For some unknown reason today, I was thinking of Heinlein\u2019s short stories.\u00a0 Heinlein was probably as well known for his short stories as for his novels.\u00a0 I guess my first exposure to this part of his work was when I got a copy of the Green Hills of Earth.\u00a0 And even as a dopey kid I could tell that Heinlein\u2019s stories had a more polished and professional feel to them than many of his contemporaries.\u00a0 His stories of the early days of human space flight sounded as if he had been there.\u00a0 Maybe it was his engineering background.\u00a0 He made something like a lunar construction site sound not only plausible but almost mundane.\u00a0 Dealing with the pressure loss from a moonquake (\u201cGentlemen, Be Seated!\u201d) sounded like something that you would be reading about in a newspaper story someday soon.<\/p>\n
One that captured some of the consequences of subjecting humans to the rigors of Heinlein\u2019s \u201ctorch ship\u201d technology was \u201cSkylift.\u201d\u00a0 A pilot runs a virtual suicide mission to reach Pluto with medical supplies in time to save the inhabitants of a research station from a plague.\u00a0 Surviving multiple g\u2019s of acceleration for an extended period is highlighted in this adventure story.<\/p>\n
Of course, some of his short stories were of an entirely different sort.\u00a0 One somewhat tongue in cheek story (\u201cAnd He Built a Crooked House\u201d) purports to describe what might happen if an architect built a house in the shape of an unfolded tesseract and then a California earthquake strikes and folds it up.\u00a0 Very ridiculous but I think quite entertaining.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s one that could have been used for a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode (\u201cThey\u201d).\u00a0 A case of paranoid delusion but with a fun twist.<\/p>\n
And of course, it wouldn\u2019t be Heinlein without his tribute to robber barons in space, Delos David “D. D.” Harriman and his dream of putting a man on the moon (\u201cThe Man Who Sold the Moon\u201c) and then his tragic finale (\u201cRequiem\u201c) when he tried to go there himself.\u00a0 I always thought it was a nice touch using Robert Louis Stevenson\u2019s epitaph for Harriman.<\/p>\n
Under the wide and starry sky<\/strong><\/p>\n Dig the grave and let me lie:<\/strong><\/p>\n Glad did I live and gladly die,<\/strong><\/p>\n And I laid me down with a will!<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This be the verse you grave for me:<\/strong><\/p>\n Here he lies where he longed to be;<\/strong><\/p>\n Home is the sailor, home from sea,<\/strong><\/p>\n And the hunter home from the hill.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I picked six of the stories I think of as vintage Heinlein.\u00a0 I probably could include another dozen if I wanted to make this post overly long.\u00a0 But I\u2019ve included the list of Heinlein\u2019s stories in case anyone wanted to pick their favorites for the comments section.\u00a0 Enjoy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For some unknown reason today, I was thinking of Heinlein\u2019s short stories.\u00a0 Heinlein was probably as well known for his short stories as for his<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,237,4,242],"tags":[38,1355,711,265],"class_list":["post-32646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-reviews","category-sff","category-sff-book-reviews","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-robert-a-heinlein","tag-science-fiction"],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n
\n All You Zombies<\/td>\n Elsewhen<\/td>\n Let There Be Light<\/td>\n My Object All Sublime<\/td>\n Solution Unsatisfactory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n And He Built a Crooked House<\/td>\n Free Men<\/td>\n Life-Line<\/td>\n Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon<\/td>\n Space Jockey<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n A Bathroom of Her Own<\/td>\n Future History<\/td>\n Logic of Empire<\/td>\n Ordeal in Space<\/td>\n A Tenderfoot in Space<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Beyond Doubt<\/td>\n Gentlemen, Be Seated!<\/td>\n The Long Watch<\/td>\n Our Fair City<\/td>\n They<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n The Black Pits of Luna<\/td>\n Goldfish Bowl<\/td>\n Lost Legacy<\/td>\n Poor Daddy<\/td>\n Waldo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Blowups Happen<\/td>\n The Green Hills of Earth<\/td>\n Magic, Inc.<\/td>\n Project Nightmare<\/td>\n Water Is for Washing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n By His Bootstraps<\/td>\n Gulf<\/td>\n The Man Who Sold the Moon<\/td>\n Requiem<\/td>\n \u2014We Also Walk Dogs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Columbus Was a Dope<\/td>\n “If This Goes On\u2014”<\/td>\n The Man Who Traveled in Elephants<\/td>\n The Roads Must Roll<\/td>\n The Year of the Jackpot<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Coventry (short story)<\/td>\n It’s Great to Be Back!<\/td>\n The Menace from Earth<\/td>\n Searchlight<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Delilah and the Space Rigger<\/td>\n Jerry Was a Man<\/td>\n Misfit<\/td>\n Sky Lift<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n