Today is the 100th anniversary of Robert Anson Heinlein’s birth. The celebration is here — wish I could have gone.
Recent thoughts on Heinlein’s impact are here and here.
I recall reading that when Walter Cronkite arrived at NASA to interview the scientists and engineers during the moon landing, he was annoyed and confused that instead of paying attention to Uncle Walter, they all were crowding around some unknown writer who was there for color commentary. Unknown to Cronkite, that is. Of course it was Heinlein, and all those space scientists had been reading him since they were kids.
My favorite Heinlein novel is Friday — a sermon on the evils of racial and sexual bigotry set during the collapse of Earth’s civilization, and with some of the best-written survival themes I’ve seen in fiction, not to mention the entire second half of the novel is the ultimate bugout.
What’s yours?
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It gave us TANSTAAFL. Next in line is Starship Troopers. Best ideas for government and allowing voting ever.
Time Enough for Love was just friggin’ creepy. Stranger in a Strange Land was cool, but I read it as a kid and forgot most of it.
Haven’t read Friday, but it’s on my list.
Farnam’s(sp?) Freehold, heh.
If you found Time Enough for Love creepy, don’t read To Sail Beyond the Sunset. My wife and I consider it one of our favorite books. The incest puts some folks off though.
Farnham’s Freehold is also excellent. Did you know that the fallout shelter was based on Heinlein’s own shelter at his Colorado house?
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, followed closely by Starship Troopers.
Lots of wonderful commentary on government in both.
Friday is wonderful, and Michael Whelan (guy that did the original cover art, including the one you show) always gets asked who the model was… There was no model, unfortunately.
One of the things I like to figure out in Heinlein’s books is who the protagonist really is.
For example, in Starship Troopers, Johnny is called Juan by his father and he says they spoke Tagalog at home. These are clues that he’s Filipino… In Tunnel in the Sky, Rob is assumed by everyone to get together with the black girl, giving you the clue that he’s black.
These were written in the 60’s…
Yep, and Friday herself is an ethnic hodgepodge, and based on similar clues in the text she could easily be played in a movie by (for example), my daughter, who has variously been assumed to be White, Latina, Black, Asian or Pacific Islander, all depending on the state of her tan.
Heinlein reportedly saw Whelan’s cover and said “yep, that’s her!”
Incidentally, I’ve never been able to find a print of that cover suitable for framing. Anyone?
I read Friday in high school, and it’s probably my favorite as well. The whole theme of ethical issues regarding genetic engineering was far ahead of its time, IMHO, as was the idea of space stations tethered to the earth with huge cables.
Me, I confess – I go for Number of the Beast… And then Glory Road after that. What can I say?
Regardless, this is definitely cause for celebration… thanks for reminding us!
Starship Troopers is Numero Uno for me, followed by Stranger in a Strange Land. Time Enough for Love was pretty good, and there are tons that I still haven’t read.
Number of the Beast is worthy of being Heinlein’s Last Novel — kind of a crowning summation of everything that’s gone before. And it’s got Deety….
Paul Verhoeven’s flick was entertaining in its own way, but I sure wish somebody would make a Starship Troopers movie that actually was something like the book….
They are almost all great, but my top three are:
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Starship Troopers
Citizen of the Galaxy
I sometimes recommend Starship Troopers to my students.
Definitely people will get different things out of them depending on the age they read them, but I plan on getting my kids to read them all at one point or another.
I’ll give a hearty second to LINOGE’s choices. I thought for sure that no one else would pick those two.
As an update I just bought Friday on Sunday. I’m 2/3rds through it and probably will finish up tonight or tomorrow.
Fantastic novel so far.
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