Farmer in the Sky (1950)

This is one of Heinlein's juveniles, that is, one that was centered on and marketed towards teens. On an Earth where the food ration has once again been cut, a teenaged Bill and his father decide to become farmers--on Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons--where food is plentiful. The book was originally serialized in a Boy Scouts magazine, so naturally Bill is a scout and those skills and principles are prominently interwoven into the story. It fits the pioneering tale though, and I didn't find that part intrusive. While I wouldn't list this book with the standouts among Heinlein's fiction, it's still enjoyable and a good read. ( )

One of Heinlein's great jobs in terms of teaching mingled with a fairly good story. A lot of ecology worked into this one, and things that would make someone interested in learning about ecology. ( )

Opening Sentence: ‘…Our troop had been in the High Sierras that day and were late getting back…’

The story opens on Earth in the not to distant future. The population has grown to such an extent that there is world wide food rationing. Teenager Bill Lermer lives with his widower father, George, in southern California. When the daily calorie allowance is reduced yet again the Lermers decide to emigrate to Ganymede, one of the moons of Jupiter, where terraforming is underway and good food abounds if you want to farm for it. Bill then discovers that he is about to have a step mother and a sister – only families are going to be accepted as pioneers. Struggling with his feelings of betrayal of his mother, Bill accepts the new family members and they take off for a new life.

Through Bill’s eyes, readers get to see the selection process, the preparations, the wearying journey that is not without its life threatening drama’s, the chaotic arrival, and finally settlement in a new home on a new world. Bill observes both the good and bad sides of human nature. And once they settle in the new colony, they soon realise that danger is part of everyday life, and there are many deaths before the story ends.

This book was originally serialized in “Boy’s Life”, the Boy Scouts of America magazine, and the principles of scouting appear in every chapter as an important part of a practical reader education. While Bill studies for his merit badges, the reader gets to look over his shoulder and learn everything a pioneer needs to know to survive on this untamed world. ( )

This is another example of Heinlein's 'adolescent' fiction, in which the protagonist is a plucky teen wise beyond his years. Predictable to a point, this book was a little frustrating because the main character, far from being focused on being a farmer on Jupiter's moon Ganymede, waffled more than the Eggo plant in Tennessee. Will he colonize the moon? Yes. No. Actually yes. Will he stay? No. Yes. Probably. An early Heinlein work, and not as engaging as some of his later works. Not recommended unless you're a true Heinlein fan. ( )

An early Heinlein, and one of his weakest. The characters lack the depth of his later novels, the science is still in foot-pounds and British Thermal Units rather than metric, there's nothing to give you any emotional attachment to anything.

It's a novelty these days to read a book in which the scout movement plays a strong part, but even that failed to really catch my interest.

The only scene that I recognised (ie. had been memorable) when coming back to this book after a couple of decades, was the minor detail of Farmer Schultz and his apple tree. ( )