And Arthur C. Clarke. He has repeatedly received the prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards. An asteroid and a Martian crater bear his name. This is Robert Heinlein, an American writer who has largely influenced the way science fiction looks today.
Childhood and youth
Robert Anson Heinlein was born in Butler, Missouri on July 7, 1907. His parents had seven children, Robert being the third. The family lived in parental home Bem until the boy was three years old. It was then that his father found a job in Kansas City and the family moved there.
For another four years, Robert stayed with his grandfather in the summer until he died. Grandfather Alva Lyle had a great influence on the future science fiction writer and instilled a love of reading and the exact sciences. Robert, in honor of his grandfather's memory, often used the pseudonym Lyle Monroe when he was just beginning his writing career.
In 1920, having entered the Central high school, Robert became interested in astronomy. The theory of evolution impressed him and was reflected in his subsequent work. A lover of solving non-standard problems in mathematics, the young man used this hobby later, for example, in the story “...And he built himself a crooked little house.”
After school, Heinlein decided to connect his future life with the navy. To do this, it was necessary to enter the Naval Academy, which turned out to be a difficult task. Firstly, to be able to pass entrance tests, the patronage of one of the members of the Senate or Congress was required.
Secondly, one of the family was accepted into the academy, and Robert’s older brother was already studying there. The young man had to work hard - collecting letters of recommendation, he immediately forwarded them to Senator James A. Reed in the hope of support. Over the course of a year, the senator received 100 letters from potential applicants to Annapolis Academy, 50 of them from Heinlein.
So in 1925, Robert achieved his goal and began his studies with zeal. After 4 years, finishing educational institution, the guy was a champion in fencing, wrestling and shooting, and also became twentieth in the ranking of graduates out of more than two hundred people. And he could have become fifth, but lost positions due to problems with discipline. Until 1934, Robert served in the navy, then was forced to leave his military career due to tuberculosis.
Literature
Russian literary scholars divide Heinlein's creative life into periods. However, their foreign colleagues prefer to avoid division, since there are always works for which any framework is too small.
Robert Heinlein's first novel, We Who Live, was unsuccessful. The science fiction writer began writing stories, from which the “History of the Future” series later emerged. The 20th century turned out to be different from the writer’s predictions, but in the 1980s he created the series “The World as a Myth,” which explains and corrects the inconsistencies between reality and fiction.
The first novel to be published was Rocket Ship Galileo in 1947. Initially, they did not want to publish the novel, since the topic of flying to the moon seemed irrelevant. But the science fiction writer still found a publisher and began publishing a book every year, which then became part of the so-called youth cycle.
These books are interesting to readers of any age; they are quite simple and conservative in form, but not in content. The censors did not always like this. For example, in “Red Planet” the editor did not like the way the inhabitants of Mars reproduce and the fact that teenagers confidently wield weapons.
Popular among science fiction fans are The Door to Summer (1956) and Citizen of the Galaxy (1957). The first was repeatedly recognized as the best science fiction novel.
In the late 50s, Robert Heinlein parted ways with his role as an author for teenagers. This happened thanks to the novel “Starship Troopers” - a kind of response to the call for the United States to unilaterally stop nuclear tests. After this novel, the writer was accused of militarism.
Beginning in 1961, Robert wrote for an adult audience and significantly changed the SF genre itself. He became so popular and recognized as a science fiction writer that he even commented on live landing astronauts on the moon in 1969.
In the 1960s, the science fiction writer returned to the fantasy genre, using the canons of which he wrote a number of stories in the 1940s. “Road of Valor” (1963) is the author’s only “pure” fantasy. Satire, dystopia, and author's philosophy were added to later works. The writer worked for 48 years, and now his bibliography consists of 32 novels and many small works, including 59 stories.
There are 4 films based on Heinlein: “Starship Troopers”, “Destination Moon” (based on the novel “Rocket Ship Galileo”), “Time Patrol” (based on the story “You Are All Zombies”) and “The Puppeteers”. Of these, only the last one can be called a film adaptation, because in the rest the scriptwriters and directors interpreted the author’s intention too freely.
Personal life
Heinlein first married in 1929 to Elinor Curry, whom he had known since school. The marriage broke up already in 1930. Elinor did not want to leave her hometown, but military service Roberta did not envisage settling down. Two years later, the future science fiction writer married again - to political activist and simply extraordinary woman Leslyn MacDonald.
Having ended his military career due to illness, Robert, at the encouragement of his wife, took up political activity, which had a socialist orientation. Then, in 1938, he made an attempt to enter the Legislative Assembly, which turned out to be unsuccessful.
During the war, Robert met Virginia Gerstenfeld. At first, although he fell in love, he did not want to ruin his marriage with Leslyn, but nevertheless divorced in 1947, when she began to have difficulties with alcohol. A year later he married Virginia.
This marriage turned out to be the most successful - the couple lived together for 40 years. The wife helped the science fiction writer and supported him, suggested ideas, and was at the same time the first reader, manager, and secretary.
The 1970s brought problems for the writer - he was treated for peritonitis for more than two years. In 1978, after a severe attack of cardiac ischemia, Heinlein required coronary bypass surgery. After undergoing several heart surgeries, the science fiction writer wrote five more novels. And even in 1983 he went to Antarctica, and before that he visited all the other continents.
Death
By 1987, Heinlein's health had deteriorated and he required constant medical attention. Robert and Virginia had to leave their home in Bonny Doon and move to the city of Carmel. On May 8, 1988, Robert Heinlein died in his sleep. Emphysema interrupted the biography of the famous science fiction writer. He was cremated and his ashes scattered over the Pacific waves.
Robert Heinlein in last years After the writer’s death, in 1989, his wife published the collection “Grumbling from the Grave,” which included his correspondence with publishers. The 1992 collection “Requiem: A Tribute to the Memory of the Master” included early stories that were not published during the author’s lifetime.
In 2003, the first novel “We Who Live,” written in 1939 and considered lost, was published. And with the advent of the Internet, photos of Robert Heinlein, his creations and many quotes from the books of the great master of science fiction became available to everyone.
Bibliography
- 1941 – “Children of Methuselah”
- 1942 – “There, Beyond”
- 1947 – “Rocket ship Galileo”
- 1948 – “Space Cadet”
- 1949 – “Red Planet”
- 1950 – “Farmer in the Sky”
- 1951 – “Puppeteers”
- 1951 – “Between the Planets”
- 1952 – “The Space Stone Family”
- 1953 – “Astronaut Jones”
- 1954 – “Star Beast”
- 1955 – “Tunnel in the Sky”
- 1956 – “Double Star”
- 1956 – “Time for the Stars”
- 1956 – “Door to Summer”
- 1957 – “Citizen of the Galaxy”
- 1958 – “If there is a spacesuit, there will be travel”
- 1959 – “Starship Troopers”
- 1961 – “Stranger in a Strange Land”
- 1963 – “Stepchildren of the Universe”
- 1963 – “Road of Valor”
- 1963 – “Martian Podkein”
- 1964 – Farnham Freehold
- 1966 – “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”
- 1970 – “I will fear no evil” (“Passing through the valley of the shadow of death”)
- 1973 – “Time Enough for Love”
- 1979 – “The Number of the Beast”
- 1982 – “Friday”
- 1984 – “Job, or the Mockery of Justice”
- 1985 – “The Cat Walks Through Walls”
- 1987 – “Sail Over the Sunset”
- 2003 – “We, the Living”
Robert Anson Heinlein born July 7, 1907 in Butler, Bates County, Missouri. The third son of Rex Ivar Heinlein and Bam Lyle Heinlein, he had two older brothers, Rex Ivar Heinlein and Lawrence Lyle Heinlein, and younger sister, Louise Heinlein. When he was a young man, his family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Robert grew up there, but spent his summers with relatives in Butler.
He graduated from Kansas City High School in 1924 and attended a year of college. His brother Rex went to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, and Heinlein chose the same future for himself. He collected many recommendations and sent them to Senator James Reed. It was said that Reed received a hundred letters requesting an appointment at Annapolis... Fifty - one for each candidate, and fifty from Robert Heinlein. Robert entered the academy in 1925.
Heinlein graduated from the academy in 1929 and served on various ships, including the Lexington (the first American aircraft carrier), the USS Utah and the USS Roper. Due to constant seasickness, Heinlein suffered a lot from seasickness, and in 1934 he fell ill with tuberculosis. He was cured and resigned as unfit for service and received a small pension.
In early 1930, shortly after his retirement, he married Leslyn MacDonald. Heinlein never spoke about Leslyn or the later divorce. Between 1934 and 1939, Heinlein worked various jobs in Los Angeles and Colorado Springs. He was a co-owner of a silver mine, but things went downhill when another co-owner shot himself. He studied mathematics, architecture, and studied engineering at UCLA (with a bachelor's degree from the Naval Academy). He also works as a broker, and possibly as a painter, photographer and sculptor, although the details of these activities are not fully known.
By 1938, Heinlein was working as an editor and staff writer for Upton Sinclair's EPIC News, the organ of the EPIC trading firm. In November 1938, he ran for the California Assembly as a Republican, but was defeated, broke down, married, and continued to live on his small Navy pension. At the end of 1938, Thrilling Wonder Stories magazine announced a competition for best story. They offered full rates (half a cent per word, up to $50) to any previously unpublished author whose story was selected for publication.
Heinlein wrote the story "Life Line" in four days in April 1939 and submitted it not to TWS, which he thought would be overwhelmed with manuscripts, but to John Campbell at Astounding Science Fiction. Campbell quickly bought the story at one cent a word, for $70. With the exception of his service during World War II, Heinlein never again made money other than books.
Heinlein died peacefully on the morning of May 8, 1988, from pulmonary edema (emphysema) and heart disease, which had plagued him during the last few years of his life.
Robert Anson Heinlein is an American writer. Together with Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, he is one of the “Big Three” founders of the science fiction genre.
The themes he covered in his works were:
- Personal freedom of a person;
- Responsibility to society;
- The role of religion and family in the life of an individual.
Heinlein was born in Butler on July 7, 1907. Robert loved to read since childhood and re-read everything he could get his hands on. . After graduating from school, following the example of one of his brothers, he entered the Naval Academy at the age of 18.
Four years later he received the rank of officer. Served under Captain I.J. King, who later became Commander of the United States Navy. After retiring at age 27 due to poor health, Heinlein had to look for part-time work in addition to his military pension.
He worked wherever he had to : he traded real estate, tried his hand at politics, mined silver, until one day he came across an announcement about a competition for recruiting writers for a science fiction magazine. Robert wrote his first story there.
He sold subsequent manuscripts with difficulty. At first he wrote to pay off his debts, but he became interested in writing and, moreover, his books began to be successful. Left by Heinlein typewriter only during the outbreak of World War II, after which he continued his writing career.
The second time he married his fighting friend, Virginia, who became an assistant and collaborator in his activities. At first it had a mostly teenage audience, but over the years Heinlein developed a passion for stories for adult audiences. It turned out that his readers grew up reading his works and continued reading into adulthood.
Robert Heinlein and his wife traveled a lot. There is practically no continent where they have not visited. The writer has been awarded numerous prestigious awards for his achievements in the development of the science fiction genre. . Robert Heinlein died at the age of 80 on May 8, 1988.
Writer Quotes
- “A strong person is not one who can afford a lot, but one who can refuse a lot”;
- “Everyone should be able to change diapers, plan invasions, slaughter pigs, design buildings, sail ships, write sonnets, do bookkeeping, build walls, set bones, facilitate death, carry out orders, give orders, cooperate, act independently, solve equations, analyze new problems, apply fertilizers, program computers, cook deliciously, fight well, die with dignity. Specialization is the lot of insects”;
- “Cats don’t take jokes, they are terribly selfish and very touchy. If someone asks me why I love cats, I probably won’t be able to give a clear answer. It's like explaining to a person who doesn't like spicy cheeses why he should like Limburger. And yet I can understand the Chinese mandarin who cut off the sleeve of a robe covered with priceless embroidery just because a kitten was sleeping on it.”
July 7, 1907. He spent his childhood there. The greatest influence on the formation of the child’s personality was his grandfather, who, firstly, instilled in him a love of reading, and, secondly, developed in him positive features character, such as determination and responsibility. Both of them had a passion for playing chess, which taught them to think logically.
Education and hobbies
Robert's family had strong Christian traditions, so he was raised in a strict Puritan spirit. This was a Methodist teaching that was popular in that region of the United States. It included prohibitions on drinking alcohol in any quantity, gambling, dancing and much more. Over time, Heinlein moved away from these strict rules, which also affected the characters in his books.
At school, the child was most interested in the exact sciences: mathematics, astronomy, and biology. His worldview changed greatly when he learned about Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. In the city of Kansas City, where he lived, his favorite place was the public library, from where he obtained all possible literature on the above topics.
Education
Robert Heinlein had three brothers and three sisters. He followed the example of the eldest - Rex - and went to serve in the army. His goal was the city of Annapolis, where the US Naval Academy was located. The American system of admitting applicants to such universities is quite complex. Unlike civilian universities, where it is enough to send everything by mail Required documents, here 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 per generation could enter the academy from one family. Older brother Rex was already like this, but Robert did not give up and began to flood the responsible persons with letters with requests.
It took him a year to do this. During this time, Robert Heinlein studied one course at the University of Missouri. When the academy began selecting applicants, it turned out that they received about 50 applications from 50 people and another 50 applications from one applicant. It was Robert. He successfully entered and moved to Bancroft Hall. This was the name of the midshipmen's dormitory, where the cadets lived.
Fleet
The service will later be reflected in the writer’s work. In 1948, he would write the novel “Space Cadet” (in Russia it was also translated as “Space Patrol”). In the book, the author indulges in nostalgic memories of the time spent in the navy through the prism of his own imagination. Main character works enters the school of the Patrol Service, after which he goes on an expedition to Venus.
Robert Heinlein himself noted his naval career with many brilliant achievements. In addition to the fact that he was good at traditional disciplines in the curriculum, he also practiced shooting, fencing and wrestling. In all these endeavors, he became the champion of his own academy. After graduation, his name was on the list of the best cadets.
After graduating from the academy in 1929, Heinlein received the rank of ensign. This was a junior officer rank. While still studying, he practiced on various ships - “Utah”, “Oklahoma” and “Arkansas”. He received his first real assignment on the aircraft carrier Lexington, which was in the ranks of the US Navy. His responsibility was to monitor the quality of communications between the ship and the aircraft. However, his career was ruined due to health conditions - the young officer was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Even after Robert was cured, he was not allowed to return to service and was given a pension.
The beginning of writing
Failures in normal activities and debt on loans gave Heinlein the incentive to begin writing and publishing his own works of fiction. In 1939, he sold his first story, “Life Line,” to a publishing house. After that, he made money mainly by writing, putting aside all other hobbies.
“Life Line” was written in a genre that became the leitmotif of all the work followed by Robert Heinlein. Reviews of the story were positive, and the writer decided to continue “Life Line” with a series of similar works.
The result was “The History of the Future.” This cycle included several short stories, novellas and novels. The plot summarized the history of mankind in the period from the 20th to the 23rd centuries. Most of the books were written early in the author's career, and from 1945 to 1950. The editor called the series “The History of the Future” and promoted it in many publications.
For convenient navigation through the fantastic universe, a special table was created, including a chronology and main characters, the author of which was Robert Heinlein himself. The best of this series became a classic of the genre, and “History” itself was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1966, but lost it to Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation.”
Children's literature
Awards and success
The novel Double Star became the first to receive the prestigious Hugo Award. Subsequently, the same award was achieved by the works “Starship Troopers”, “Stranger in a Strange Land”, “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”. As one of the founders of the genre, the author was subsequently awarded other awards, including posthumously.
The first novel to break away from this “children's” concept was Starship Troopers, written in 1959 in the wake of outrage over the US nuclear program. From this moment on, the author great importance received motives of social conflicts and other serious topics.
Stranger in a strange land
His most successful and famous novel, Stranger in a Strange Land, was published in 1961. The American public of that time was shocked by the pressing questions raised by Robert Heinlein. Quotes included debates about free love, libertarianism, individualism and other philosophical concepts.
This book was created over ten years, which is a record for the author. One of the reasons for this was the censorship of the time, which prohibited raising issues of sexual themes. In one of the first editions, the work was called “The Heretic,” which reveals the meaning of the plot. The main character, Chelok, raised by Martians, returns to Earth, where he becomes a messiah among the local population. Censors removed about a quarter of the text due to sexual and religious motives. The complete author's edition was published only in 1991.
The work had many allusions, including the story of Mowgli, used by Kipling. The title of the novel itself is a reference to the Bible.
"Stranger in a Strange Land" raises a debate about the dangers of merging religion and power. Raised in a Christian family, the author rethought his own views on canonical teachings.
Meaning
In addition, this theme was continued somewhat later in the novel Job. It was a satirical book that symbolized the last stage of bibliography, authored by Robert Heinlein. The works received many hidden hints and comparisons that an unprepared reader could hardly understand.
The writer is considered one of the three Great Masters of fiction along with and His name is closely associated with the Golden Age of this genre, when it was especially popular among the general public. The promotion of scientific ideas in these works became an important symbol and forerunner of the Space Race and numerous studies in this direction.
Personal life
The year he graduated from the academy (1929), Heinlein married a girl he had known since his school years. However, due to the husband's work travels, the marriage did not work out, and soon the wife filed for divorce. In 1932, Robert decided to connect his life with political activist Leslyn MacDonald. Their marriage lasted longer and ended only in 1947. At the same time, the writer married Virginia Gerstenfeld, whom he met during the war, when he worked in Philadelphia.
The wife had a great influence on her husband’s work and was his manager and secretary. She proofread all his works before they went to publishing houses. This played an important role in the activities carried out by Robert Heinlein. The author's best works include scenes inspired by his wife.
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07.07.14 13:09
One of the most prestigious awards given to science fiction writers is the Hugo. Robert Heinlein was awarded this award 5 times - the only one in the world! Among the “big three” masters of modern science fiction (Heinlein-Asimov-Clark), it is Heinlein who is considered the greatest.
Long way to yourself
The large Heinlein family, who settled in Missouri, adhered to strict moral principles (close to Puritanism); the future prose writer firmly understood these views. And his grandfather (he worked as a doctor) Quince Lyle got him into reading. The boy was particularly impressed by works on astronomy; he was attracted by paradoxical mathematical problems; Robert was also interested in Darwin's theory. All this was very useful to the science fiction writer in the future and found application in his work.
Robert gained enormous experience while studying at the Naval Academy - he made considerable efforts to enter. Unfortunately, his service in the navy ended very quickly for him: 4 years after graduation, the guy fell ill with tuberculosis.
He tried himself both as a graduate student studying physics and mathematics, and as a politician, but all these attempts were unsuccessful.
At first, writing became another source of income for him (in addition to a small military pension): he and his wife needed to pay off the mortgage. The first story was published in one of the magazines - this was in 1939. He quickly developed a taste for this type of activity, and 2 years later he was already taking part in the World Science Fiction Convention.
His writing career lasted almost half a century. The result is 16 collections, 59 stories, 33 novels.
First successes
An unusual journey (the hero-inventor is put into a state of suspended animation, and then he wakes up 30 years later to make a throwback by “riding” in a time machine) takes place in the novel “The Door to Summer.” This is one of famous works author.
In the same 1956, “Double Star” was written, the first book to earn a Hugo Award. Judging by the title, you might think that this is space science fiction. But the novel is about how an actor, hired to portray a disappeared politician, increasingly gets used to the role and, in the end, takes the place of his high-ranking double.
"Children of Methuselah" was born as a series of short stories, later combined into a novel. The struggle for the existence of a race of centenarians is the main one story line works. It, like “Time Enough for Love” (a kind of continuation of “Children of Methuselah”), found its place of honor in the Prometheus Prize Hall of Fame.
Space adventures
The author was awarded another Hugo for Starship Troopers. Earthlings confront nasty space monsters - beetles. Paul Verhoeven made a film based on this book, in which the main roles were played by the then very young Casper Van Dien and the beautiful Denise Richards.
In the masterpiece The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, the Earth's satellite is a mixture of a colony and a place for exile for criminals. A revolution is brewing in the society of the “lunars,” which is about to explode all layers of society. Another “Hugo” was guaranteed for Heinlein!
The pinnacle of creativity
The characters in the philosophical novel “I Fear No Evil” had to undergo an unprecedented transformation - a brain transplant, which led to the most unexpected results.
Many consider the magnificent piece “Stranger in a Strange Land” to be the pinnacle of the science fiction writer’s work. Social, religious, and political motives are intertwined in the plot; Heinlein boldly writes about sex as well. The main character of the book, Smith, was raised by Martians and returned to his home planet - a kind of Mowgli of the era of space exploration.
In 2006 - 18 years after the writer’s death - his unfinished work was published. The sketches made by Heinlein back in 1955 were prepared for publication by his admirer Spider Robinson. “Variable Star” was released with dual authorship.
