Stranger in a Strange Land

The book starts interesting, then it slows down, then gets interesting again. It tells the story of the first and only human born on Mars.

Due to some legal reason, he is entitled to become the world's richest man. However, he does not know how to be human. He never met his parent, being raised by real Martians.

The book could be divided roughly in three very distinct parts: his arrival, his learning process, and his indoctrination endeavor.

At first, he has some trouble adjusting to life on Earth, and some people try to take advantage of his entitled wealth. But paired with a brilliant retired layer, he soon becomes very intelligent. He then goes on to spread his message in an sort of attempt of world domination. (not really, I just don't mean to give spoilers here)

The most, maybe only, fictional aspect of the world seems to be the respect for the laws people seem to have. The book is memorable by the many cleaver plot and dialogs. It even has a very beautiful message that makes you think.

Having loved Starship Troopers (the movie), this one was always only my list to read. The story, thought of by Heinleins Wife, is simple – take The Jungle Book, but make the man from Mars. The story went in unexpected places – to politics, metaphysics, sex and commune lifestyles. I see why this one was such a big hit in the 60s.

Full review at sff book review

I liked this book a lot, but for different reasons. While other Heinlein's gripped me for their story line as much as for the ideas and the way they're integrated into the plot, this one mostly convinced me because of its ideas and the character of Jubal Harshaw.
If I judged purely for plot, I wouldn't rate it this highly because, honestly, it felt a little stitched together and I was missing a driving force in the plot. Altogether, this was a great novel that deserved its Hugo award and I understand why it is still so widely read and loved.