Green Hills of Earth

HEINLEIN ROBERT A

ISBN 10: 0590032976 / ISBN 13: 9780590032971

Published by Signet Books, 1949

Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0590032976I3N00

Synopsis:

It is the story of "Noisy" Rhysling, the blind space-going songwriter whose poetic skills rival Rudyard Kipling's. Heinlein (himself a medically-retired U.S. naval officer) spins a yarn about a radiation-blinded spaceship engineer crisscrossing the solar system writing and singing songs. The story is presented as a magazine article.[1] Heinlein credited the title of the song, "The Green Hills of Earth", to the short story "Shambleau" by C. L. Moore (first published in 1933). In the story Moore's character, a spacefaring smuggler named Northwest Smith hums the tune of "The Green Hills of Earth". The events of the story concern the composition of the titular song. An aged Rhysling realizes that his death of old age is near, and hitchhikes on a spaceship headed to Earth so he can die and be buried where he was born. A malfunction threatens the ship with destruction, and Rhysling enters an irradiated area to perform repairs. Upon completing the repairs, he knows that he will soon die of radiation poisoning, and asks that they record his last song; he dies just moments after speaking the final, titular verse.

From the Publisher: 8 1-hour cassettes

Bibliographic Details

Title: Green Hills of Earth
Publisher: Signet Books
Publication Date: 1949
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Edition: 5th or later Edition