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The Past Through Tomorrow

by Robert A. Heinlein, Damon Knight (Introduction)

4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 · rating details · 8,504 ratings · 60 reviews

Here in one monumental volume are all 21 of the stories, novellas and novels making up Heinlein's famous Future History—the rich, imaginative architecture of Man's destiny that many consider his greatest and most prophetic work.

Contents:
* Introduction - Damon Knight
* Life-Line
* The Roads Must Roll
* Blowups Happen
* The Man Who Sold the Moon
* Delilah and the Space-Rigger
* Sp...more

Paperback, 830 pages

Published July 15th 1987 by Ace (first published 1967)

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Mar 09, 2009 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

This is a compilation of 21 Heinlein short stories in his 'Future History'. If you've never read Heinlein & want a good introduction, this is probably the best single book of his works you can buy. You'll see quite a range of his best.

The paperback is as fat as one of Jordan's books & contains some novella length stories - two, "Revolt in 2100" & "Methuselah's Children" were published as novels. Others are title stories from other short story collections "The Green Hills of Earth" &...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Williwaw rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I just read "The Man Who Sold the Moon," and wish that I hadn't. I've never been much of a Heinlein fan, and this story illustrates my reasons perfectly. Essentially, this is the story of the first moon expedition. In Heinlein's telling (long before the Apollo missions), it's a private corporation that reaches the moon first. There's some interesting speculation about who owns the moon, based upon traditional legal theory (supposedly, all property owners on earth own a section of the earth that...more I just read "The Man Who Sold the Moon," and wish that I hadn't. I've never been much of a Heinlein fan, and this story illustrates my reasons perfectly. Essentially, this is the story of the first moon expedition. In Heinlein's telling (long before the Apollo missions), it's a private corporation that reaches the moon first. There's some interesting speculation about who owns the moon, based upon traditional legal theory (supposedly, all property owners on earth own a section of the earth that descends to the center of the globe and also indefinitely out into space). Heinlein also floats some interesting ideas about how to finance a moon project. For example, offering to use the moon as a giant billboard; taking a book of stamps up to the moon and back and then selling them; and using some subtle trickery to convince people that the moon is a plentiful source of diamonds or uranium.

Unfortunately, what this all boils down to is a story about logistics! How to raise the finances ("sell" the moon); how to get the ship up there; who gets to go; etc. etc.

There's lots of corporate boardroom intrigue and skulduggery. The central characters are all greedy businessmen with shares in the holding company that's financing the moon shot. The one exception is Harriman, who is the driving force behind the project. Except for him, the characters are basically cardboard robber barons who smoke cigars and vie for power and wealth. Harriman simply wants to go to the moon and he'll do anything that it takes to get there, even if it's somewhat unscrupulous.

*** spoiler coming ***

I suppose Heinlein meant for this to be a story of frustrated ambition, because Harriman never makes it to the moon himself. Instead, he only gets to watch as others make the flight and begin to build a base. It turns out that his business partners won't let him because he's too valuable to the corporation and its plans for a profitable settlement of the moon.

Other than that, this is a story about logistics and how human beings try to take advantage of each other commercially. So even though Heinlein is a science fiction writer, he trains his focus is on the mundane and all-too-familiar. Maybe that's why so many people like his stories. It makes them feel "realistic." (less)

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May 13, 2012 Jay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

On the afternoon of Saturday, October 4th, 1975, having just turned thirteen years old a few weeks before, I rode my bicycle about 2 1/2 miles to the nearest bookstore to my house that sold science fiction books--the long-defunct Books & Friends in Oakton, VA. I know this not because I remember the event, but because I wrote it in the back of a paperback copy of "The Past Through Tomorrow," an 830-page collection of Robert Heinlein's "Future History" stories. What I do remember is that I did...more On the afternoon of Saturday, October 4th, 1975, having just turned thirteen years old a few weeks before, I rode my bicycle about 2 1/2 miles to the nearest bookstore to my house that sold science fiction books--the long-defunct Books & Friends in Oakton, VA. I know this not because I remember the event, but because I wrote it in the back of a paperback copy of "The Past Through Tomorrow," an 830-page collection of Robert Heinlein's "Future History" stories. What I do remember is that I didn't start reading the book right away, but got absorbed in it the next year during a long family car trip from Virginia to Louisiana. This book, along with some "Archie" and "Superman" comics, helped make the trip bearable for me.

Virtually all the stories in this collection were written between 1939 and 1949, with a couple of them dating from, or having been revised, about ten years later. Since the stories appear in "chronological" order (from the point of view of Heinlein's telling of history), but they were not written in that order, one can't help but conclude that Heinlein had an outline of his history already in mind 1939; and indeed this is confirmed in the introduction by Damon Knight, which quotes one of Heinlein's editors writing in February 1941: "...Heinlein's science fiction is laid against a common background of a proposed future history of the world and of the United States. Heinlein's worked the thing out in detail...he has an outlined and graphed history of the future with characters, dates of major discoveries, etc., plotted in." Indeed, a version of this graph is reproduced in the book. What astounds me is that this was a work of imagination almost equivalent to Tolkien's history of Middle Earth, and yet it is not nearly so well known. That seems a shame to me.

The stories begin with present-day (that is, 1939) America, and the invention of a machine that can tell how long someone is going to live ["Life-Line"]. In retrospect this story almost looks like it doesn't belong in the collection, since the machine is destroyed shortly after it is unveiled, and its inventor Dr. Pinero is killed. Only much later, in the final story, does the main character refer back to the machine and to Pinero, making a nice closure for the reader.

There is a stately progression through the short stories, which tell of the invention of moving roadways between American cities ["The Roads Must Roll," "Blowups Happen"]. These stories don't have a major impact on the rest of the history, but the roads are mentioned in passing in later stories.

Then the real meat of the timeline gets started with what I call the Harriman Cycle--stories about space pioneer Delos David Harriman--that document man's first steps into space, landing on the moon, and establishment of permanent lunar settlements (all done by private companies, I'll add, and not by governments). These stories are "The Man Who Sold the Moon," "Delilah and the Space Rigger," "Space Jockey," and "Requiem," by the end of which travel between Earth and bases on the moon was, if not commonplace, more common that Space Shuttle launches at the height of that program.

The series continues with "The Long Watch," "Gentlemen, Be Seated," "The Black Pits of Luna," "'It's Great To Be Back!'," "--We Also Walk Dogs," and "Searchlight." These stories all describe life on the Moon, politics between Earth and the cities on Luna, and the evolving technology of the late 1900s and early 2000s, as Heinlein saw it (boy, don't I wish).

Man moves further afield in "The Green Hills of Earth" and "Logic of Empire," which tell of human settlements on Mars and Venus--both of which worlds have indigenous life. So too, one could say, does the Moon by now, with whole generations of humans being born and living their lives there, as shown in "The Menace From Earth."

The progression of civilization--in particular, American civilization, since other nationalities are rarely mentioned in any of the above stories--into space seems to be abruptly interrupted with a story that, at first read, doesn't seem to belong in this collection at all. "'If This Goes On--'" is the tale of an American theocracy ruled by a Prophet from the city of New Jerusalem (Kansas City, I think). Only slowly does it become clear to the reader that the US suffered a sort of coup around 2016 and this new government was set up, with all the trappings of a heaven on Earth but in reality a police state very similar to Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia (which, considering the story was written in 1940, it was not prescient per se but extremely timely and shows that Heinlein was acutely aware of developments and conditions across the world). The story deals with events that would later be incorporated into the collection "Revolt in 2100," which is about when it takes place. SPOILER ALERT: The Prophet is overthrown in this story, and a new government set up which is clearly descended from the old US Republic, but is a more Utopian-minded form.

Throughout "'If This Goes On--'" and the following story, "Coventry," the new society in America is examined in some detail but barely any mention is made of other countries, Luna, or the colonies on Mars and Venus. Space travel appears to be banned by the Prophet and all traces of it expunged from the history books. This is explained to a small degree in "Methuselah's Children," the final story in the collection and the first appearance of the famous (and immortal) character Woodrow Wilson Smith, aka Lazarus Long.

I didn't mean for this review to be a detailed explication of Heinlein's Future History, which is a good thing because I've gone on too long already. There are plenty of scholarly discussions of Heinlein's work, and this collection in particular, online--along with descriptions of stories he meant to include but never wrote, stories that were written but left out, and so on. Let me just say in closing that if you are a Heinlein fan and want to immerse yourself in the universe that seems to have been his main playground of imagination, get a copy of "The Past Through Tomorrow" and dive in. Some of the stories are a little dated in their language and social mores by today's standards, but remember when they were written and enjoy the genius of the man who was able to project the technology and society of 1940s America and project it, plausibly, centuries into the future.(less)

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Jan 30, 2012 Russell Fletcher rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, heinlein, favorites

The Past Through Tomorrow is a book of short stories by Robert A. Heinlein. It is my favorite science fiction book. (It may be my favorite book period.) Even though there are plenty of other things to read, I have to reread.it every year or two. The character D.D. Harriman is certainly an inventor ahead of his time, even though in his timeline he had different inventions to get into space.

Now for divergent thoughts not in this book but brought on by thinking about this book.
Speaking of inventors...more

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Apr 03, 2012 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

I confess: I did not read every story in this book. In fact, I didn't read the entire last half, which consists of the short novel "If This Goes On –," and "Methuselah's Children," and the short stories "Coventry," and "Misfit."

I came to this collection with the understanding that the work is set in the near future, and deals more with Earth and the Moon rather than the entire solar system. This theme is enthralling to me, and I haven't been so excited by a work of hard science fiction since I r...more I confess: I did not read every story in this book. In fact, I didn't read the entire last half, which consists of the short novel "If This Goes On –," and "Methuselah's Children," and the short stories "Coventry," and "Misfit."

I came to this collection with the understanding that the work is set in the near future, and deals more with Earth and the Moon rather than the entire solar system. This theme is enthralling to me, and I haven't been so excited by a work of hard science fiction since I read the manga PlanetES.

However, about halfway, Heinlein's "Future History" begins to include aliens from within our Solar System, from Venus and Mars, and after that, Heinlein's other mythologies begin to develop. Heinlein is a good writer, but no poet. There was no reason for me to stick around.

Because of that, this review and this rating, deal only with the stories before "If This Goes On–".

I thoroughly enjoyed its discussion of getting to the moon, and what it would mean for people to be there. The short stories are full of wit and cleverness, and portray real people in the Space era, eg "The Menace From Earth," about a fifteen year old Loony (a term for someone from the Moon, or who lives on the Moon, in Luna City) girl's jealousy after a groundhog (disparing term by the Loonies for people who live on Earth) steals her business partner, "The Black Pits of Luna," dealing with a lost child on the surface of the Moon, and "Searchlight," Heinlein's last short story, about tracking down a lost space ship by tracing the Moon with lasers which broadcast piano notes.

My favorite of the stories was "The Man Who Sold The Moon," and its sequel, "Requiem," both about the pioneer of space travel, the man who founds the first city, Luna City, D.D. Harriman, who has become one of my favorite characters in all literature. The stories are both touching and personal and clever.

This book collects most of the "Future History" series. My edition didn't have Universe or Common Sense, and the last two stories in the Future History series, according to Wikipedia, are the novels Time Enough For Love and To Sail Beyond the Sunset. It also has the beginnings of Lazarus Long, in Methuselah's Children (which is the short story that the novel is expanded from). Overall, it's a pretty stark collection of Heinlein, and probably a good introduction to his work. It was mine, and I'll be reading more soon.(less)

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Mar 10, 2011 Darth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: heinlein

This is a collection of the core Short Stories & Novellas that are collectively known to make up Robert Heinlein's "Future History"

Since these were written in the early days (many in the 1940's and 50's) much of the "future" part is now past tense at least in terms of the year on the calendar. Also, most of these have that feeling to them I would describe as pulpy, which I think most people would consider fair, since they were actually first published (not all but many) in magazines.

You hear...more This is a collection of the core Short Stories & Novellas that are collectively known to make up Robert Heinlein's "Future History"

Since these were written in the early days (many in the 1940's and 50's) much of the "future" part is now past tense at least in terms of the year on the calendar. Also, most of these have that feeling to them I would describe as pulpy, which I think most people would consider fair, since they were actually first published (not all but many) in magazines.

You hear a TONNE of superlatives bandied about these days - sometimes it is hard to sort through them to the real truth that underlies, and of course it doesnt help that writing is subjective, and something that rings true or is interesting / moving etc...

All that said, the words that people use to describe Robert Heinlein do not begin to do him justice.
Not every story is perfect, and in most the science is pretty speculative based on the period. Of course we know no one is whipping out a slide rule in the future, but he couldnt possibly have known.

The stories really grabbed me, and never let go. Some are poetic and almost high art / drama type, some are just silly little blurbs about next to nothing. They all have people at the core, and the technology / science is largely window dressing for the characters - though there is plenty of the rocket ships to the moon and beyond to keep your attention if that is what you are there for.

It is SOOOO easy to read this, then almost pick an author and tell what you guess his favorite Heinlein was. Like Kim Stanley Robinson wrote the Mars trilogy very much in the fashion of The Man Who Sold the Moon... I got the feeling Niven / Pournelle had a soft spot for Jackpot and the one with the guy, the 2 kids and the bum (I forget the title)
Easily understandable, this collection is probly home to the most influential set or works you can assemble in this field (including the classic Doc Smith works that Lucas turned into Star Wars)
Words do not do it justice. It is classic, it inspired a generation of authors, and it probly gave the US government the idea to fake the moon landings - if you like Sci-fi - read this book.

Thank me later

(less)

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Aug 01, 2012 Aries rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantascienza

Se penso che fino a pochi anni fa neanche conoscevo Robert Hanson Heinelin mi chiedo ancora come facessi a definirmi appassionato di fantascienza.Perché se è vero che Asimov è stato l’emblema della fantascienza classica e che Dick è stato il rivoluzionario visionario, Heinlein è stato, semplicemente, il genio razionale.Ho già parlato tempo fa di romanzi come Lazarus Long o Straniero in terra straniera, ma solo ora ho avuto modo di cominciare a leggere il ciclo di racconti che, tutto insieme, cos...more Se penso che fino a pochi anni fa neanche conoscevo Robert Hanson Heinelin mi chiedo ancora come facessi a definirmi appassionato di fantascienza.Perché se è vero che Asimov è stato l’emblema della fantascienza classica e che Dick è stato il rivoluzionario visionario, Heinlein è stato, semplicemente, il genio razionale.Ho già parlato tempo fa di romanzi come Lazarus Long o Straniero in terra straniera, ma solo ora ho avuto modo di cominciare a leggere il ciclo di racconti che, tutto insieme, costituisce quella che fu definita la “Storia Futura” di Heinlein.Ed il nome rappresenta alla perfezione ciò che questi racconti rappresentano: qui non abbiamo personaggi principali, non abbiamo eroi ed avversari, non abbiamo buoni e cattivi; abbiamo la storia.Una storia alternativa, certo, in cui i primi viaggi sulla Luna hanno permesso la costruzione di colonie e città sul nostro satellite, ma leggere un capitolo alla volta ci porta ad immaginare che questi avvenimenti, queste storie più o meno grandi, siano avvenute realmente.Heinlein aveva una capacità unica di analizzare le persone e la società, di esprimere le sue idee, di raccontare, tramite le vicende narrate, il modo in cui vedeva il mondo e ciò che il mondo avrebbe potuto essere: ci si potrà anche trovare in disaccordo alcune volte, ma non sarà possibile negare la grandezza della mente dietro tali pensieri.Questo volume raccoglie il primo ciclo di racconti, rigorosamente in ordine cronologico “interno” (ovvero delle vicende, non di scrittura) della Storia Futura, un ciclo che mi sento di consigliare veramente: avrete così modo di sapere cosa succederebbe se qualcuno scoprisse il modo di predire la morte di chiunque, di conoscere nuove strade che si muovono, di assistere all’evoluzione dell’uso dell’energia atomica, allo sfruttamento economico della Luna prima ancora di averla raggiunta ed al veloce processo di colonizzazione del satellite; scoprirete cosa si prova a tornare a casa e, soprattutto, a scoprire qual è veramente casa vostra.E’ un bel viaggio, da iniziare e gustare parola per parola.(less)

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Jun 01, 2012 Ted Mendelssohn rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the classic collections of science fiction. Anyone who enjoys the genre - and certainly anyone who aspires to write in it - should read these stories at least once.

As a writer, Heinlein was a uniquely 20th Century American phenomenon: A man who had trained for the military and as an engineer, but who also retained the storytelling ability of his fellow Missouri native, Mark Twain. His story were often "firsts" (the first to consider the implications of a particular sci-fi possibil...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Ronald rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This rather hefty book contains 21 short stories and short novels from Heinlein's earlier days, organized in chronological order (according to the dates when the stories take place, not when they were published). They are all unrelated and can be read stand-alone, but each story forms a foundation for the next one to build upon in terms of technology and human progress (or lack thereof, in some cases). The time-line is our own until (I would guess) about the time that WW2 comes to a close, at wh...more This rather hefty book contains 21 short stories and short novels from Heinlein's earlier days, organized in chronological order (according to the dates when the stories take place, not when they were published). They are all unrelated and can be read stand-alone, but each story forms a foundation for the next one to build upon in terms of technology and human progress (or lack thereof, in some cases). The time-line is our own until (I would guess) about the time that WW2 comes to a close, at which point it begins to diverge. It ends up being more than the sum of its parts and it's interesting to see this universe (dubbed "Future History") slowly expanded through glimpses into the lives of various characters and situations over the course of almost 300 years. Some of these are fairly mundane (such as a day in the life of a freighter pilot), while others are truly vast in their implications and impact on world-changing events.

The stories are, in order of appearance and with page-counts:

Life-Line (20 pages)
The Roads Must Roll (38 pages)
Blowups Happen (48 pages)
The Man Who Sold the Moon (92 pages)
Delilah and the Space Rigger (14 pages)
Space Jockey (18 pages)
Requiem (18 pages)
The Long Watch (14 pages)
Gentlemen, Be Seated (10 pages)
The Black Pits of Luna (14 pages)
"It's Great to Be Back!" (18 pages)
"--We Also Walk Dogs" (24 pages)
Searchlight (4 pages)
Ordeal in Space (16 pages)
The Green Hills of Earth (12 pages)
Logic of Empire (48 pages)
The Menace from Earth (26 pages)
"If This Goes On--" (136 pages)
Coventry (48 pages)
Misfit (22 pages)
Methuselah's Children (175 pages)

My copy also contained a brief introduction by Damon Knight, and a chart loosely depicting the timeline. My favorite story was "Methuselah's Children", and it is there that we are first introduced to the character of Lazarus Long (the oldest human being in existence, and also quite a rascal), who apparently plays a substantial part in some of Heinlein's later novels.

Overall I really enjoyed this. It's true that a few of the stories are somewhat weak, while others are great, but when you finally finish and look at the big picture it all more-or-less comes together into a nice cohesive whole. It's also worth mentioning that this book establishes a basic framework for some of Heinlein's later novels. You can probably jump straight into them without reading this one first but I wouldn't recommend it. "The Past Through Tomorrow" should not be missed.(less)

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Mar 07, 2012 Kelanth, numquam risit ubi dracones vivunt rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantascienza

Questo volume raccoglie il primo ciclo di racconti, rigorosamente in ordine cronologico delle vicende immaginate da Heinlein e non di scrittura della Storia Futura.

Un ciclo che ogni amante della fantascienza dovrebbe aver letto: l'autore qui getta uno sguardo sull'immaginario e crea situazioni come quella di predire la morte di una persona, lo sfruttamento economico della Luna che dopo essere stata raggiunta viene colonizzata, l'invenzioni di strade che si muovono, ma soprattutto il senso di app...more

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Aug 26, 2011 Tim rated it 5 of 5 stars

This, along with "Time Enough for Love" (currently reading) is Heinlein's magnum ous. This volume has some 800 pages of small-type stories, novellas and novels, culminating in '"Methuselah's Children" (which I have already read - see my review- and found out subsequently that there was a great number of stories that antedated that novel. These are published in this volume in the order given in a table close to the beginning of "Methuselah's Children" but somewhat out of order in terms of publica...more

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Apr 21, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, short-stories, fiction, novels

This is a collection of 21 stories that fit into Heinlein's "Future History." As Damon Knight's introduction relates, this isn't the future history, one that should be seen as predictive, but a future history. And it definitely has to be read in that spirit, otherwise especially in the beginning the works could be seen as hopelessly dated. The earliest story here--the earliest Heinlein ever published, "Life-Line," came out in 1939 (and it's remarkable for a first story). All but "Searchlight" pr...more

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Jul 25, 2008 Zachary rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Though I greatly enjoy Heinlen's writing, I didn't think I'd read very many of his short stories. Surprisingly, I had read "Life-Line", which is the first story in this book. But I didn't mind re-reading it one bit! One thing I had not realized before was that it was the first short story Heinlen had ever submitted for publication. I think the book is worth getting for it alone.

Now, not only is this book just an incredible collection of plain good 'ole fashioned story-telling at it's best, but t...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Delicious Strawberry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, robert-a-heinlein

This is the first Heinlein book I ever read, and I have never looked back since. A fantastic collection of thought-provoking and interconnected stories made for a very excellent read. Personal;ly, my favorite stories were 'Requiem' and 'The Man who sold the Moon'. 'Methuselah's Children' is also part of this collection, introducing you to the Howard Families (and Lazarus Long)

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Mar 06, 2011 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a really good collection of short stories by Heinlein. At first, they seem to be independent stories of what a future might look like. Then in the end, you see that they are actually part of a history of future Earth as seen by a group of people that live hundreds of years.

Many of the stories involve some sort of odd utopian vision gone wrong as is typical of Heinlein.

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Jul 05, 2012 Fola rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My favorite science fiction book ever, hands down, bar none, game over. The thread that continues through the story is nothing short of genius. More than any other work of his, Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land both included, this is his opus. The reason I can comfortable call him a grandmaster of science fiction.

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Oct 20, 2012 Christopher Roberts rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, 20th-century

I found these stories by Heinlein to be mostly pleasant but none of them were as good as his best works. I guess I'm more partial to later Heinlein and was less interested in these speculations about where human history is leading than the philosophical speculations of his later works.

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Feb 14, 2013 H. Blalock rated it 5 of 5 stars

As a Heinlein fan, I've always enjoyed finding his early work in print. This compilation actually presents his "Timeline" stories, starting with Life Line (1939) through Methuselah's Children. A great collection of marvelous fiction -- timeless and definitely worth the read.

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Feb 04, 2009 Dale rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: short-story-collections

Always amusing to go back and read classic sci-fi and see which predictions were far-seeing and which ones failed to pan out. I understand why highways were never replaced with "rolling roads", but someone tell me why we haven't colonized the moon yet?

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Dec 16, 2012 Joshua Kyle rated it 4 of 5 stars

The nice thing about future plots is the astute attention they pay to the dynamic qualities of human nature. I like Heinlein for this reason: the flesh is boiled away and all that's left for the expose is the nature. A fine nature, at that.

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Jul 22, 2012 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars

A collection of short stories from Heinlein's future history . . . good stuff!

Not every story in here is great, but most are at least good, and there are several that are spectacular. I especially enjoyed "If This Goes On . . ." and "Misfit".

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Apr 19, 2009 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had to read this book for HS "Novels of Escape". What a find. Great stories, Life-line would make a great short. Contains "If this goes on...", the best argument for the separation of church and state ever.

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Jul 15, 2011 Centrillo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another of my all-time favorites. Heinlein,while not as famous as Asimov, is at least his equal. The stories in this book, written over decades, paint a galaxy that is fascinating and complex.

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Apr 08, 2012 Foxtower rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: entertainment

This is one of four Heinlein novels that remain in my library. In thirty years I've found my tastes have changed and I don't like much of his work anymore. Yet I marked this particular book "excellent".

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Oct 06, 2012 Rich Casey rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my all time favorites. Though I read this 20 or 30 years ago, I still remember many of the stories and characters. Back in my queue to read again!

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Apr 05, 2013 Stuart rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf-fantasy

I think Heinlein was a better SF writer at shorter lengths, though this book is over 800 pages long. Methuseluh's Children is the best of them.

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Feb 21, 2012 Lisa added it · review of another edition

The past through tomorrow;: Future history stories (Future history series) by Robert A Heinlein (1987)

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May 11, 2009 Avani is currently reading it

Requiem: 5 Stars
The Long Watch: 4 Stars
The Green Hills of Earth: 4 Stars
The Man Who Sold the Moon: 3 Stars.

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Aug 13, 2007 S.A. Parham rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

This is a collection of Heinlein's "Future History" stories, set in chronological order by story. Some of these were boring enough to make me want to cry rather than read more... others were much more interesting. The real disappointment of the book was the novella bit in it, "If This Goes On---". It had terrific buildup, a good protagonists, then fell flat on its face with a mundane and boring ending. I'd rate the book overall 3 stars out of 5, simply because the few gems, while shiny and good,...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Dennis Daniels rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Perhaps one of the most formative of short sci-fi for me... Van Rjin (sp?) has stuck with me 30+ years.

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About Robert A. Heinlein

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American novelist and science fiction writer. Often called "the dean of science fiction writers", he is one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of "hard science fiction".

He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. He was the first SF writer to break into mainstre...more

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Quotes from The Past Through Tomorrow

“I was just pulling your leg and it came off in my hand.” — 4 people liked it

“It comes from exercising care in the choice of parents.” — 2 people liked it

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The Past Through Tomorrow

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