Starman Jones is a 5-star selection for young readers of science fiction, but mature readers will also find plenty to cheer about in this upbeat novel. Heinlein recounts the rags-to-riches story of Maxwell Jones, born to a poor dirt farmer, but destined to pilot the glorious vessels that travel the stars. Leaving behind his callous stepfather and uncaring stepmother, Max hooks up with a world-wise drifter whose conniving gets them work aboard a spaceship. The series of events that follow make for a fascinating story as Max ponders his options: should he climb the ranks while hiding his secret past, or plan his escape to a new life on a new planet? Meanwhile, Heinlein introduces us to the ship's memorable company, and describes the ship's organization with captivating detail. While working as a steward's mate, Max befriends a wealthy passenger named Ellie, who is attracted by his honesty and naiveté. Ellie is a fairly typical Heinlein grrl: cute, friendly, but tougher than she looks, used to getting her own way, and disinclined to let others know just how smart she really is. Ellie uses her wealth and position to get Max a chance at a promotion, and his natural gifts take him the rest of the way. While Max's rise from farmer to steward's mate to chartsman, etc. may seem excessive, and certainly fraught with coincidences, Heinlein wants to show an example of how persistence, hard work, and a willingness to take risks can pay big dividends. Moreover, when Max breaks the rules, he winds up paying for it, and becomes a man in the process, just as Sam winds up paying dearly for his mistakes. Max and Sam play off each other wonderfully, and keep the reader interested in their story. There are some exciting adventures on an uncharted planet, and plenty of suspense involving the science of astrogation. The science in this novel hasn't aged very well--Heinlein puts astrogational computers on board, but still requires human beings to do most of the mathematics -- but his knowledge of ship's hierarchy and routine give this book a closeness to life that many such novels lack. Above all, Heinlein is telling a morality tale, and the very skill with which he recounts his story makes it convincing.

A hillbilly from the Ozarks who didn't strike oil, Max Jones lives on an Earth where professions are controlled by guilds--entry is, for the most part, hereditary. Still, his late, childless uncle, Chester Jones, was an astrogator aboard a starship, and Max suspects he might have been designated as heir. Such is not the case, but Max sneaks aboard as a crewman anyway, with the help of a dishonest rascal, Sam Anderson. Max moves ahead with good luck, merit, and a series of deaths, and eventually becomes captain on that first trip, and leads his crew and passengers back from an unknown planet.

The Max who is willing to lie and cheat to get onboard near the start of the book is not the Max of the end of the book, who is not willing to do so to protect himself. He is matured by role models such as Astrogator Hendrix, and, surprisingly, by the rascal Sam. Yet he has effects on those around them. Max's influence changes Sam from rascal to hero.

The dated elements, such as the '50s style computers that can do little more than simple calculations and cannot even store logarithms and the like (the characters must use bound log tables and other references) do not detract. I should note that it's a bit strange that Astrogator Chester Jones (who no doubt inherited his position from a father or other close relative) would have a brother who is a hardscrabble farmer. At least, the question should have been explained.

Max Jones is blessed with an eidetic memory and dreams of becoming an "astrogator" (Heinlein's neologism for "starship navigator"). Every evening he watches the ballistic train streak by his property, bound for Earthport, the launching facility for the big ships, and wishes that he could go there. But Max is committed to supporting his father's widow by working their Ozark farm, and the requirements for getting into the Astrogators' Guild are strict; most slots are inherited from previous guild members. One evening, Max's stepmother comes home with a new husband, a shiftless, drunken lout who announces that he has sold the farm and threatens to beat Max up when he protests. Max has no recourse but to gather up his reference books on astrogation (left to him by his deceased uncle Chet, an astrogator), and flee for Earthport. But when he presents himself at the Astrogators' Guild hall, he is told that his uncle Chet never nominated Max to the guild before he died, and the reference books are confiscated to "protect trade secrets." Max is in a pickle.

Written in 1953, Starman Jones is a solid work of craftsmanship, of interest both to adults and children. It outlines a crowded Earth in which satisfying, interesting work is truly scarce, locked into a strict system of guilds. Faced with that barrier, what is an ambitious, talented boy like Max to do? The book deals in large part with the ethical dilemmas created by this situation, and by Max's subsequent forgery of documents enabling him to land a position aboard the starship Asgard. In the mysterious, wily old starship crewman, Sam, Heinlein creates a memorable, complex character, much in keeping with the Swope Park hobo/hero Heinlein mentions several times in speeches and writing (A good account of this story can be found in Expanded Universe). All in all, Starman Jones is a fast-moving, yet weighty read.