For Us, The Living: A Comedy Of Customs by Robert A. Heinlein, Spider Robinson and Robert James (2004, Paperback, Reprint)

This is a must-have for serious fans of the Grand Master's works. Through the lens of this story (written circa 1937) we can discern the beginnings of many of Robert A. Heinlein's later iconic classics. Some of the story line may seem static (especially in view of the grand adventure that permeates his later work), but it offers a though-provoking look at the themes Heinlein would flesh out in his popular stories. This novel, his first,(but unpublished until long after his death), was too shocking and outrageous for the Western society of 1937. It would take Heinlein more than two decades to persuade society to listen to his points on love, sex, marriage, religion, politics, technology and the nature of human society itself, and would be accomplished by increments through his many thrilling and involving stories.

A consummate storyteller and humanist, Heinlein saw many factors holding back man from his potential. Here, he has his first attempt at making right some of the wrongs he saw in the world. By the time of his death in 1988, Robert Anson Heinlein had overcome his "bible belt" roots to become acknowledged as a truly free thinker on the evolution of man and society.

I strongly recommend THIS book to anyone interested in the human condition - especially sociologists, social workers, economists, philosophers, and those who just plain want a read that will challenge their preconceptions.