Author:	Robert A. Heinlein
Copyright:	1953
Date Reviewed:	4/10/84
Rating:	8.5

Synopsis: Max Jones is a young farmer with an eidetic memory. Forced to runaway because of his stepmother and new stepfather, Max tries to become an astrogator aboard a space ship. The guild has all the job locked up so together with a hobo named Sam, Max stows away aboard ship. The ship later gets lost going through a space warp because of a miscalculation by the captain and is forced to land on a beautiful planet which turns out to be hostile. With the help of his gift, and the death of several officers when the ship was grounded, Max rises through the ranks to eventually become Captain of the ship. As captain, he commands the ship back through the space warp to his own universe.

Review: Starman Jones is yet another Heinlein story about a brilliant young man who becomes very important to the people he is associated with and through some action, saves them from disaster. Its a common theme but it works. Through the first 150 pages, not much happens to jeopardize anyone's life or career (besides the hero's) and yet my interest was peaked throughout. In essence I cared about Max and wanted him to succeed. Perhaps he was fulfilling my own dreams. The scenes in the worry room (bridge) were exciting even if they were totally incorrect. Most of the action concerned using mathematical tables to transform sightings into 1's and O's that the computer could understand. There is one part of the book that could have been left out. This is Max and Ellie's (his sometimes girl friend) capture by the centaur's. It was way too corny. Other than that, I enjoyed it very much.