The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Heinlein

(I've been timid about writing this review. This book means a lot to me and I want to do it justice.)

'Moon' is set in a futuristic penal colony (such as the English used in Australia) based on the moon. Or perhaps it's better described as 'in' the moon as the populace lives in tunnels carved out for that purpose. The largest ones are used to grow crops in and the excess is shipped to Earth with an enormous catapult. The colonists (Loonies) have become accustomed to the much lower lunar gravity and can only survive on Earth with great difficulty.
Heinlein uses this setting to create a story of revolution, in many ways resembling the American revolution. It masterfully explores the mechanics of revolt and the process of building a government from scratch. It's widely hailed as a libertarian masterpiece.
The book is written as first person, a computer tech named Manuel, and it's told in a lingo that borrows heavily from Russian and Australian dialect. It features a sentient computer who is exploring the concept of humor. Most importantly, it has an old man, Professor Bernardo de la Paz, a self described rational anarchist. His description:

"A rational anarchist believes that concepts such as 'state' and 'society' and 'government' have no existence save as physically exemplified in the acts of self-responsible individuals. He believes that it is impossible to shift blame, share blame, distribute blame. . . as blame, guilt, responsibility are matters taking place inside human beings singly and nowhere else. But being rational, he knows that not all individuals hold his evaluations, so he tries to live perfectly in an imperfect world. . . aware that his effort will be less than perfect yet undismayed by self-knowledge of self-failure."

De la Paz is the intellectual heart of the novel. His thoughts on the role of government are nothing short of fascinating. He asks, "Under what circumstances is it moral for a group to do that which is not moral for a member of that group to do alone?". This, he says, is the key question of government. Only after you answer it honestly and are willing to abide by the consequences of your answer do you know where you stand.
Another important aspect of this novel is the commonly used Loonie phrase, TANSTAAFL, or There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. In other words, everything is paid for somehow. Value must be given for value. Some cases of this are surprising. The society as a whole is very different than our current one.
'Moon' isn't a perfect novel. All fictional societies break down if you look hard enough for the flaws. This is no exception. But that description quickly breaks into quibbles and nitpicks and frankly, the big questions presented here deserve full and honest answers.
This is a great book.