An amazon review charitably says it "reflects the fears and concerns of the time period he wrote the book in." Granted, in 1941, paranoia about Japan was probably sane, but he wrote this before Pearl Harbour. Who can forget the ending of Podkayne of Mars where the heroine decides that captaincy of a space ship sounds like too much work, and instead she'll set her sights on marrying a captain?īut until The Day After Tomorrow I have never actually been disgusted by a book of his. Ironically Heinlein was one of the most open minded writers around if you look at his entire body of work. I do hope that they can be seen through so everyone can enjoy this book. The racial attitudes are of course easy for me to ignore. There are Heinlein books I don't care for and Heinlein books I like greatly.I think this one falls into the latter category. Most of the time (though not always) they don't overwhelm the story. Heinlein was a talented writer who inculcated his own worldview(s) in his writings in various ways. That seems to still be in play here in the plot.Īlso let me say that the plot device is an interesting one and not really exactly like one I've seen elsewhere. During WW2 Japan had planned to establish an "East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere". The take is not meant to be offensive it's simply meant to be pragmatic. Recommended but be aware it's very much from the era of the "Red menace" and also a time of wariness toward "Asian enemies". It is at heart a fast moving story that keeps you interested throughout. I read this back in the 70s and like most of Heinlein's work I enjoyed it. I hope this doesn't offend and you can enjoy the book, but I wanted to give the heads up. The invasion of America seems to be between Asians (usually called "Orientals" in the book a word that has fallen into non-usage) and whites.Īgain, just the times. Also for African American or Black readers and Americans of Latin descent you'll probably note that you aren't mentioned at all. There are words used in this book that we mostly don't use today. Please remember this when you read the book. The book is I want to say up front not at all "PC". The racial attitudes on display are informed by WW2, Korea and America's situation with respect to "Red China". You'll need to remember the time frame in which this book was written. Having read it back in the 1970s and rereading it again now I wanted to be sure I'd pointed out some of the things readers from the 21st century should be aware of going in.
I just reread this one and I want to update my review a bit.
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