Robert Heinlein: bibliography, best works

One of the largest American writers , Robert Heinlein, was born in Missouri on July 7, 1907. There he spent his childhood. The greatest influence on the formation of the personality of the child was his grandfather, who, first, instilled in him a love of reading, and, secondly, developed positive personality traits in him, such as purposefulness and responsibility. The passion of both was a game of chess, accustomed to logical thinking.

Education and hobbies

The family of Robert was strong Christian traditions, so he was brought up in a strict puritanical spirit. This was the teaching of the Methodists, popular in that region of the United States. It included bans on drinking alcohol in any quantity, gambling, dancing and much more. Over time, Heinlein departed from these strict rules, which affected the heroes of his books.

At school, the child was most fond of exact sciences: mathematics, astronomy, and biology. His world view changed dramatically when he learned about the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin. In Kansas City, where he lived, his favorite place was a public library, from where he drew all possible literature on the above topics.

Education

Robert Heinlein had three brothers and three sisters. He followed the example of the elder - Rex - and went to the army. His goal was the city of Annapolis, which housed the US Naval Academy. The American system of enrolling enrollees in similar universities is quite complicated. Unlike civil universities, where it is sufficient to send all necessary documents by mail, it was also necessary to obtain positive recommendations from congressmen who could issue quotas for admission. The situation was complicated by the fact that, according to the rules, only one person from the generation could enter the academy from one family. This was already the elder brother of Rex, but Robert did not give up and began to fill up letters of responsible persons with requests.

It took him a year. During this time, Robert Heinlein studied one course at the University of Missouri. When the academy began to select applicants, it turned out that about 50 applications from 50 people and 50 applications from one applicant were received. This was Robert. He successfully entered and moved to Bancroft Hall. This was the name of the dormitory of the midshipmen, where the cadets lived.

Fleet

The service will later be reflected in the writer's work. In 1948, he wrote the novel "Space Cadet" (Space Cadet - in Russia also translated as "Space Patrol"). In the book the author gives nostalgic memories of the time spent in the fleet through the prism of his own imagination. The protagonist of the work enters the school of the Patrol Service, after which he goes on an expedition to Venus.

Robert Heinlein himself marked his fleet career with a number of brilliant achievements. In addition to the fact that he managed the traditional disciplines in the training program, he also engaged in shooting, fencing and wrestling. In all these undertakings he became the champion of his own academy. After the release, his name was on the list of the best cadets.

After graduating from the academy in 1929, Heinlein received the title of Ensign. It was the younger officer's rank. While still studying, he practiced on various courts - Utah, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The first real appointment he received on the aircraft carrier Lexington, which was listed in the ranks of the US Navy. His responsibility was to monitor the quality of communication between the ship and aircraft. However, the career was ruined because of the state of health - a young officer found tuberculosis. Even after Robert was cured, he was not allowed to return to the service and appointed a pension.

The beginning of the writer's work

Failures in ordinary activities and credit debts gave Heinlein the incentive to start writing and publishing his own works of art. In 1939 he sold his first story "Life Line" to the publisher. After that, he earned mainly writing activity, putting aside all other hobbies.

"Life Line" is written in the genre of science fiction, which became the leitmotif of all creativity that Robert Heinlein followed. The responses to the story were positive, and the writer decided to continue the "Life Line" with a series of similar works.

As a result, the "History of the Future" turned out. This cycle included several stories, stories and novels. The plot summarized the history of mankind in the period from XX to XXIII century. Most of the books were written at the beginning of the author's career, and also from 1945 to 1950. Editor John Campbell called the cycle "The History of the Future" and promoted it in a variety of publications.

For convenient navigation through the fantastic universe, a special table was created, including chronology and main characters, authored by Robert Heinlein himself. The best of this series became the classic of the genre, and the "History" itself was nominated for the Hugo Award in 1966, but lost to Isaac Asimov's "Foundation".

children's literature

The first published novel Heinlein appeared in 1947. It was the Galileo Rocket Ship. " The plot of the book narrated about the journey to the moon. At that time, the publisher felt that this topic was too irrelevant and would not be accepted by the public. Therefore, the author sent the manuscript to Charles Scribner's Sons, where his works began to be released in a series for childhood and adolescence. They enjoyed immense popularity both with their main audience and adults. At the same time, there were numerous genre cliches, authored by Robert Heinlein. The bibliography included stories about aliens-parasites, colonization of planets, and so on.

Awards and success

The novel "Double Star" was the first to receive the prestigious "Hugo" award. In the future, the same awards were sought for the works "Star Troopers", "Stranger in a Stranger Country", "The Moon is a Harsh Hostess." As one of the founders of the genre, the author was later awarded other prizes, including posthumously.

The first novel that broke out of this "children's" concept was the "Starship Troopers", written in 1959 on the wave of indignation of the US nuclear program. From this moment the author of great importance received the motives of social conflicts and other serious topics.

Stranger in a foreign country

In 1961 he published his most successful and famous novel "Stranger in a Strange Country". The then American public was shocked by the sensitive issues raised by Robert Heinlein. Quotations included disputes about free love, libertarianism, individualism and other philosophical concepts.

This book was created for a decade, which is a record for the author. One of the reasons for this was the then censorship, which prohibited raising issues of sexuality. In one of the first editions the work was called "The Heretic", which reveals the meaning of the plot. The protagonist, a man brought up by the Martians, returns to Earth, where he becomes a messiah among the local population. Censorship copied about a quarter of the text because of sexual and religious motives. The full author's edition was published only in 1991.

The work had many allusions, including the plot about Mowgli, which Kipling used. The very title of the novel is a reference to the Bible.

"Stranger in a foreign country" raises a dispute about the danger of splicing religion and power. Educated in a Christian family, the author rethought his own views on canonical teachings.

Value

In addition, this topic was continued a little later in the novel "Job". It was a satirical book, which became the symbol of the last stage of the bibliography, authored by Robert Heinlein. The works received a lot of hidden hints and comparisons, which the unprepared reader could hardly understand.

The writer is considered one of the three Great Masters of Fiction along with Isaac Asimov and Arthur Clark. His name is closely connected with the Golden Age of this genre, when he was especially popular among the broad masses of readers. Propagation of scientific ideas in these works has become an important symbol and forerunner of the Space race and numerous studies in this direction.

Personal life

In the year of graduation from the academy (1929) Heinlein married a girl whom he had known since school. However, because of the husband's official trips, the marriage did not work out, and soon the wife filed for divorce. In 1932, Robert decided to link his life with a political activist Leslie McDonald. Their marriage lasted longer and ended only in 1947. Then the writer married Virginia Gerstenfeld, whom he had met while in the war, when he worked in Philadelphia.

His wife had a great influence on her husband's work, was his manager and secretary. She read all his works before they got to the publishing houses. This played an important role in the activities conducted by Robert Heinlein. The author's best works include scenes inspired by his wife.