Space Cadet

By Robert A. Heinlein

Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Teen & Young Adult

Space Cadet (1948, Scribner's) is Robert A. Heinlein's second juvenile novel, a military academy story set in space. Iowa teenager Matt Dodson joins the Interplanetary Patrol, which keeps the peace of the Solar System by holding a monopoly on nuclear weapons, and trains alongside cadets from Texas, Venus and Ganymede. Tested by duty and loyalty, he must decide what allegiance to humanity means before a mission takes him to Venus. The novel inspired the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet franchise.

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• Bill Gates: “I met Paul around the time I had finished reading all of the science fiction writer's early books. Those novels were adventure stories with titles like Rocket Ship Galileo and Space Cadet.”