Robert Heinlein at One Hundred
by Ted Gioia
The centennial of Robert Heinlein’s birth is coming up in July, and
tempers are still worked up over this pulp fiction writer who turned
into a consciousness-raising guru during the 1960s. Only a few weeks
ago, a writer in The New York Times Book Review attacked Heinlein’s
Starship Troopers as “an endorsement of fascism.” Heinlein's
defenders rushed in with letters to the editor to counter these charges,
and a mini-controversy was soon brewing over a book for youngsters
first published in 1959, by an author who died in 1988.
But Heinlein fans should be used to these deprecations. Over the years
their favorite writer has been accused of many things –- of being a
libertine or a libertarian, a fascist or a fetishist, pre-Oedipal or just
plain preposterous. Heinlein’s critics cut across all ends of the political
spectrum, as do his fans. His admirers have ranged from Madalyn
Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists, to members of the
Church of All Worlds, who hail Heinlein as a prophet. Apparently both
true believers and non-believers, and perhaps some agnostics, have
found sustenance in Heinlein’s prodigious output, some 50 books
which have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
For my part, I can accept the militarism of Starship Troopers. (After
all, the soldiers are fighting giant bugs from outer space who brutally
slimed Buenos Aires. Do you want to stick up for them?) But Heinlein
can shake me up, too. I draw the line when his protagonists have affairs
with their own clones, or go back in time to court their mom under the
watchful eye of grandpa. Of course, Heinlein’s knack for offending
sensibilities is one of his calling cards. His zeal for controversy not only
set him apart from the other sci-fi masters of his era — who worried
about robots and laser beams while Heinlein’s characters are tearing off
their clothes — and also keeps us arguing about his books long after his
passing.
The debates about Starship Troopers were mild compared to the
discussions generated by Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land,
published two years later. Heinlein had begun taking notes for his novel
about an earthling raised on Mars back in 1953, and what might have
been a modest pot-boiler during the Eisenhower years became a cult
classic during the 1960s. (A copy is probably sitting in a box in your
garage right now, in between Siddhartha and The Teachings of Don
Juan.)
Heinlein’s breakthrough came by ignoring many of the rules that had
guided his early successes. He had often been praised as a master of
“hard” sci-fi — heavy on the technology, in other words — drawing on
the author’s extensive readings in various scientific disciplines. But
from now on, Heinlein would show far greater interest in the human
sciences, in the anthropological and cultural ramifications of his tales.
In the place of the tightly plotted narratives that had come to define the
sci-fi genre, Heinlein now felt free to offer rambling discursions, large
doses of social commentary that tended to overwhelm the storytelling.
Readers had previously enjoyed a glimpse of Heinlein’s intensity and
ardent individualism, but now it erupted into a supernova of libertarian
zeal. In 1961, when Stranger in a Strange Land was published, the
author’s anti-authoritarian sentiments might have seemed like a
personal quirk. But with the tremendous expansion in various counter-
culture movements during the remainer of the decade, Heinlein’s hero
Valentine Michael Smith now sounded like a spokesperson for the new
generation. With his quasi-mystical language, his rejection of political
authorities and his zeal for free love, this missionary from Mars would
have been quite at home on the Berkeley or Columbia campuses,
perhaps making out on the lawn, getting high, or taking over an
administration building. (Indeed, one of the first serious studies of
Heinlein was written by H. Bruce Franklin, who had been fired from his
tenured position at Stanford for leading students in their occupation of
the computer center.)
From this point on, Heinlein’s books were mostly short on plot and long
on philosophy. The actual story of Glory Road from 1963 is tidied up a
little over halfway through the book – the remaining pages are mostly a
primer on political and social institutions. Heinlein’s longest book,
Time Enough for Love, has no apparent structure, merely presenting a
string of situations that allow for rambling discussions of everything
from the money supply to genetics. Farnham’s Freehold is a survivalist’
s manual dressed up in a story about time travel.
But though these stories might be bloated, they were never boring.
Heinlein might outrage or shock or dazzle, yet these loose and louche
narratives never lost their energy. And Heinlein was always quotable,
even if in a corny Mickey Spillane manner. It was Heinlein, after all,
who first announced “There ain't no such thing as a free lunch” - and
truer words have never been spoken. Reading his later works is like
sitting at the bar next to a motor-mouth zealot who has an quirky
opinion on everything, an angle, a take on all topics. Even better than
talk radio! And when Heinlein could hold it all together, as he did with
1966's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress — which includes all his favorite
Ayn Rand rants, but also a solid plot, strong characters and top-notch
dialogue — he was capable of crafting a masterpiece of the genre.
Almost twenty years after his passing, Heinlein has not lost his
audience. A three-day centennial celebration is planned for July in
Kansas City, and participants will include Buzz Aldrin, Arthur C.
Clarke, NASA Administrator Dr. Michael Griffin, Congressman Dana
Rohrabacher, and a host of other fans and admirers who still respond
to the Heinlein magic. William Patterson is working on a massive
biography. And a campaign is underway to convince the Navy to name
DDG-1000 Zumwalt class destroyer USS Robert A. Heinlein.
by Ted Gioia
The centennial of Robert Heinlein’s birth is coming up in July, and
tempers are still worked up over this pulp fiction writer who turned
into a consciousness-raising guru during the 1960s. Only a few weeks
ago, a writer in The New York Times Book Review attacked Heinlein’s
Starship Troopers as “an endorsement of fascism.” Heinlein's
defenders rushed in with letters to the editor to counter these charges,
and a mini-controversy was soon brewing over a book for youngsters
first published in 1959, by an author who died in 1988.
But Heinlein fans should be used to these deprecations. Over the years
their favorite writer has been accused of many things –- of being a
libertine or a libertarian, a fascist or a fetishist, pre-Oedipal or just
plain preposterous. Heinlein’s critics cut across all ends of the political
spectrum, as do his fans. His admirers have ranged from Madalyn
Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists, to members of the
Church of All Worlds, who hail Heinlein as a prophet. Apparently both
true believers and non-believers, and perhaps some agnostics, have
found sustenance in Heinlein’s prodigious output, some 50 books
which have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
For my part, I can accept the militarism of Starship Troopers. (After
all, the soldiers are fighting giant bugs from outer space who brutally
slimed Buenos Aires. Do you want to stick up for them?) But Heinlein
can shake me up, too. I draw the line when his protagonists have affairs
with their own clones, or go back in time to court their mom under the
watchful eye of grandpa. Of course, Heinlein’s knack for offending
sensibilities is one of his calling cards. His zeal for controversy not only
set him apart from the other sci-fi masters of his era — who worried
about robots and laser beams while Heinlein’s characters are tearing off
their clothes — and also keeps us arguing about his books long after his
passing.
The debates about Starship Troopers were mild compared to the
discussions generated by Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land,
published two years later. Heinlein had begun taking notes for his novel
about an earthling raised on Mars back in 1953, and what might have
been a modest pot-boiler during the Eisenhower years became a cult
classic during the 1960s. (A copy is probably sitting in a box in your
garage right now, in between Siddhartha and The Teachings of Don
Juan.)
Heinlein’s breakthrough came by ignoring many of the rules that had
guided his early successes. He had often been praised as a master of
“hard” sci-fi — heavy on the technology, in other words — drawing on
the author’s extensive readings in various scientific disciplines. But
from now on, Heinlein would show far greater interest in the human
sciences, in the anthropological and cultural ramifications of his tales.
In the place of the tightly plotted narratives that had come to define the
sci-fi genre, Heinlein now felt free to offer rambling discursions, large
doses of social commentary that tended to overwhelm the storytelling.
Readers had previously enjoyed a glimpse of Heinlein’s intensity and
ardent individualism, but now it erupted into a supernova of libertarian
zeal. In 1961, when Stranger in a Strange Land was published, the
author’s anti-authoritarian sentiments might have seemed like a
personal quirk. But with the tremendous expansion in various counter-
culture movements during the remainer of the decade, Heinlein’s hero
Valentine Michael Smith now sounded like a spokesperson for the new
generation. With his quasi-mystical language, his rejection of political
authorities and his zeal for free love, this missionary from Mars would
have been quite at home on the Berkeley or Columbia campuses,
perhaps making out on the lawn, getting high, or taking over an
administration building. (Indeed, one of the first serious studies of
Heinlein was written by H. Bruce Franklin, who had been fired from his
tenured position at Stanford for leading students in their occupation of
the computer center.)
From this point on, Heinlein’s books were mostly short on plot and long
on philosophy. The actual story of Glory Road from 1963 is tidied up a
little over halfway through the book – the remaining pages are mostly a
primer on political and social institutions. Heinlein’s longest book,
Time Enough for Love, has no apparent structure, merely presenting a
string of situations that allow for rambling discussions of everything
from the money supply to genetics. Farnham’s Freehold is a survivalist’
s manual dressed up in a story about time travel.
But though these stories might be bloated, they were never boring.
Heinlein might outrage or shock or dazzle, yet these loose and louche
narratives never lost their energy. And Heinlein was always quotable,
even if in a corny Mickey Spillane manner. It was Heinlein, after all,
who first announced “There ain't no such thing as a free lunch” - and
truer words have never been spoken. Reading his later works is like
sitting at the bar next to a motor-mouth zealot who has an quirky
opinion on everything, an angle, a take on all topics. Even better than
talk radio! And when Heinlein could hold it all together, as he did with
1966's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress — which includes all his favorite
Ayn Rand rants, but also a solid plot, strong characters and top-notch
dialogue — he was capable of crafting a masterpiece of the genre.
Almost twenty years after his passing, Heinlein has not lost his
audience. A three-day centennial celebration is planned for July in
Kansas City, and participants will include Buzz Aldrin, Arthur C.
Clarke, NASA Administrator Dr. Michael Griffin, Congressman Dana
Rohrabacher, and a host of other fans and admirers who still respond
to the Heinlein magic. William Patterson is working on a massive
biography. And a campaign is underway to convince the Navy to name
DDG-1000 Zumwalt class destroyer USS Robert A. Heinlein.
| conceptual fiction |
Follow Ted Gioia on Twitter at
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Conceptual Fiction:
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(with links to reviews)
Home Page
Abbott, Edwin A.
Flatland
Adams, Douglas
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Amis, Martin
Time's Arrow
Asimov, Isaac
The Foundation Trilogy
Asimov, Isaac
I, Robot
Atwood, Margaret
The Handmaid's Tale
Banks, Iain M.
The State of the Art
Ballard, J.G.
Crash
Ballard, J.G.
The Crystal World
Bester, Alfred
The Demolished Man
Bradbury, Ray
Dandelion Wine
Bradbury, Ray
Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury, Ray
The Illustrated Man
Bradbury, Ray
The Martian Chronicles
Bradbury, Ray
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Burgess, Anthony
A Clockwork Orange
Card, Orson Scott
Ender's Game
Chabon, Michael
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Chiang, Ted
Stories of Your Life and Others
Clarke, Arthur C.
Childhood's End
Clarke, Arthur C.
A Fall of Moondust
Clarke, Arthur C.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke, Susanna
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Danielewski, Mark Z.
House of Leaves
Dick, Philip K.
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
Dick, Philip K.
The Man in the High Castle
Dick, Philip K.
Ubik
Doctorow, Cory
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Gaiman, Neil
American Gods
Gibson, William
Burning Chrome
Gibson, William
Neuromancer
Haldeman, Joe
The Forever War
Hall, Steven
The Raw Shark Texts
Harrison, M. John
Light
Heinlein, Robert
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Heinlein, Robert:
Stranger in a Strange Land
Heinlein, Robert
Time Enough for Love
Herbert, Frank
Dune
Huxley, Aldous
Brave New World
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Lathe of Heaven
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Left Hand of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
The Big Time
Leiber, Fritz
Conjure Wife
Leiber, Fritz
Swords & Deviltry
Leiber, Fritz
The Wanderer
Lem, Stanislaw
His Master's Voice
Lem, Stanislaw
Solaris
Lethem, Jonathan
The Fortress of Solitude
Lewis, C. S.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Márquez, Gabriel García
100 Years of Solitude
McCarthy, Cormac
The Road
Miéville, China
Perdido Street Station
Miller, Jr., Walter M.
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Mitchell, David
Cloud Atlas
Niffenegger, Audrey
The Time Traveler's Wife
Niven, Larry
Ringworld
Noon, Jeff
Vurt
Okri, Ben
The Famished Road
Pohl, Frederik
Gateway
Pynchon, Thomas
Gravity's Rainbow
Robinson, Kim Stanley
Red Mars
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Saramago, José
Blindness
Shelley, Mary
Frankenstein
Silverberg, Robert
Dying Inside
Silverberg, Robert
Nightwings
Simak, Clifford
City
Simak, Clifford
The Trouble with Tycho
Smith, Cordwainer
Norstrilia
Smith, Cordwainer
The Rediscovery of Man
Stephenson, Neal
Snow Crash
Stross, Charles
Glasshouse
Sturgeon, Theodore
More Than Human
Sturgeon, Theodore
Some of Your Blood
Van Vogt, A.E.
The World of Null A
Verne, Jules:
Around the Moon
Verne, Jules:
From the Earth to the Moon
Verne, Jules:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Wallace, David Foster
Infinite Jest
Wells, H.G.
The First Men in the Moon
Wells, H.G.
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Wells, H.G.
The Time Machine
Zelazny, Roger
Lord of Light
Special Features
Notes on Conceptual Fiction
Ray Bradbury: A Tribute
Remembering Fritz Leiber
Curse You, Neil Armstrong!
Robert Heinlein at 100
Links to related sites
The New Canon
Great Books Guide
Postmodern Mystery
Ted Gioia's web site
SF Site
io9
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Los Angeles Review of Books
Jospeh Peschel
The Misread City
Reviews and Responses
SF Signal
True Science Fiction
Disclosure: Conceptual Fiction and its
sister sites may receive review copies
and promotional materials from
publishers, authors, publicists or other
parties.
www.twitter.com/tedgioia
Conceptual Fiction:
A Reading List
(with links to reviews)
Home Page
Abbott, Edwin A.
Flatland
Adams, Douglas
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Amis, Martin
Time's Arrow
Asimov, Isaac
The Foundation Trilogy
Asimov, Isaac
I, Robot
Atwood, Margaret
The Handmaid's Tale
Banks, Iain M.
The State of the Art
Ballard, J.G.
Crash
Ballard, J.G.
The Crystal World
Bester, Alfred
The Demolished Man
Bradbury, Ray
Dandelion Wine
Bradbury, Ray
Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury, Ray
The Illustrated Man
Bradbury, Ray
The Martian Chronicles
Bradbury, Ray
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Burgess, Anthony
A Clockwork Orange
Card, Orson Scott
Ender's Game
Chabon, Michael
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Chiang, Ted
Stories of Your Life and Others
Clarke, Arthur C.
Childhood's End
Clarke, Arthur C.
A Fall of Moondust
Clarke, Arthur C.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke, Susanna
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Danielewski, Mark Z.
House of Leaves
Dick, Philip K.
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
Dick, Philip K.
The Man in the High Castle
Dick, Philip K.
Ubik
Doctorow, Cory
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Gaiman, Neil
American Gods
Gibson, William
Burning Chrome
Gibson, William
Neuromancer
Haldeman, Joe
The Forever War
Hall, Steven
The Raw Shark Texts
Harrison, M. John
Light
Heinlein, Robert
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Heinlein, Robert:
Stranger in a Strange Land
Heinlein, Robert
Time Enough for Love
Herbert, Frank
Dune
Huxley, Aldous
Brave New World
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Lathe of Heaven
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Left Hand of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
The Big Time
Leiber, Fritz
Conjure Wife
Leiber, Fritz
Swords & Deviltry
Leiber, Fritz
The Wanderer
Lem, Stanislaw
His Master's Voice
Lem, Stanislaw
Solaris
Lethem, Jonathan
The Fortress of Solitude
Lewis, C. S.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Márquez, Gabriel García
100 Years of Solitude
McCarthy, Cormac
The Road
Miéville, China
Perdido Street Station
Miller, Jr., Walter M.
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Mitchell, David
Cloud Atlas
Niffenegger, Audrey
The Time Traveler's Wife
Niven, Larry
Ringworld
Noon, Jeff
Vurt
Okri, Ben
The Famished Road
Pohl, Frederik
Gateway
Pynchon, Thomas
Gravity's Rainbow
Robinson, Kim Stanley
Red Mars
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Saramago, José
Blindness
Shelley, Mary
Frankenstein
Silverberg, Robert
Dying Inside
Silverberg, Robert
Nightwings
Simak, Clifford
City
Simak, Clifford
The Trouble with Tycho
Smith, Cordwainer
Norstrilia
Smith, Cordwainer
The Rediscovery of Man
Stephenson, Neal
Snow Crash
Stross, Charles
Glasshouse
Sturgeon, Theodore
More Than Human
Sturgeon, Theodore
Some of Your Blood
Van Vogt, A.E.
The World of Null A
Verne, Jules:
Around the Moon
Verne, Jules:
From the Earth to the Moon
Verne, Jules:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Wallace, David Foster
Infinite Jest
Wells, H.G.
The First Men in the Moon
Wells, H.G.
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Wells, H.G.
The Time Machine
Zelazny, Roger
Lord of Light
Special Features
Notes on Conceptual Fiction
Ray Bradbury: A Tribute
Remembering Fritz Leiber
Curse You, Neil Armstrong!
Robert Heinlein at 100
Links to related sites
The New Canon
Great Books Guide
Postmodern Mystery
Ted Gioia's web site
SF Site
io9
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Los Angeles Review of Books
Jospeh Peschel
The Misread City
Reviews and Responses
SF Signal
True Science Fiction
Disclosure: Conceptual Fiction and its
sister sites may receive review copies
and promotional materials from
publishers, authors, publicists or other
parties.