One of my all-time favourites, this multipage work is not easily obtained, but is a lovely long read if you can unearth it. Set on the moon after several generations of lunar colonists, having developed their own customs and dialect, grow increasingly frustrated,(circa. Boston Teaparty), with the imperialistic imperatives and taxation imposed by Mother Earth. When negotiations break down, and Earth imposes sanctions, Moon must retaliate with the limited means available....and terrible and effective indeed these simple measures prove....But the human colonists, despite their valour and admirable enterprise, are outplayed in this scenario by the central computer, which, after three generations of systems management, has somehow developed human-type intelligence- along the lines of Hal in Clarke's "2001",written around the same time. In fact, the reader will certainly perceive a growing personal involvement with something which is, after all, merely an organized collection of transisters, discs and connections.....or is there more, after all?
Thus, in "The Moon IS A Harsh Mistress", we see Heinlein's first declared attempt to examine and evaluate the implications of true machine intelligence and the potential for man/machine interaction. Interestingly, Clarke went on to develop this theme further, with "3001" being publicised now. Heinlein, instead, veered off in quite another direction..writing more and more from the female viewpoint, e.g., "Friday". After "The Moon..", his next major work,"I Will Fear No Evil" actually centers on an old,(rich) man's brain being transplanted into a (beautiful) young woman's body, with both personalities surviving and being forced to coexist.
"Did we just menstruate?" he wants to know, after the long coma. Well, you would want to know.......wouldn't you? Definitely not for the squeamish, with lots of fourletter words!
But "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" is a kinder read, the story still fresh and relevant today. And don't be deterred by the dialect difficulties you'll encounter in the first few chapters. You are, after all, learning a different language. By the end of the book, you'll be ready to reread it as a native....or as a Lunatic!