Why am I passionate about this?
Since childhood, I have been obsessed with understanding everything — science and the universe. Now, in this age of the JWST and a burgeoning space industry, I do sub-quantum mechanics research at an international physics think-tank, The Quantum Bicycle Society. My own hard sci-fi novel is intended to help publicize these scientific advances, as well as the behavioral psychology concepts that are the subject of my next nonfiction book, The Animal In The Mirror. The books on this list represent the foundation of inspiration that propelled my formative sci-fi journey, stories that also shine the light of insight onto our shared, instinctive nature.
Arnie's book list on sci-fi classics that offer insight into human nature
Why did Arnie love this book?
I have thought about this story, every now and again, since I first read it as a teenager. It is a classic for a reason. Elon Musk even named his AI project after a word from this book. You grok? Even though the story starts out with elements of first contact and space travel to Mars, I found it to be far more about an alien-raised human coming back to Earth with alien experiences — and some alien abilities — and how that plays out.
I am a big fan of exploring our shared human condition, as well as how we might evolve our behavior and our society, and this story delves into that in a cool and memorable way.
8 authors picked Stranger in a Strange Land as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
The original uncut edition of STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Hugo Award winner Robert A Heinlein - one of the most beloved, celebrated science-fiction novels of all time. Epic, ambitious and entertaining, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND caused controversy and uproar when it was first published and is still topical and challenging today.
Twenty-five years ago, the first manned mission to Mars was lost, and all hands presumed dead. But someone survived...
Born on the doomed spaceship and raised by the Martians who saved his life, Valentine Michael Smith has never seen a human being until the day a…