Sixth Column Audiobook

" Arguably, Heinlein's most racist novel. Haven't read it since I was a teen, and I remember Heinlein's characterizations of the "Pan-Asiatics" as awful even then, and yet it was a solid, entertaining SF story. Since it's been almost thirty years, thought I'd see how it stood up. And you know what? It's still a gripping story with an excellent premise. The racism isn't quite as bad as Mickey Rooney's portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast At Tiffany's, and I can overlook the absence of any female characters (except for the briefly mentioned secretaries) by just remembering that it was written in 1941. It's not Heinlein's best by any measure, but neither is it an embarrassing mess, as I Will Fear No Evil. "

" As many others have said you really have to take into account when this book was wrote when reading it. I listened to the audio book version of this work and I think that may have lead to more enjoyment then if I had read it traditionally. If you set aside the racism and suspend you disbelieve there is a fun story at the core with interesting ideas. "

" A fun to read early SF romp. This is typical early Heinlein, a group of smart men figure out how to take the US back from it's pan-asiatic conquerors. Yes, it has some racist overtones, but with the orient being a mysterious, dark place to most americans of the time, it needs to be looked at from whence it came. The USA as a nation wants to believe we've outgrown this kind of thinking, but look at the uproar about a group of Moslems wanting to build a mosque at ground zero. "

" I enjoy most of Heinlein's works but this is among his weakest. "

" Good Science/historical fiction. A bit prejudiced against Chinese and Japanese though. "

" A clever book that shows how one piece of technology used with an understanding of marketing, and in turn psychology, can win a war. "

" Uitermate racistisch, maar wanneer je daar doorheen leest, een leuk boek over spionage, oorlog en de kracht van het geloof. "

" At Black Butte "

" Racist science fiction. "

" The writers of Red Dawn had to get inspiration from this book. Good read when you're feeling like a rebel. "

" Although it was Robert A. Heinlein, I guess I get bored at the prose . . . it goes on and on and on about the detail of the surroundings. Sometimes I wanted to say, "Move On!", but I persevered . . . but to no avail . . . "

" really absurd early heinlein. its terribly written and the poit is dumb, but the anti-asian and anti-commie sentiment is absolutely hilarious "

" Yeah, I know. This is Sixth Column. I bought 'em both before I knew better. "

" First off, one must realize this book is inexcusably racist (it loses a star for this point alone). However, its quite fun. "

" The appended description of this novel adapted from Wikipedia makes it sound pretty interesting, particularly given that it was written just prior to the entry of the USA into WWII. Yet, it having made little impression (and being racist to boot), I give it a low rating. "

" This is the first Heinlein book I read, probably in 1980 or so. It remains one of my favorites. I joined the army in 1983 and served in Psychological Operations. This book was like a training manual. "

" The text really shows that it is among Heinlein's early work but it is still worth the read. He seems to get the American people on a base level and this leaves his work always worth the read. "

" Great, short read. "