Robert A. Heinlein's Expanded Universe: Volume Two

Robert Heinlein's Expanded Universe in 2 Volumes #2

by Robert A. Heinlein

“The single most important and valuable Heinlein book ever published.”—Spider Robinson

Robert A. Heinlein has been hailed as one of the most forward-thinking science fiction writers of all time, and Expanded Universe (presented in two volumes) offers the perfect collection of his works to provide readers with true insights into his uniquely creative mind.

Heinlein personally selected each story or essay for inclusion in this collection, which is ordered chronologically, starting with his first sale in 1939 of “Life-Line” to Astounding (for seventy dollars).This remarkable collection highlights the development of Heinlein’s writing style and his philosophy on life throughout his career.

More importantly, this collection is as close to an autobiography as anything Heinlein wrote during his life. Heinlein was an extremely private person who never wrote much about himself. In this exclusive collection, he offers forewords to most of his stories and essays (and an occasional afterword), giving readers a rare glimpse into the inner mind of the master.

Expanded Universe is a must-have for any Heinlein enthusiast and any fan of science fiction.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Novels, Essays, Collections

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 16, 2015

About the author

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.

Reviews

[Oleksandr Zholud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second volume of Expanded Universe two-book collection of Robert A. Heinlein’s works. If the first book contained chiefly shorter prose, not only SF but other fiction, this one is chiefly essays. There are two big pieces on “What to expect in the year 2000?”, one written in 1950 (with updates from 1965 and 1979) and another from 1979. The author is known for his preachiness and in the essays it can be even highlighted. I liked his grumbles in his fiction, and it was sad that in essays his position sometimes contradicts what I know. His last essay in this volume is especially relevant in 2025 because there is a fictional new president in the USA that ‘makes America great again’ and recall that Musk named RAH as his inspiration…

Contents:
Nothing Ever Happens On The Moon (1949) a juvenile story, a sample of RAH’s juveniles. A boy comes to the Moon on his way to Venus. He wants to become a triple Eagle (scout’s high status on Earth, Moon, and Venus) and rushes through Moon’s scout program. Among challenges, there is a journey across the satellite and (as can be expected) all goes wrong. 3*
Pandora's Box (1966) an essay that Science fiction is not prophecy, moreover, even if it is wrong (e.g. outdated) it still can be great. 4*
Where To? (1952) a short piece about the red tape smothering activity, with a verse about foolish sparrow building its nest (I guess it imitates a well-known tale or such, but Googling hasn’t helped me to pinpoint it) intertwined with paragraphs on different impediments (e.g. “came that building inspector, bawled out the sparrow for failing to get special licenses and permits covering typhoons, sun spots, and ice ages, required him to buy seventeen permits and/or licenses and appear before boards controlling zoning, economic impact, ecological protection, energy conservation, and community esthetics, plus something called “very special service”—and a second mortgage, and along”) 3.5*
1950 Where To? this is a prediction of everyday life in the year 2000 with a preface, where RAH shows how the world radically changed from 1900 to 1950 and therefore calling to dream as big, highlighting a possible exponential growth. Some stuff is if not correct at least close to (phones recording calls, newspapers from printers at home) others less so (advances in health care and space exploration). There are also “what I got wrong” from 1965 and 1980, with surprisingly largest issue to RAH is that houses aren’t like Lego from industrially mass-produced details. 5*
Cliff and the Calories a “story for girls” written almost as a bet with his editor (she disliked him and looked down on his juveniles). An overweight (she thinks so, even if it can be just her view) teen girl in love with a boy goes on a diet. RAH notes that “I grew so fond of Maureen that I helped her to get rid of that excess weight, changed her name to “Podkayne,” and moved her to Mars (along with her unbearable kid brother). And now and again she turns up under other names in other science fiction stories.” And it can be clearly seen. The story is so-so she goes on a diet, her family is helpful, everyone sets their own diet; they go on a tourist auto-trip, visit a café with great dishes, all eat a lot. Later she tells her boyfriend that she cannot stop herself and he takes her to see Roden to show that modern attitudes aren’t universal 3*
Ray Guns and Rocket Ships another ‘what is SF’, where he stresses that science is in the name for a reason (attack on ‘cowboys in space’), lists writers who have science in SF - Sprague de Camp, George O. Smith, “John Taine,” John W. Campbell, Jr., “Philip Latham,” Will Jenkins, Jack Williamson, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, E. E. Smith, Philip Wylie, Olaf Stapledon, H. G. Wells, Damon Knight, Harry Stine, and “J. J. Coupling.” n some cases the offense is as blatant as it would be in the case of an author of alleged historical fiction who founded a book on the premise that Simón Bolívar was a Chinese monk! It follows that, in order to spot these literary fakers it is necessary to know that Bolívar was not a Chinese monk—know something of the sciences yourself or enlist competent advisers 4*
The Third Millennium Opens another prediction piece, where he believes e.g. in “A Certainty of Survival after Death; Telepathy and Clairvoyance for Military Purposes.” The first is based (Google it) on 1952 case when amateur hypnotist Morey Bernstein (1919–1999) put housewife Virginia Tighe of Pueblo, Colorado, in a trance that elicited revelations about Tighe's alleged past life as a 19th-century Irishwoman, using a technique called hypnotic regression, during which the subject is gradually taken back to childhood. He then attempted to take Virginia one step further, before birth (so-called "past life regression"), and was astonished to find he was listening to Bridey Murphy. Even despite it was shown as a case of Cryptomnesia, RAH states “Many people seem to feel that the “Bridey Murphy” case has been invalidated. Maybe so, maybe not” (he is too stubborn to agree that he was fooled). 3*
Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry? (1958) “give me liberty, or give me death” the essay against stopping US testing of nuclear weapons, quite correctly stating that autocracies and totalitarian regimes use dupes to push their agenda in areas where they cannot compete. You see, my parents where on the other side, in the USSR, and still I agree that the USA, that wasn’t able to rival USSR+PRC(+possibly India) in ordinary war, was correct in pushing for nuclear. Yes, in a few years the USSR will quarrel with PRC up to military skirmishes, but also in the same few years missiles were on Cuba. A side note, RAH repeats “butchers of Budapest”, while now Hungary is the main supporter to russia in EU. And Russian psy-ops today follow the same idea: This follows the pattern of a much-used and highly-refined Communist tactic: plan ahead to soften up the free world on some major point, package the propaganda to appeal to Americans with warm hearts and soft heads, time the release carefully, then let the suckers carry the ball while the known Communists stay under cover. 4*
"Pravda" Means "Truth" RAH and his wife Virginia visit the USSR in 1960. She learnt Russian for two years before the visit. When they were in the country, there was a famous capture of Powers, pilot of U-2 spy plane. I knew about the accident – it was (in Soviet interpretation) in books for middle grades! RAH doubts that the Soviets shot it and Wiki says that the NSA also assumed a foul play (documents were declassified in 2010). He correctly points on propaganda from the early childhood, even if the quote below may portray RAH as filled with patriarchal attitudes (but actually shows his weak spot of being a childless couple despite trying): How can the attitudes of 200 million people be switched on and off like a light bulb? How can one set of facts be made to produce three widely differing pravdas? By complete control of all communications from the cradle to the grave.
Almost all Soviet women work. Their babies are placed in kindergartens at an average age of 57 days, so we were told, and what we saw supported the allegation. We visited several kindergartens, on collective farms and in factories. By the posted schedules, these babies spend 13½ hours each day in kindergarten—they are with their mothers for perhaps an hour before bedtime. 4*
Inside Intourist this one is more on how Intourist gives bad service for expensive visits of Americans and how to fight them. 3*
Searchlight (1962) a story about a piano prodigy girl is lost on the Moon, when her rocket fell. How to find her? they play different notes on different parts of the satellite, scanning it with laser and she has perfect hearing 3*
The Pragmatics of Patriotism transcript of a part of 5 April 1973 the James Forrestal Memorial Lecture to the Brigade of Midshipmen at RAH’s alma mater the United States Naval Academy. Idea: Patriotism is the most practical of all human characteristics. So, while Today, in the United States, it is popular among self-styled “intellectuals” to sneer at patriotism. They seem to think that it is axiomatic that any civilized man is a pacifist, and they treat the military profession with contempt. “Warmongers”—“Imperialists”—“Hired killers in uniform”—you have all heard such sneers and you will hear them again. One of their favorite quotations is: “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” What they never mention is that the man who made that sneering wisecrack was a fat, gluttonous slob who was pursued all his life by a pathological fear of death. Google helps noting that that slob was Samuel Johnson, English writer and lexicographer (1709–1784). His attitudes are especially relevant for me after the full-scale invasion of russia in 2022. 4*
Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You an accolade to Dirac. 4*
Larger Than Life an accolade to E.E. Doc Smith 4*
Spinoff RAH’s 1979 testimonial before a joint session of the House Select Committee on Aging (Honorable Claude Pepper, M.C., Chairman) and the House Committee on Science and Technology (Honorable Don Fuqua, M.C., Chairman)—subject: Applications of Space Technology for the Elderly and the Handicapped. He stresses how much US Moon program gave in everyday tech based on his then recent live-saving operation. 5*
Happy Days Ahead (1980) another prediction, both as a dystopia and as a possible solution. Dystopian part stresses that there are increasing pathological trends in our culture that show us headed down the chute to self-destruction. This may sound as modern right-wing anti-wokeism, but actually is more about laxer attitudes toward math and precise grammar in schools and colleges. I agree on math, for it trains any mind. He stressed that in the 19th century Latin was in school program (highlighting the need to learn more languages, another point I support); lambasts lecturers, who teach writing, including SF, but who never wrote a thing. Then he goes on a crusade against inflation and public debt in the USA (but as a gold bug proposes a wrong solution, unlike the correct one that worked under Volcker and debt reduction on the 1990s), problems with US army. Then he hits hard at ‘the age of unreason’ – problems from giving time to creationism in schools to the fads about Tarot or astrology –
fifty-odd years ago astrology was commonly regarded as a ridiculous superstition, one all but a tiny minority had outgrown. It is now the orthodoxy of many, possibly a majority. […]
Stipulated: Ancient astrologers were scientists in being able to predict certain aspects of descriptive astronomy such as eclipses, positions of the sun, moon, and naked-eye planets, etc. Whether or not they believed the fortunetelling they supplied to their kings, patrons, or clients is irrelevant. The test of a science is its ability to predict; in the cited phenomena the Chaldean priests (for example) performed remarkable feats of prediction with handcrafted naked-eye instruments. […]
“What sign were you born under?”—I don’t recall having heard that question until sometime after World War Two. Today it is almost impossible to attend a social gathering (including parties made up almost solely of university staff and spouses) without being asked that question or hearing it asked of someone else.
Finally, RAH gets to “The Cancerous Explosion of Government”, which is a bit cringeworthy in line recent DOGE stupidity. And gives a solution in form of a ‘possible future’ where a black woman Vice-President becomes a POTUS, unites Americans (In this office there are no Blacks—or Blues, Whites, Greens, or Yellows—just Americans.), returns to gold standard, ups prestige of the army, gives green light to clean and cheap nuclear instead of oil, starts environmental programs (here old SF writers are quite unlike modern right – they knew the problem is real!). Finally, the USA and Mexico start a joint space program (and even shift to Spanglish as a common tongue). I disagree with quite a lot, but I like how it is written, so 4*

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection is mostly nonfiction and highlights some of Heinlein's more extremist views. He could incorporate these views into his fiction without being too annoying, but this felt more like old man yells at cloud.
This book came out in 1980 which added some retrospective humor to it. Heinlein rails against inflation, the national debt, and how uneducated and stupid the youth of the time were. We're all doomed! Forty years on, and people still rail about the same things and yet we're still here.
He thought we should go back on the gold standard. Again I found it funny since it was in one of his books that I learned that money doesn't need to be based on anything real. The main character starts a trading post and bank on another planet and makes things run smoothly through having paper script based on nothing but good faith.
Heinlein tries to prove he's not a misogynist by praising women in general and his wife in particular. He even goes so far as to say we should let women run the world for awhile since they couldn't do any worse than men. Then he spoils it by saying those women should be mothers since they have a stake in the future. I would love to talk that bit over with his childless wife.
His views on voting rights were most annoying. He states we should pay more attention to the Founding Fathers who never meant for everyone to be able to vote, just responsible people with "consideration for the future of his children and grandchildren" such as property owners. Right, except Martha Washington had a lot of property (it's one of the reasons George married her) and had children, but she could never vote. And the thought that everyone should have to prove their intelligence by solving a quadratic equation before voting was silly. I am intelligent (member of Phi Beta Kappa for what that's worth) but I have had no reason to do a quadratic equation in at least thirty years and quite honestly don't even remember what they are.

[Tony Calder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've classed this as fiction, but there are only 3 fiction stories in this volume, and only 2 of them are science-fiction. The remainder is essays and talks that Heinlein gave. Which is not to say that it's not interesting - it is, and it gives a good idea of how his beliefs were changing. I suppose it is possible that one of the reasons for the lack of fiction in this later volume is that he was writing a much greater percentage of novels rather than short stories.

In this second volume Heinlein's libertarianism and his distrust of government and politicians shows much more strongly than it did in the first volume. What also comes across is that the perception that many people have of him being sexist isn't as true as many think. He doesn't appear to believe that women are any less capable than men, indeed, he seems to believe that his wife is more capable then himself in almost every respect. and he does write strong female characters, although in some of his novels - yes Friday, I'm looking at you - they choose to make themselves subservient to men who are clearly not their equal in any respect.

One of the stories in this volume did answer a question that arose while reading the first volume - some of RAH's early writing reminded me quite strongly of 'Doc' Smith. It turns out the Heinlein and 'Doc' were friends and quite possibly Smith mentored or at least influenced Heinlein in his early career - he certainly writes glowingly about 'Doc'.

Overall, the two volumes are worth reading for any fan of Heinlein.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heinlein was convinced that Paul Dirac was right to be convinced until his death that G (the gravitational constant) is decreasing slightly over time. Fascinating. In another essay Heinlein posits that the official figures given for the population of the USSR from 1950--1970 vastly overstate the actual population, citing demographic surveys by his wife while they visited and logistic data about one city's layout and maximum supportable population. Also, the last entry, "The Happy Days Ahead", features a lengthy dissection of the University of California at Santa Cruz's course catalogue and degree program and says it was one planned to be "the Oxford of the West" but loosened its standards due to low enrollment, then explains what a President would do to fix everything and get Americans back into space. Fascinating and confusing.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this collection to be a disappointment. It’s advertised as a collection of short stories but there are only 3 very very short stories included. Those are very good but the rest of the book is a series of non-fiction ramblings from Heinlein. There’s a lot of math in spelled out paragraph form, as well as gratuitous chapters of Heinlein ranking his sci-fi predictions three times over through the decades. I found the most interesting nonfiction portion of the book to be a detailed Russian travel log.

[Bob Rivera · Rating 2 out of 5]

He turned into a pessimist toward the end of his life

Heinlein was one of my favorites in my youth, but as I reread this in my 60's, I find him pessimistic and cynical. His "end of the world" predictions were not only wrong but also wrong headed. I'm sure there are those in his fan base that will say I have an ax to grind. The reality for me is through the lens of age and my own 30 year Naval Officer career, this later writing of his appears to me in a different light.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this collection nearly as much as I did the first volume. The best story is the first about a boy scout on the moon and the collection dwindled from that point on. Most interesting were the essays by Heinlein in which he argued against communism (no surprise considering the strong libertarian views in his novels) and talks about what science fiction is. Unfortunately, after the first story, nothing in the collection really stood out to me.

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology is plenty interesting, but you must have a fondness for essays as well as sociopolitical rumination, as you will find little in the way of stories in this volume. The first volume probably has greater appeal to most readers. 3.5/5

[J Grimsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mixture. Heinlein's right wing American views show a lot of common sense and need to be examined but more examination needs to be made of what he thinks is good. It is I think more corrupt and less honest than he thinks.

[Matthew Holloway · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the predictive portions of this book. I'm not sure that I agree with his stance on patriotism, but maybe I would, if I could verify that he felt patriotism and nationalism were two different things. The fiction parts were fantastic, as always.

[Austin Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considered Heinlein's greatest compendium. Spanning 1939-1980. Took me a month to go through the 600 pages.

[Austin Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considered Heinlein's greatest compendium. Spanning 1939-1980. Took me a month to go through the 600 pages.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book for Heinlein fans but less so for those just looking for a story.

[Peter Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far from his best book but some parts were quite good.

[AVANTI KUMAR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really two and half stars - as most of this comprises outdated ruminations.

Three (just about) because it is Heinlein.

[Dan Hyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not great. For the Heinlein completionist. A collection of short stories and essays.

[Bookworm Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Less story and more commentary in this book .

[María Mónica Beltrami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb is to low a word!

I have enjoyed the books from its paperback form to today's kindle form.
All of them are superb.
I'd should like to have the unavailable ones.

[Jeff Ferry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Heinlein's Expanded Universe: Volume Two is a fascinating look into the thinking and philosophy of the dean of science fiction. This volume includes only a few typical Heinlein fiction stories including a "boy scouts on the moon" adventure and a short fiction piece he did for an electronics company. The real treasure in this volume is the many essays and accompanying forwards for those essays.

The essays give you a look into what Heinlein thought about both the writing process and many other subjects. He gives detailed essays on Public Education in America and traveling in the Soviet Union in the late 1970's. It's a real time capsule into what he, and many others, were thinking circa 1980. He displays a deep fear of the Soviets and a deep sadness at what he believes America has lost. Although I don't agree with some of his conclusions it is nonetheless a terrific read. If you have read at least a few of Heinlein's works this is a nice addition to give a perspective of where the writer was coming from.

A list of predictions Heinlein made in 1950 are also included. Unlike most prognosticators Heinlein reviews his predictions in 1965 and 1980 and gives honest opinions on his hits and misses. This was probably my personal favorite section.

The version I reviewed was the 2015 unabridged audio version read by Bronson Pinchot that was about 9.5 hours. The audio version was published by Blackstone Audiobooks. Pinchot is an absolutely sublime narrator. Within five minutes I felt like it was Heinlein telling me his own story. I look forward to listening to more books read by Mr. Pinchot.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this at some point in the past. Listened to it this time in audiobook in Sept 2025. Very enjoyable read. Yes some of the essays included are dated, but I still enjoyed the way Heinlein's mind worked. Even in the rare circumstances where I don't necessarily agree with what he might be saying, I always respect his reasoning and communication skills. He always managed to make even somewhat dry subjects interesting or amusing.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this much more than the first volume since he moved away from his atomic bomb focus. A nice variety of materials, some stories and quite a few essays. There were a couple of essays in the middle of the book that I struggled to get through, but otherwise I found this very interesting.

[Mhorg · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I love Heinlein, I found much of this just fodder, stuff left over from his heyday. If I'd never read it, I'd have survived.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A must for those wanting to understand Heinlein's attitudes and their influence on his writing.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essays and short stories. Some predictions of the near future and review of his ideas.
(He invented the water bed.)

[Austin Wright]

Considered Heinlein's greatest compendium. Spanning 1939-1980. Took me a month to go through the 600 pages.