The Best of Robert Heinlein 1939-1942

by Robert A. Heinlein

"—And He Built a Crooked House" (1941)
Life-Line (1939)
The Roads Must Roll (1940)
The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag (1942)

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction

212 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

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

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This great collection comprises six short stories and two novellas from the huge catalogue of Heinlein science fiction stories spanning the years 1939 to 1959 and collected by Sphere in 1973. A mere drop in the ocean that demonstrates the evolution of a writer and a genre and the growing talent of a fine storyteller.

My favourite story would have to be All You Zombies, which is not a zombie story but is in fact a clever piece of time travel that has the capacity to hurt your brain with its analysis of the kind of paradoxes you constantly wonder about with time travel. This one may as well be an Escher in literary form for all the mind bending it achieves.

And He Built A Crooked House is similar in its construction but the opposite in tone. The building of an unfolded tesseract by an excitable architect includes passages of description that hurt your brain but the story goes off in to a crazy tangent with characters very much of their time, or perhaps were major influences on Michael Richards when he created Kramer for Seinfeld.

I should have picked up The Past Through Tomorrow: Book 1 to get started with the Heinlein short stories but my secondhand copy of this book looks like it had been loved so much by its previous owner and I simply had to know why the spine was part broken and the the worn away title replaced in blue ink.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three short stories and a novella, that's all that this book has. But the impact it has on the mind of the reader is quite incredible. It's even more hard to accept since these stories had been written at a time when, in the words of Peter R. Weston, science fiction was considered pretty disreputable!
The first story selected for this slim volume is 'Lifeline'. Written in 1939 it was the author's first published story. But WHAT a wry, dark story this one is! Without delving on so-called science, it's a careful study of expectations of humanity, regarding life, and death. As a short story, it's superb, and remains powerful.
'The Roads Must Roll' is part of Heinlein's 'Future History' series. The science part is pretty hard. But the life-force of this story is study of human characters in the middle of crisis. Despite being published in 1940 you may read it even now as a story without all the trappings of so-called sci-fi, to enjoy the grit.
'And He Built a Crooked House', published in 1940, is a very funny story. Heinlein should have given us more of such gems.
'The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag', published in 1942, is one of the most dark, silently visceral, and claustrophobic novellas that I have read. If you are yet to read this one, I strongly urge you to rectify the situation.
Overall, this slim volume was a genuine trait. I wholeheartedly recommend it to all readers who appreciate solid stories with believable characters and sharp observations.

[James Kinsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cracking little selection that pleasingly improves as you go in. Wasn't so keen on Lifeline, The Roads Must Roll had a decent if simple narrative bolted to an enjoyably retro idea of what the future might hold, And He Built A Crooked House is light in tone but beautifully bizarre in concept. The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag completes the set, and is both the longest by some margin, and the best. Tension, mystery, a pair of leads in Teddy and Cyn I'd cheerfully read a dozen stories about, all packaged up in a tale I'd love to see adapted for screen. A real humdinger.
My first taste of Heinlein, but hopefully not my last.

[Austin Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag is a novella by Robert A. Heinlein. It was originally published in the October 1942 edition of Unknown Worlds magazine under the pseudonym of "John Riverside". It also lends its title to a collection of Heinlein's short stories published in 1959.

This 1942 work is an eerie precursor to PKD.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lifeline: ***
The roads must keep rolling: ***
And he built a crooked house: ****
The unpleasant profession of Jonathan Hoag: **
The green hills of Earth: **
The long watch: ***
The man who sold the moon: **
All you zombies: ****