It was a desperate time, when one's next meal and the comforts of home couldn't be taken for granted. Max Jones, a practical, hard-working young man, found his escape in his beloved astronomy books. When reality comes crashing in and his troubled home life forces him out on the road, Max finds himself adrift in a downtrodden land. Until an unexpected, ultimate adventure -- as a stowaway aboard an intergalactic spaceship -- carries him away...but to where? And when? And how could he ever get back? With the ship's pilot dead and his charts and tables are destroyed, Max must call upon all of his untested knowledge and skills in order to survive....

Biography

A science fiction pioneer, Robert A. Heinlein wrote popular stories that doubled as vessels for his political and cultural observations. In classics such as Stranger in a Strange Land and Starship Troopers, Heinlein blended suspenseful adventure with (sometimes controversial) visions of alternate worlds.