica filosofía, ávido y listo, a la par que inteligente y carismático, que va por ‘ libre’ en todos los aspectos: tanto en no vivir con otros integrantes de las familias a lo largo de las décadas, como en llevar las antiguas y repudiadas armas del tirano gobierno religioso, concretamente una desintegradora en uno de sus muslos, debajo de su indispensable KILT! ( no sabemos si es escocés, xdd). Chulesco y descarado, con una fuerte personalidad, pero que obra bajo el impulso del bien común, MUY ZEN EN CIERTA MANERA. Guiado por el entusiasmo a lo desconocido e inexplorado ( tanto en conocimientos como a nivel geográfico), es un humano, que a diferencia de sus familiares, no desea preservar la longevidad, pero sí vivirla día a día.. un día más en una nueva oportunidad de búsqueda y aventura.

Avances y/ o predicciones Tecnológicas:
- Investigación y desarrollo simbiótico
- Desarrollo ingeniería para estática: para impulsor para el salto estelar, rectificador gravitacional y diferencial fraccional para la orientación de los reactores.
- Desarrollo de la telepatía limitado ( por parte de los miembros de la familia Howard, con retraso mental y otras psicopatías, debido a eterno cruce genético)
- Desarrollo de la biología genética, bioquímica, terapias glandulares y metabolismo por parte de los especialista de la familia Howard (los tratamientos estética actual, y que lleva unos años en auge, vamos)
- Consolidación global de la longevidad en la tierra
-
Avances y / o predicciones sociales:
- ‘Convenio de los cuatro planetas’ ( Tierra, Marte, Luna y Saturno). Venus no acepta órdenes de los humanos ajenos al planeta desde 2020
- Reconstrucción de Luna City
- Viaje más allá del sistema solar ( exploración interestelar)
- 2ª expedición a Orion
- Vuelta a la sobre población terrestre
heinlein historia-del-futuro-heinlein sci-fi2 s Yukino1,040

*** Attenzione: di seguito anticipazioni sulla trama (SPOILER) ***

Questo libro mi è piaciuto a tratti.

Parla di questo gruppo di umani che ha una longevità a dir poco strabiliante grazie alla scoperta di alcuni soggetti con un dna particolare che accoppandosi hanno reso la vita dell'uomo mooolto più lunga, sui 200 anni e forse più. Sono nascosti tra la popolazione, hanno false idenità e ogni tot anni cambiano posto nome, cambiano vita.

Ad un certo punto decideno di venire allo scoperto pensando che la popolazione normale ormai fosse pronta per loro e invece...si scatena una vera caccia all'uomo per impossessarsi del segreto della vita eterna. Così ai poveri longevi non resta altro che scappare dalla terra alla ricerca di un posto tutto per loro.

ora, diciamo che il libro all'inizio risulta interessante, nel momento che vagano per lo spazio e attraccano in vari pianeti diventa un pò pesante...ma tutto questo per poi tornare sulla Terra e scoprire che anche i restanti umani hanno trovato il modo per prolungare la vita e quindi si ristabiliscono li.

Non so forse ero io carica di aspettative, ma questo gira e rigira per poi tornare alla base...ho fatto fatica a capirne la motivazione.la morale...non so, forse non era il momento adatto per leggerlo..o sono io che sono tarda il che può essere ;D .

l'unico personaggio che mi ha colpito molto e che mi è davvero piaciuto è Lazarus...così completo anticonvenzionale "primitivo" rispetto agli altri (forse perchè è il più vecchio..200 anni) mi aspettavo più azione..invece questo scappare per poi tornare che tutto è già a posto..non mi è piaciuto.

Ho scoperto che c'è un seguito con Lazarus come protagonista mi sa che lo prenderò. Forse questo libro è il preludio a qualcosa...o forse sarà tutta una storia diversa...chi lo sa...lo scopriremo leggendo!
2011 miei3 s Felix Dance85 5

Yes, I do love Heinlein. I know, I know, super-right wing nutcase that he is. But this book seemed a bit of a mess – lurching between a hyper-intelligent and immortal sub-group of seemingly normal humans (almost all Heinlein’s books involve a secret group of super-men destined to become a new species of human, gradually finding each other and then scoffing together at the inferiority of the rest of humanity – it appeals to one’s sense of superiority, but is just soooo elitist), global persecution of said race, sudden interstellar travel whose methods are not satisfactorily explained, meetings with new worlds and cultures, then a just as sudden return home. It was quite inexplicable, and some of the characters, Lazarus Long, seemed to be exiles from other books (some are featured in spin-off novels I hope to read to clear things up a bit). Some good concepts (especially one where they meet a race of domestic animal aliens thinking they are the master-race – and are in for a shock) but I can’t escape the conclusion that Heinlein can be hit and miss, with this being a miss. It was good fodder for my Bukit Tinggi hotel in central Sumatra, though, having bought the book in a bonanza science fiction section in a Pangandaran bookshop back in Java.3 s Deborah Ideiosepius1,755 137

Just re-read this one after a long time and was amazed at how well the writing, world building, plot and characters stood up to the test of time. While many things have dated quite badly based on the the time in which they were written, Heinlains vision of humanity is still as cynical and interesting as when I first read it.

Also never quite realised how many of the early Heinlein books were meant to be part of a continual storyline, though of course I got the connection of Lazarus Long here and in future books.2016-reading-challenge classic-sci-fi science-fiction3 s Jamie1,254 155

3.5 stars. I was pleasantly surprised by this. Not being much of an RAH fan, I was not expecting much beyond his using the story as a thin veil for his political rantings and ravings. To be sure, there was some of that, though it mostly took a backseat to a genuinely fun, engaging story with minimal kitsch and some interesting, unexpected twists. The story, and much of the science it expounds, holds up, in my inexpert opinion, quite well today, many decades after it was first published in 1958.2 s Jason61 5

Oh Heinlein... how complicated my life with you has been.

I wasn't even sure how to rate this one, much the trouble I have rating any Heinlein book that I have read in the past decade. His stuff just... hasn't aged well. Would I recommend this to anyone? The way I see it, if you haven't read this you fall into one of two camps: 1) You are either Heinlein fan or a fan of this period of science fiction and it's on your list to read, OR 2) You wouldn't be interested in this.

This is not a good book. Even by Heinlein standards this isn't a great book. It's short and I sloughed through it at an extremely rapid pace so I guess that's a merit? There is enough pseudo-psychology/sociology in this thing to drown a grad student. Heinlein loves his pseudo-sociology and he definitely had some ideas about the subject... they just weren't very good ideas and by today's advances they seem head-shakingly misguided.

Then there's the "science" used. I love the pulp and post pulp era of paperback sci-fi so I can ignore bad science as well as anyone out there, but *man* this one gave me some chuckles. It reminded me of one of my favorite youtube snark move reviewers Brandon Tenold (seriously, if you mystery science theater check this guy out, he's a step above that in my opinion). I kept thinking throughout this book that Heinlein just threw mumbo-jumbo at the wall. I kept hearing "check the phase-capacitor to see if the neutrinos have been flipped and if so then cross the damn streams" in my head. So much of the this book talks about space travel and physics as if they author really knows what he's talking about but it is all just pseudo-mumble-core claptrap.

So, why read it? Well, once upon a time, I loved Heinlein. Twenty years ago I'd put the book Friday up in my top 5 favorite books of all time. What can I say? I was younger and thought I was supposed to worship the man. Now, I understand the impact he had, and some of his stories are even fun for what they are, but I also now see all of the craziness hiding under the surface too. I read this because I am working through all of my paperbacks and this was at the start of a stack for whatever reason and I thought it would be fun.

It was... for the combined two hours or so it took to read it, and then it was just... a meh aftertaste. I am sure I have it because it's an old beat-up copy that looks it had a story to tell and I wanted to preserve it and save it from the trash. Do I regret reading it? Not at all, it took two hours to read and I have definitely spent two hours watching worse movies. Would I recommend it? Not in the slightest. If you want to read Heinlein focus on some of his non-Future History stuff.
20202 s Tim600 28

Yet another of my collection of "S-F from long ago." This one is from the mid-50's, and tells the story of a clan (the Howard Families) who tend to live a LOOOOOONNNNNG time), and who garner a LOT of negative attention from those who DON'T live a long time. The main character, Lazarus Long, is the oldest of them all, having lived some 375 or so years. Well, these people are given a choice: Be tortured until they give up their secret(there is none, it's just in the genes) or go off onto another planet.They choose the latter,and half of the book entails their journey to find a home. I found some of the "how do we do this here interstellar drive" stuff somewhat boring and irrelevant to the main story, but the rest is pretty interesting, and I'd recommend it (No,I WON'T give the ending away!)

NOW! What is MORE interesting is that this book is only a part of a much larger oeuvre by Heinlen dubbed "future history," which documents not only the longevity mentioned here, but also a long downfall of society's morals. This collection, from the first story (1939) through "Methuselah's Children," is in a gargantuan tome titled "The Past through Tomorrow." I just read the first story in it, and I'm hooked! The time line for the stories is given in a chart towards the front of "Methuselah's Children," and goes from about 1940 through the 3000's. I actually wish I had discovered "The Past Through Tomorrow" first, would make my enjoyment deeper. Anyway, will give you a review of that one in a few months.

(oops, forgot this part) The preceding is concluded in his 1973 magnum opus, "Time Enough for Love" (interestingly, one that is in my "old S-F books" collection referred to ad nauseam. Chronicles the further adventures of Lazarus (living ) Long.Gonna dig that one out of the musty books after I finish "The Past Through Tomorrow." Cool.2 s F.R.Author 32 books207

Utopias in fiction are always supposed to fail. They’re either illusionary or they collapse on their own contradictions. Indeed the only successful utopia in fiction I can think of is the one Willy Wonka had going, and we have to face the unpalatable fact there that it was based on slave labour. No, the entire purpose of drama is conflict and so everyone living perfectly in a perfect world wouldn’t do much good. Just as Othello becomes a very dull play if the central character doesn’t exhibit any signs of jealousy, so utopias have to fail to make the drama work.

The opening of Methuselah’s Children finds a utopia in action on Earth. After some devastating wars in the past, peace now prevails and racism is a thing of history and everyone lives a happy existence. But of course strife isn’t far away. There’s a group amongst society called The Howard Families who as far back as the Victorian times were embarking on experiments to prolong life and now they routinely live hundreds of years. The fact of their existence causes those of us condemned to a normal lifespan violent resentment, and The Howard Families are forced to flee to the stars to find a new perfect home.

I actually thought the second less cluttered half was better than the first, but it’s the opening of the book which is the more thought provoking. Contemporary audiences (this was originally written in 1941) would no doubt have seen echoes of fascism in the persecution of those who were different, But I think modern readers may get more from it – both when it comes to eugenics and the subject of how we actually deal with an ageing population. Robert Heinlein is a writer I’ve never picked up before, but this is smart and compulsive science fiction, that demands the reader pays attention right from the start but rewards with a gripping read.
2 s Andrew2,275

I must admit there is something reassuring going back to an old favourite. Robert Heinlein was one of the authors I branched out in to in my early days of reading (let alone reading science fiction). Some years ago I had the lucky pleasure of working just outside London and spent every available weekend scouring the city looking for new titles (before the days of internet and Amazon). I spent most of my time hunting down the rare and obscure books from Heinlein's bibliography.
Periodically I go back to my Heinlein shelf and pick up something new - and that is where I found myself recently trying to choose between this and Glory Road (watch this space I am sure that will follow soon enough.
Anyway I am glad I have read it as it introduces one of those characters I had seemingly forgotten but quickly got re-aquainted with - Lazarus Long.
The book itself is divided in to two sections- the first is sociological thriller (ok set with 50/60s view of the future) but the second half - then becomes a stock science fiction yarn of wanderers exploring for a new home (but with a very much Gulliver's Travel feel to it - travelling from one strange civilisation to another finding that in fact none are quite right) - only to go full circle and come home again. it has a nice twist at the end of it too - but that I shall leave for you to discover. 1 Nuno RibeiroAuthor 5 books22

Neste livro, Robert A. Heinlein apresenta-nos uma reflexão fascinante sobre a longevidade humana. Partindo da hipótese que existiria uma "família" de seres humanos que possuem características genéticas que lhes permitem atingir idades invulgarmente avançadas, mantendo no entanto a frescura da juventude ao longo de vários séculos de existência, o autor constrói uma história que nos permite vislumbrar o futuro da raça humana, incluindo a sua expansão para outros mundos, o encontro com outras espécies de vida inteligente e as implicações e conhecimentos que daí poderiam advir. Em paralelo, o autor explora as características mais determinantes dos seres humanos, da sua natureza individualista e as vantagens e problemas de tal natureza que é intrínseca à nossa espécie. Narrando a história da perspectiva de Lazarus Long, o ser humano mais velho do universo, este é um dos livros incontornáveis da Ficção Científica.own scifi2 s Red Siegfried22 1 follower

Heinlein details the exodus from Earth of the Howard Families, long-lived individuals who suddenly find themselves persecuted for not revealing their non-existent secret of longevity. Lazarus Long gets a lot of action here as the Howard Families hijack the the starship New Frontiers and look for a place to live out there ... they find that the galaxy is going to be a more challenging and ultimately, more rewarding place to live for this new breed of human. Much more will be revealed in Heinlein's other Future History novels.2 s Dawn Livingston784 42 Read

I tried to read this one because I heard it was good. I think I'm just not a Heinlein fan so it's not fair for me to rate it.

The writing was okay, the story was okay though it didn't really grab me. The characters were okay. The concept was good but the overall story seemed very dated.

If you're a Heinlein fan, read it. If you're not, don't. If you're not familiar with Heinlein, give it a try, you might it or you might not.

just-not-into-it-gave-up2 s M.M. Strawberry Library & Reviews4,250 348

By itself, this story is not all that much and only warrants 4 stars, to appreciate it more I recommend that you read this story as it was published in the collection 'The Past through Tomorrow', which, with the other stories in that collection, makes for a better and more comprehensive mood, since many of the things in here referenced to or were built upon in past stories.21st-century 22nd-century 23rd-century ...more2 s W. LawrenceAuthor 4 books67

Going way back here, Methuselah's Children is a short novel by the dean of scifi and introduces one of the coolest cats in science fiction: Lazarus Long. The Howard family becomes infamous for "hiding" the secret of longevity, and thus begins their trek.

Worth a read.classic-sci-fi2 s JohnnyAuthor 10 books130

The 1962 Signet Edition of Methuselah’s Children pulled me into its orbit at the used bookstore I frequent. The last time I remember seeing a copy of Methuselah’s Children was in the library when I was in high school, and that, must have been a hardbound as I recall. I’d never seen this cover before. On the cover, in classic Astounding magazine style, was the long, cylindrical rocket ship one presumes is the New Frontiers landing on a planet populated by an autochthonous civilization of seven-to-eight feet tall humanoids that, amazingly, wasn’t overrunning the planet. The cover either errs by landing on the planet, even though p. 102 clearly says that the ship couldn’t do that and maintain structural integrity. In the text, the scouting expedition lands using a ship’s boat (p. 105) and the image doesn’t look my conception of a ship’s boat.

But the important part of Methuselah’s Children is its message on people who are different and the paranoia, resentment, and discrimination (usually with cruelty) they unwittingly inspire. First published 20 years after Goebbels’ Kristallnacht (where the Nazis rounded up the Jews, destroyed or stole their property, and either killed or sent most of them to concentration camps), Heinlein takes a theoretical genetic phenomena (incredible longevity extending lives well beyond any normal life-cycle) and turns it into science-fiction version of a pogrom and relocation camps. 16 years after the U.S. rounded up its citizens of Japanese descent and placed them in ill-considered, overcrowded, and poorly maintained internment camps, Heinlein publishes a novel where people are persecuted because of their genetic heritage. Think it can’t happen here? Heinlein’s novel begins in Chicago.

As the book begins, we are introduced to the families with this genetic privilege of longevity and the extent to which some go to keep their heritage a secret: using metabolic treatments and other “biotechniques” to reduce the slower-acting, but real, visual aging effects (p. 17), simulated deaths and relocations (p. 9), and reluctance to submit to identification laws (p. 14). But eventually, the so-called “Masquerade” couldn’t be contained. The short-lived resented the long-lived (p. 14) and believed they were keeping the secret (which didn’t exist) from them (p. 22). And that’s where the proverbial waste met the bladed breeze generator!

So, the first half of the book offers high-speed vehicle chases using and fooling technologies which still don’t exist in our world, covert fugitive disguises, secret deals, the afore-said concentration camps (in Oklahoma as per the end of the “Trail of Tears” in the 19th century when Native Americans were herded there by Andrew Jackson’s orders), and a daring act of piracy. That would be pretty good as it stands, but there is so much more to enjoy and think about.

Early in the second half of the book, the survivors (pioneers, explorers, pirates, whatever you think is appropriate) decide that they need to change the minds of most of the population. And, as their experts on semantics and psychology begin to speak, it almost seems this novel written in the 1950s was prescient enough to eavesdrop on the leaders of today. “The truth of a matter has very little to do with its psychodynamics. The notion that ‘truth will prevail’ is merely a pious wish; history doesn’t show it.” (p. 93) And, since I’ve already indicated that the novel involves space exploration (if one couldn’t deduce that from the rocket ship and strange humanoids on the cover), let me just share that I found it ironic in the light of Pluto’s demotion from a “planet” in recent years to read a line more appropriate to when I was learning astronomy: “…between them and the stars lay nothing but the winter homes of Sol’s comets and hiding places of hypothetical trans-Plutonian planets.” (p. 98)

The second half of the book deals, as one might expect, with extra-terrestrial life-forms. The cultures described by Heinlein aren’t quite as well-developed as those in the work of Jack Vance, but these are different enough to be fascinating. And there’s that word again, different. At this point, the question is how to relate to other cultures with different ideals and concepts and whether to be assimilated into an alien culture. The result does not occur by acclamation, but the conclusion wasn’t something I was expecting.

But most of all, Methuselah’s Children takes the conceit of the existence of extraordinary longevity in, particularly, the character of the appropriately named Lazarus Long and uses it to explore the meaning of life. “Men--our kind of men—Earth men—never have had enough time to tackle the important questions. Lots of capacity and not time enough to use it properly. When it came to the important questions we might as well have still been monkeys.” (p. 160) It’s a fascinating idea, but it refects a higher opinion of humankind than that of this reviewer. Nonetheless, I truly enjoyed this masterpiece which has stood the test of time—having an ironic longevity.
science-fiction1 Mel162 6

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