''The Man Who Sold the Moon'' is the title of a 1950 collection of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

by American writer

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

. The stories, part of Heinlein's

Future History A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction. Sometimes the author publishes a timeline of events in the history, whil ...

series, appear in the first edition as follows: * Introduction by John W. Campbell, Jr., editor of '' Astounding Science Fiction'' * Foreword by Robert A. Heinlein * "

Let There Be Light "Let there be light" is an English translation of the biblical Hebrew , Hebrew (''yehi 'or'') found in Genesis 1:3 of the Torah, the first part of the Hebrew Bible. In Old Testament translations of the phrase, translations include the Greek l ...

" (1940; originally published in ''

Super Science Stories ''Super Science Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 to 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their Fictioneers imprint, which they used for magazines, payin ...

'') * "

The Roads Must Roll "The Roads Must Roll" is a 1940 science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It was selected for ''The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964'' anthology in 1970. The story is set in the near future, when "ro ...

" (1940; originally published in ''Astounding Science Fiction'') * "

The Man Who Sold the Moon "The Man Who Sold the Moon" is a science fiction novella by American author Robert A. Heinlein, written in 1949 and published in 1950. A part of his '' Future History'' and prequel to "Requiem", it covers events around a fictional first Moon lan ...

" (1950; first appearance is in this collection) * " Requiem" (1940; originally published in ''Astounding Science Fiction'') * "

Life-Line "Life-Line" is a short story by American author Robert A. Heinlein. Published in the August 1939 edition of ''Astounding'', it was Heinlein's first published short story. The protagonist, Professor Hugo Pinero, builds a machine that will predict ...

" (1939; originally published in ''Astounding Science Fiction'') * " Blowups Happen" (1940; originally published in ''Astounding Science Fiction'') Early paperback printings omitted "Life-Line" and "Blowups Happen", as well as Campbell's introduction.

Reception

Boucher and McComas praised the 1950 edition as Heinlein "at his superlative best". In his "Books" column for ''

F&SF ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...

'',

Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of " To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind t ...

selected ''The Man Who Sold the Moon'' as one of the 10 best science fiction books of the 1950s.

P. Schuyler Miller Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic. Life Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...

said that "Heinlein is a master of concealed technology ... no other writer asworked out the scientific minutiae of his settings so fully or so unobtrusively", praising as well Heinlein's skill at crafting "the human engineering details of each situation"."Book Reviews", '' Astounding Science Fiction''. March 1951, p.144-45

References

Sources

External links

* * 1950 short story collections Short story collections by Robert A. Heinlein {{1950s-sf-story-collection-stub