Born on July 7, 1907, in Butler, Missouri, Robert Heinlein wrote four Hugo Award-winning novels. The Hugo Awards, science fiction’s most prestigious award, are presented annually by the World Science Fiction Society. Pick one of these winners up for a summer read.

Heinlein’s best known and most influential novel, Stranger in a Strange Land published in 1961, tells the story of a human born and raised on Mars by Martians who returns to Earth as a young man with unique psychic abilities and a complete lack of knowledge about human customs and cultures.

Published in 1956, Double Star follows Lorenzo Smythe, an actor whose career is on the outs, who finds himself on Mars and takes on the role of impersonating a kidnapped politician. Smythe’s life and a potential interplanetary war are at stake.

Starship Troopers, a controversial novel published in 1959, imagines a future militaristic society where only those who have served in the military have full citizenship. The story depicts a young soldier as he progresses through his military career and fights in a war against the “Bugs.” A film adaptation directed by Paul Verhoeven was released in 1997.

A lunar colony in the 21st century revolts against the rule of Earth in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, published in 1966. The cast of characters of this novel with libertarian themes include a self-aware computer named Mike, his one-armed computer technician, a professor, and other humans.