I've always found Heinlein to be a bit too narcissistic for me, especially 'Starship Troopers.' That book was revolutionary in it's thoughts, but it also was WAY in the direction of the extreme right wing... Even some of his adolescent oriented stories get that way sometimes. Try reading 'Have Spacesuit, Will Travel' and you'll see what I mean.
Give me 'Fahrenheit 451' or The Martian Chronicles' any day. These could also be viewed as looking at the world in a negative light, but I think the tone in the end is a bit more uplifting. My favorite from him would have to be 'R is for Rocket.'
A lot of Heinlein's pulpy stuff like "Spacesuit" was written to pay off his mortgage, during the Cold War, remember. ;) Fun reading, but pretty shallow, and very "period".
But he was no fascist, to be sure.
He was really just a "boostrap libertarian," but of course it wasn't that simple. He made enemies in every special-interest group (a sure sign of genius, LOL): many right-wingers thought he was a pinko, many socialists thought he was a fascist, the peaceniks thought he was a warmonger, and yet he constantly annoyed the military establishment with statements like "conscription is slavery; any country that must force its people to fight on its behalf doesn't have the right to exist"...
He was an ex-navy man who worked for years as an engineer on military projects, but often said he thought military secrets were unnecessary and actually harmful... and let's see, what else: many women thought he was a sexist pig, while others applauded his strong, complex female characters... etc. etc. He was complicated, and definitely a lot of his early work was spun to sell, so to speak.
It's worth noting that Heinlein once said that the first book he wrote where he really felt free to express his personal philosophy was
Stranger in a Strange Land. Freaked him out, too, that many aimless young people thought it was some sort of "how to start your own religion" guide... that wasn't his intention at all.
He also once told author Spider Robinson that of all his own stories, his favorite was "The Man Who Traveled in Elephants"- a very Bradbury-esque, whimsical tale.
To learn more about the real RAH, not the often-misunderstood public figure, check out
Expanded Universe, a collection of essays,
Grumbles From the Grave, a posthumous collection of letters and essays, or
Requiem, which is all tributes from people who knew him.
My favorite Heinlein (as Lazarus Long) quote is probably "Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. Hurting yourself is not a sin; it's just stupid." :)
Here's some more good ones:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/autho ... nlein.html
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:39 pm
.
