"Robert A. Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land - Original Ve" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

NOTICE:

All men, gods; and planets in this story are imaginary,
Any coincidence of names is regretted.



Part One HIS MACULATE ORIGIN, 5

Fart Two HIS PREPOSTEROUS HERITAGE, 81

Fart Three HIS ECCENTRIC EDUCATION, 261

Part Four HIS SCANDALOUS CAREER, 363

Part Five HIS HAPPY DESTINY, 425


Preface

IF YOU THINK that this book appears to be thicker and contain more words
than you found in the first published edition of Stranger in a Strange Land,
your observation is correct. This edition is the original one-the way Robert
Heinlein first conceived it, and put it down on paper.
The earlier edition contained a few words over 160,000, while this one
runs around 220,000 words. Robert's manuscript copy usually contained about 250
to 300 words per page, depending on the amount of dialogue on the pages. So,
taking an average of about 275 words, with the manuscript running 800 pages, we
get a total of 220,000 words, perhaps a bit more.
This book was so different from what was being sold to the general public,
or to the science fiction reading public in 1961 when it was published, that the
editors required some cutting and removal of a few scenes that might then have
been offensive to public taste.

The November 1948 issue of Astounding Science Fiction contained a letter
to the editor suggesting titles for the issue of a year hence. Among the titles
was to be a story by Robert A. Heinlein-"Gulf."
In a long conversation between that editor, John W. Campbell, Jr., and
Robert, it was decided that there would be sufficient lead time to allow all the
stories that the fan had titled to be written, and the magazine to come out in
time for the November 1949 date. Robert promised to deliver a short story to go
with the title. Most of the other authors also went along with the gag. This
issue came to be known as the "Time Travel" issue.
Robert's problem, then, was to find a story to fit the title assigned to
him.
So we held a "brainstorming" session. Among other unsuitable notions, I
suggested a story about a human infant, raised by an alien race. The idea was
just too big for a short story, Robert said, but he made a note about it. That
night he went into his study, and wrote some lengthy notes, and set them aside.
For the title "Gulf" he wrote quite a different story.