Robert A. Heinlein

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Robert A. Heinlein (1976)

Robert Anson Heinlein (* 7. July 1907 in Butler , Missouri ; † 9. May 1988 in Carmel-by-the-Sea , California ) was an American science fiction - writers .

Life

RAH 1929 Yearbook

Heinlein was the third of seven children from Rex Ivar and Bam Lyle Heinlein. A few months after he was born, the family moved to Kansas City , Missouri , where he grew up. In 1925 he was at the Naval Academy of Annapolis allowed, where he made 1929 its conclusion. Heinlein was then stationed on various ships, including the most modern aircraft carrier in the USA at the time , the USS Lexington , before he had to end his naval career in 1934 because of tuberculosis . He studied mathematics and physics at the University of California, Los Angeles , but had to quit after a few weeks because of a relapse. He then tried his hand at various professions, including with little success in silver mining , as a politician and in real estate , and in 1938 went almost bankrupt.

Heinlein was married twice. His first marriage to Leslyn MacDonald was from 1932 to 1947 and ended in divorce. His second marriage to Virginia Doris Gerstenfeld (* April 22, 1916 - † January 18, 2003) lasted from 1948 until his death. Both marriages remained childless. Robert A. Heinlein died on May 9, 1988, after suffering several life-threatening illnesses in the 1970s, as a result of a respiratory disease.

Heinlein was mainly influenced by the views and values ​​of his time, and his military experience had a strong influence on his character and works. In Tramp Royale , a posthumously published travelogue from the McCarthy era , he mentions that many Americans speak of a “reign of terror” in connection with Joseph McCarthy , but that this does not scare him. Along with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, he is one of the "Big Three" ("Big Three") of English-language science fiction literature.

writer

Encouraged by a newspaper ad , he wrote his first short story Life Line in 1939 , which was published in a science fiction magazine ( Astounding Science Fiction , Ed. John W. Campbell ). From then on, Heinlein only devoted himself to literature .

As part of the future history cycle, a further 16 short stories and four novels were published by the early 1950s . Heinlein thus created "his future of humanity until the 23rd century" and gave an insight into the social, political and cultural environment of his protagonists .

In the years that followed, Heinlein wrote an extensive collection of science fiction novels for teenagers and young adults, which became increasingly complex and culminated in the controversial Starship Troopers in 1959 . Then, in 1961, Heinlein's most famous and influential novel, Stranger in a Strange Land (German title: Stranger in a Strange World ), marked the turning point in his work towards “mature” science fiction with another ten novels. Heinlein's books also had social implications, suggested Stranger in a Strange Country , among other things, the development of precursors of Polyamory - subculture in the 1960s on.

In 2014 his short story All You Zombies was filmed under the title Predestination by Michael and Peter Spierig with Ethan Hawke in the lead role.

plant

Heinlein's fantasies about the future are very much based on the ideals of libertarianism , to which the author professed. He was one of the most successful authors of science fiction, as he won the Hugo Award six times and was considered one of the SFWA - "Grand Masters of Science Fiction".

Some works Heinlein were filmed, such as Rocket Ship Galileo (as Destination Moon , dt. Destination Moon ) and Starship Troopers ; Space Cadets served as the model for Tom Corbett's television series , Space Cadet . Especially at the beginning, some of his novels appeared in the original language or in translations only in abbreviated form. In his stories, Heinlein coined various words that became an integral part of the English language. The most common are the words "grok" (German "groken", roughly "to understand"), " TANSTAAFL " and "Waldo" (robotic manipulator arm). His short story Im Kreis ( By His Bootstraps ) had a great influence on the genre of time travel stories and is considered one of the most frequently published SF short stories.

Future History

The Future History (FH) consists of a whole series of short stories, short novels, short stories and novels. The complete future history is covered by the two anthologies Orphans of the Sky and The Past Through Tomorrow :

  • Methuselah's Children. 1941 (extended 1958)
    • The outcasts of the earth. Goldmann, 1963.
  • The Man Who Sold the Moon. 1950.
    • The man who sold the moon. Heyne, 1971.
      • Let There Be Light. 1940 ( Let there be light. Not FH)
      • The Man Who Sold the Moon. 1949 (the man who sold the moon)
      • The Roads Must Roll. 1940 (the streets must roll)
  • The Green Hills of Earth. 1951.
    • The green hills of the earth. Goldmann, 1964.
      • Ordeal in space. 1948 (space has no bottom)
      • We Also Walk Dogs. 1941 (Alldienst does everything)
      • Logic of Empire. 1941 (auction on Venus)
      • Space jockey. 1947 (a dangerous job)
      • The Green Hills of Earth. 1951 (The green hills of the earth)
      • Delilah And the Space Rigger. 1949 (basic considerations ...)
      • It's great to be back! 1947 (The Moonstruck)
      • Gentlemen, Be Seated. 1948 (take a seat, gentlemen!)
      • The Black Pits of Luna. 1948 (the game of hide and seek)
      • The Long Watch. 1949 (The Guard)
  • Revolt in 2100. 1954 (collection)
    • Revolt in 2100. Goldmann, 1964.
    • Revolt in the year 2100. Goldmann, 1980, ISBN 3-442-23352-6 .
      • If This Goes On. 1940 (revolt in 2100)
      • Coventry. 1940 (The Barrier)
      • Misfit. 1939 (space station E-M3)
  • Orphans of the Sky. 1963 (collection)
    • The long journey. Heyne, 1967.
    • The long journey. Pabel, 1975 (abridged version)
      • Universe. 1941 (Universe. Also: The Universe)
      • Common sense. 1941.
  • The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein. 1966 (collection, three of the five included stories belong to the FH)
    • Worlds. Heyne, 1972.
    • Worlds. Pabel, 1979.
      • Free Men. 1967 (Free Men. Not FH)
      • Blowups bite. 1940 (disasters occur)
      • Life-Line. 1939 (lifeline)
      • Solution Unsatisfactory. 1941 (unsatisfactory solution , not FH)
      • Searchlight. 1962 (headlights)
        • Searchlight Heyne, 2015 ( e-book )
  • The Past Through Tomorrow - Future History Stories. 1967 (only in two parts, 1986 one volume)
    • The past of the future. Heyne, 1988, ISBN 3-453-00464-7 .
    • Methusalem's children. Bastei-Lübbe, 2000, ISBN 3-404-24280-7 .
    • The story of the future. Heyne, 2015, ISBN 978-3-453-31629-4 .
      • Life-Line 1939 (life line)
      • The Roads Must Roll. 1940 (the streets must roll)
      • Blowups bite. 1940 (disasters occur)
      • The Man Who Sold the Moon. 1949 (the man who sold the moon)
      • Delilah and the Space Rigger 1949 (Delilah and the Space Fitter)
      • Space jockey. 1947 (space jockey)
      • Requiem. 1940 (Requiem)
      • The Long Watch. 1949 (The Guard)
      • Gentlemen, Be Seated. 1948 (take a seat, gentlemen!)
      • It's great to be back! 1947 (How nice to be home again!)
      • The Black Pits of Luna. 1948 (The Black Fissures of Luna)
      • We Also Walk Dogs. 1941 (We also walk dogs)
      • Searchlight. 1962 (searchlight)
      • Ordeal in space. 1948 (ultimate test in space)
      • The Green Hills of Earth. 1951 (The green hills of the earth)
      • Logic of Empire. 1941 (imperialist logic)
      • The Menace From Earth. 1957 (The disgust of the earth)
      • If This Goes On. 1940 (if this continues ...)
      • Coventry. 1940 (Coventry)
      • Misfit. 1939 (outsider)
      • Methuselah's Children. 1958 (children of Methusalem)

Heinlein Juveniles

The so-called "Heinlein Juveniles" (youth novels) are a total of twelve Heinlein novels that were published by Scribner between 1947 and 1958. Together they tell a cohesive story of the conquest of space. The 13th story of the Juveniles is considered to be Starship Troopers ("Star Warriors"), which was rejected by Scribners and instead appeared in Putnams.

  1. Rocket Ship Galileo (1947)
    • Moon terminus. Weiss brothers, 1951.
    • Destination: moon. Bastei-Lübbe, 2001, ISBN 3-404-24293-9 .
  2. Space Cadet (1948)
  3. Red Planet (1949)
  4. Farmer in the Sky (1950)
  5. Between Planets (1951)
  6. The Rolling Stones (also known as Space Family Stone , 1952)
  7. Starman Jones (1953)
    • Adventure in the realm of the stars. Gebrüder Weiß, 1954.
    • Adventure in the realm of the stars. Heyne, 1973.
    • Adventure in the realm of the stars. Heyne, 1984, ISBN 3-453-31035-7 .
    • Stranded in the starry realm. Bastei-Lübbe, 1997, ISBN 3-404-24220-3 .
  8. The Star Beast (1954)
    • The ultimatum from the stars. Moewig, 1966.
    • The ultimatum from the stars. Pabel, 1974.
    • The star beast. Bastei-Lübbe, 1984, ISBN 3-404-21179-0 .
    • The star beast. Bastei-Lübbe, 1992, ISBN 3-404-24163-0 .
  9. Tunnel in the Sky (1955)
  10. Time for the Stars (1956)
  11. Citizen of the Galaxy (1957)
    • Inhabitants of the Milky Way. Weiss brothers, 1958.
    • Inhabitants of the Milky Way. Heyne, 1965, ISBN 3-453-30015-7 .
  12. Have Space Suit - Will Travel (1958)
  13. Starship Troopers . 1959

Single novels

Short story collections

  • All you zombies. also: The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. 1959.
    • Kidnapping into the future. Heyne, 1971.
      • And He Built a Crooked House. 1940 (The 4-D House)
      • All you zombies. 1959 (kidnapping into the future)
      • They. 1941 (you)
      • The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. 1942 (The Sons of the Bird)
      • Our Fair City. 1949 (Our beautiful city)
  • Waldo and Magic Inc. 1950.
    • The time of the sorcerers. Heyne, 1970, ISBN 3-453-30109-9 .
      • Magic, Inc. 1942 (Magie GmbH)
      • Waldo. 1940 (Waldo)
  • Assignment in Eternity. 1953.
    • Next stop, tomorrow. Heyne, 1972.
      • Elsewhen. 1941 (Anderswann)
      • Gulf. 1955 (The Nova Effect)
      • Jerry Was a Man. 1947 (the talking monkey)
  • The Menace From Earth. also: Project Nightmare. 1959.
    • Business nightmare. Heyne, 1971.
      • Columbus Was a Dope. 1947 (Columbus was a fool)
      • Project Nightmare. 1953 (company nightmare)
      • Sky lift. 1953 (Sky Bridge)
      • Goldfish Bowl. 1942 (awakening in a fishbowl)
      • The Menace From Earth. 1959 (The Beast of the Earth. FH)
      • The Year of the Jackpot. 1952 (the year of signs and wonders)
  • The Best of Robert A. Heinlein. 1973.
  • Destination Moon. 1979.
  • Expanded Universe. 1980.
  • Requiem: New Collected Works. 1992.

More short stories

  • Beyond Doubt. 1941 (The statues of Easter Island)
  • By His Bootstraps. 1941 (in a circle). in German in the Diogenes anthology The best science fiction stories. Zurich 1962! ISBN 978-3-257-00905-7 .
  • The Man Who Traveled in Elephants. 1957 (The Man Who Traveled in Elephants)

Non-fiction books (published after his death)

  • Grumbles from the Grave. 1989.
  • Tramp Royale. 1992.
  • Take Back Your Government. 1993.

criticism

Despite his great successes and undisputed great influence in the development of the science fiction genre, Heinlein is also a controversial writer. In the lexicon of science fiction literature , for example, it is written:

“Critics accuse [Heinlein] of a tendency towards militarism (especially in the infamous novel Starship Troopers , where democratic rights are only granted to those who have done military service) and occasionally even approaches to fascist ideas. Furthermore, he shows a clear predilection for authoritarian stubborn heads. In addition, in his later works there is an urge to often embarrassing descriptions of sexual relationships between aging protagonists and young women. "

Awards

Hugo Award

  • 1956 Double Star (German: A double life in the cosmos ), best novel
  • 1960 Starship Troopers (German: Sternenkrieger ), best novel
  • 1962 Stranger in a Strange Land (German: Stranger in a Strange World ), best novel
  • 1966 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (German: The moon is a bitter lover or revolt on Luna ), best novel
  • 2001 Farmer in the Sky (German: Pioneers in Space ), Best Novel (Retro Hugo)
  • 2001 The Man Who Sold the Moon (German: The man who sold the moon ), best short novel (Retro Hugo)
  • 2014 If this goes on ... (German: Revolte in the year 2100 ), best short novel (Retro Hugo)
  • 2014 The Roads Must Roll (German: The streets must roll ), best story (Retro Hugo)
  • 2018: Beyond This Horizon , Best Novel (Retro Hugo)
  • 2018: Waldo , (German: Waldo ), best short novel (Retro Hugo)

Locus Award

Heinlein received a total of eleven nominations for the Locus Award.

  • 1985 Job: A Comedy of Justice (German: Das neue Buch Job ), best science fiction novel
  • 1990 Grumbles from the Grave (German: Grumbles from the Grave ), best non-fiction book

Prometheus Hall of Fame

  • 1983 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. 1966, (German: The moon is a bitter lover or revolt on Luna )
  • 1987 Stranger in a Strange Land. 1961 (German: stranger in a strange world )
  • 1996 Red Planet. 1949 (German: The Red Planet )
  • 1997 Methuselah's Children. 1958 (German: The outcasts of the earth or Methusalem's children )
  • 1998 Time Enough for Love. 1973 (German: The Lives of Lazarus Long )
  • 2003 Requiem. 1940 (German: Requiem )
  • 2017 Coventry. 1940 (German: Coventry )

Namesake

  • 1998 posthumously inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame

Trivia

The quote "A pedestrian could be defined as a man who had found a place to park his car." ("A pedestrian could be defined as a person who had found a parking space for his car ..."), which among others Joachim Fuchsberger is from the Heinlein short story The Roads Must Roll from 1940 (Astounding Science Fiction).

In the film Explorers - A Fantastic Adventure (1985), the scientifically gifted student Wolfgang Müller ( River Phoenix ) keeps a mouse named Heinlein as a pet. In its cage, the mouse can operate various switches that are connected to a voice synthesizer and thus say its name.

Heinlein Society

The Heinlein Society (Heinlein Society) was founded in 1997 by Virginia Heinlein in the name of her husband to commemorate the memory of the "pay forward" (freely translated: "do something good for others") as a legacy to future generations of authors of so-called "Heinlein children" to pass on.

The company has the following programs in focus:

  • "Funding Heinlein blood donation campaigns"
  • "Provision of training materials for teachers"
  • "Promotion of school research and general discussion about the work and ideas of Robert Anson Heinlein"
  • Granting of scholarships

Robert A. Heinlein Award

The Heinlein Society also launched the Robert A. Heinlein Award in 2003. This is awarded for “exceptional publications in the field of science fiction or technical publications that inspire human exploration of space ”. The award is named after Robert A. Heinlein and is administered by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. The prize is awarded in the form of a silver medal with the picture of Heinlein. The medal was designed by the artist Arlin Robbins.

Prize winners:

literature

Monographs
  • H. Bruce Franklin: Robert A. Heinlein: America as Science Fiction. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1980, ISBN 0-19-502746-9 .
  • James Gifford: Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader's Companion. Nitrosyncretic Press, Sacramento 2000, ISBN 0-9679874-1-5 .
  • Hardy Kettlitz: Robert A. Heinlein: Puppeteer and Star Warrior. With contributions by Arno Behrend and John Clute and a bibliography by Hans-Peter Neumann. Shayol, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-926126-90-0 .
  • William H. Patterson Jr .: Robert A. Heinlein: in dialogue with his century. Vol. 1: 1907-1948, learning curve. Tor, New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-7653-1960-9 .
  • William H. Patterson Jr .: Robert A. Heinlein: in dialogue with his century. Vol. 2: 1948-1988, The Man Who Learned Better . New York 2014, ISBN 978-0-7653-1961-6 .
  • William H. Patterson Jr., Andrew Thornton: The Martian Named Smith: Critical Perspectives on Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. Nitrosyncretic Press, Sacramento 2001, ISBN 0-9679874-2-3 .
  • George Edgar Slusser: Robert A. Heinlein: Stranger in His Own Land. The Borgo Press, San Bernardino, CA 1976.
  • Leon E. Stover: Robert A. Heinlein. Twayne, Boston 1987, ISBN 0-8057-7509-9 .
Lexicons
items

Web links

Commons : Robert A. Heinlein  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Robert A. Heinlein  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Short biographies of Robert A. Heinlein and Virginia Heinlein. Heinlein Society, accessed November 11, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Report on the death of Virginia Heinlein. January 26, 2003, accessed November 11, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Tramp Royale. 1992, ISBN 0-441-82184-7 , p. 62.
  4. ↑ Some of the ISBNs given refer to later editions of the edition (the ISBN was only introduced in 1972). Some novels were also initially published in booklet form (usually in several parts).
  5. ↑ Hans Joachim Alpers , Werner Fuchs , Ronald M. Hahn , Wolfgang Jeschke : Lexicon of Science Fiction Literature . Heyne-Verlag 01/7287, 1988, p. 535.
  6. ↑ The LOCUS Index to SF Awards ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) accessed on July 2, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.locusmag.com
  7. ↑ Minor Planet Circ. 56611
  8. ^ Science fiction awards database - Robert A. Heinlein . Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  9. ^ William H. Patterson, Jr .: The Authorized Biography of Robert A. Heinlein . Vol. 2. Tom Doherty Associates Book, New York 2014, ISBN 978-0-7653-1961-6 , p. 476 .
  10. ^ Aims of the Heinlein Society. Heinlein Society, accessed November 14, 2016 .
  11. ^ Promotion of public blood donations in memory of Robert Heinlein. Heinlein Society, accessed November 14, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Overview of the Robert A. Heinlein Award. Baltimore Science Fiction Society, accessed February 10, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Heinlein, Robert A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Heinlein, Robert Anson
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH July 7, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Butler , Missouri, United States
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 1988
Place of death Carmel-by-the-Sea , California, United States