First off, the only thing I really knew about this book was that it was mentioned in Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire", so that is to say, I didn't really know anything. I was even surprised to discover that it was sci-fi when my sci-fi/fantasy book club was discussing possible selections. It is indeed sci-fi, but more than that, it is 60s, but I was only able to really get that after I switched from the paperback to the audio book. I liked it better as audio, but I still only liked the parts Jubal was in - didn't really care for any of the other characters.