The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Allusions & Cultural References

Literary and Philosophical References

• Book of Genesis 1:1 (1.29)
• Plato (2.26)
• Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (3.203; 11.112)
• Horace, Odes (5.97)—Specifically the line "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."
• Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence (6.69; 15.24)
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four (6.125)
• David and Goliath (7.117; 23.23; 27.81)
• Emma Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel (9.121, 9.123)
• William Shakespeare, Hamlet (9.156)
• Edgar Allan Poe, "The Purloined Letter" (9.174-175)
• Helen of Troy (12.23; 19.78)
• Gospel of Matthew 6:21 or Gospel of Luke 12:34 (12.34)—This shout-out to a Jesus teaching ("For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also") is found in both gospels.
• William Shakespeare (15.36)
• John Keats (16.54)
• Emma Lazarus, "The New Colossus" (16.69)
• William Shakespeare, Macbeth (16.98)
• Rudyard Kipling, "Dane-Geld" (17.94)
• Matthew 4:8 (19.52)
• Sun Tzu, The Art of War (20.33)
• Hades (22.31)
• Charon (25.34)

Historical References

• IBM and Thomas J. Watson (1.2)
• Peace Corps (1.15)
• The Salem Witch Trials (1.16; 16.18)
• Botany Bay (1.16)—Historically significant for being James Cook's Australian landing site.
• Leningrad (1.96)—The city originally known, and known now once again, as Saint Petersburg.
• Liberty Cap (2.11; 7.9; 12.10-11; 21.1)—A reference to a Phrygian cap.
• "The Internationale" (2.47; 12.3)
• "Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!" (2.47)—This is the national motto of France, and it came into existence during—wait for it—the French Revolution.
• Vladimir Lenin (3.123-124; 25.33)
• American Revolution (3.125; 11.152)
• Bastille Day (3.195, 3.203; 6.152; 7.70)
• Carl von Clausewitz (6.111)
• Che Guevara (6.111)
• Oskar Morgenstern (6.111)
• Niccolò Machiavelli (6.111)
• Andrew Carnegie (9.77)
• Boston Tea Party (12.2)
• "La Marseillaise" (12.3; 14.58)
• "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (12.3)
• "We Shall Overcome" (12.3)
• "Pie in the Sky" (12.3)—a.k.a. "The Preacher and the Slave"
• Napoleon Bonaparte (14.31)
• Thomas Jefferson (14.147)
• Iron Maiden (16.20)
• The Soviet Union (18.48)—or as Mannie calls it "Sovunion."
• Benjamin Franklin (18.90)
• Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus (18.92)
• International Red Cross (19.17)
• Taj Mahal (19.76, 21.56)
• "Give me liberty or give me death" (21.19)
• "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (21.21)
• Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker (25.50; 26.102)
• Gibraltar (25.51)

Science References

• Waldos (1.30)
• Tycho Under (1.96; 3.52, 3.122; 11.8; 22.19)
• Law of Gravitation (2.36)
• Dinosaurs (9.45)—Because dinosaurs.
• Mare Crisium (9.177; 24.29)
• Mare Undarum (9.180; 15.63; 22.32)
• Sinus Medii (11.8)
• Pi (12.26)—At least, the number is likely a shout-out to Pi, but the number should read "3.14159" and not "3.14157." Just sayin'.
• Heisenberg principle (12.7)
• The speed of light (15.47)
• Nanda Devi (18.21)
• Chimborazo (18.48)
• Aconcagua (18.48)
• Altiplano (18.48)
• The Tibetan Plateau (18.48)
• Mount McKinley (18.48)
• Mauna Loa (18.48)
• Mars (18.48)
• Lenin Peak (18.51)
• Mount Kilimanjaro (18.52)
• Popocatépetl (18.52)
• Mount Logan (18.52)
• El Libertador (18.52)

Pop Culture References

• Mycroft Holmes (1.2, 1.99; 10.13)
• The Encyclopedia Britannica (1.30)
• Sherlock Holmes (3.152-153,;10.13)
• An Istanbul Twist (5.97)
• The Yankees (6.8; 25.2)
• Randite (6.42–43)
• Hollow Tooth (9.56)
• What can't be cured must be endured (9.113-114)
• Baker Street Irregulars (10.12, 10.60; 22.32)
• Reuters (12.8; 26.89)
• The proof of the pudding (16.38)
• Fourth of July (18.60)
• Cinco de Mayo (18.61)
• Peter Pan's Pirates (22.31)
• The Golden Rule (22.48)