My Corner of the Web
The Rolling Stones by Robert Heinlein
"The Rolling Stones" is a wonderful coming-of-age novel inside a family space romp. It has a loose-knit plot that mimicks an endless space adventure serial. The best part of the story is the rich set of characters in the Stone family: the red-headed, precocious teenage twins called Castor and Pollux, their older sister Meade, their younger brother Lowell , their grandmother Hazel (who carries a cough-drop dispensing sidearm), their mother Dr. Edith Stone and their father Roger Stone. The twins are the primary focus of the story but only because they get into the most trouble and do the most growing; however, the heart of the story is the family dynamics and some of the most enjoyable scenes occur when they all get into the act. The banter, wit and quips among this highly intelligent group are hilarious. Heinlein weaves this deftly with the hard science he is famous for. The novel instructs us on the details of space travel, navigation vectors, gravity wells and much more. Lastly, this short novella contains some classic gems of wisdom like the three stages of technology, the best way to earn money, who gets rich in a gold rush and what's more important than money. By far, the most well known quote is on the three stages of technology:
"Every technology goes through three stages: first a crudely simple and quite unsatisfactory gadget; second, an enormously complicated group of gadgets designed to overcome the short comings of the original and achieving thereby somewhat satisfactory performance through extremely complex compromise; third, a final proper design therefrom."
In conclusion, this short novel makes you wish you were aboard the ship called the "Rolling Stone" heading out with the Stone family towards adventure in the outer reaches of our solar system! Remember, a rolling stone gathers no moss.