# Heinlein fans, \*read this\*. You'll thank me.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 18, 2006, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441 "2006-01-18T00:25:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/1 "2006-01-18T00:25:45Z")
New Heinlein collection of short stories: **Off The Main Sequence, The _Other_ Short Stories Of Robert A. Heinlein**. Run, don’t walk, to Abebooks or eBay (I don’t think it’s available through normal retail channels, despite being 100% legit. See below for why.)
This collection includes such hard-to-find stories as [ul]
[li]Successful Operation[/li][li]Free Men[/li][li]On The Slopes Of Vesuvius[/li][li]“Let There Be Light…” (which IS a Future History story. The characters are constantly referred to in the first half of **The Past Through Tomorrow**. It’s not in there because Heinlein (wrongly) felt it was too ‘slangy’. There’s two versions that differ by about 10 words (one “dirty”, one “clean”. I don’t know yet which this is, but given how the editor talks about how they strove to get the “correct” text, I’d guess it was the ‘dirty’ version\*)[/li][li]Destination Moon[/li][li]A Tenderfoot In Space (the only (IIRC) Juvie short-story)[/ul][/li]
Oh, and three others that _might_ interest a few fans.
[ul]
[li]Beyond Doubt[/li][li]“My Object All Sublime…”[/li][li]Pied Piper[/li][/ul]
:eek: 🙂 Somehow, _somehow_ Andrew Wheeler (one of the head honchos of the S.F. Book Club and general all-around nice guy…I’m sure this is legit given his involvement) got the rights to reprint the three “Stinkeroos”, one of which _isn’t_ a “stinker”: “My Object All Sublime…”. (I can’t really defend the other two.)
Anyway, this is (as far as I can tell) an SF Bookclub release only, but I got my copy on eBay and I’ve seen others on Abe Books and Bookfinder, ranging from about $4.99-$9.99.
I’d highly recommend getting while you can. I suspect that, like **Take Back Your Government** , it’s one of those deals where they were given the right to print it _once_ and once it’s gone, it’s gone. (Want a laugh? Look for a copy of **Take Back Your Government** and realize that it had a cover price of about $5.50 and it’s only 13 years old (Perot ran for Pres the first time in 1992, right?)
Plus it has a bunch of other great stories.
As near as I can tell, if you have this, **The Past Through Tomorrow** , **The Fantasies Of Robert A. Heinlein** , **Expanded Universe** (and maybe **Requiem** …didn’t that have a couple of short stories in it that didn’t appear elsewhere?) you’ll have every (really EVERY!) published Heinlein short story. And a few that weren’t! 🙂
Fenris
\*“Dirty” by the weird standards of wasshername–John W. Campbell’s bizarre prude secretary. IIRC. the changes are stuff like the guy says “How ya doin’ tonight, hot stuff?” which would have been changed to something like “How ya doin’ tonight, Miss Smith?” (not a real example, but it should give you a feel for the difference)
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/2 "2006-01-18T00:42:25Z")
Thanks for the alert! Being the completist that I am… 😃
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### Author:  [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/3 "2006-01-18T00:51:16Z")
Thanks Fenris. It was either bid or Buy It Now[sup]TM[/sup] for $34.95 on eBay but I found a copy on Amazon for $3.86 and picked it up.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/4 "2006-01-18T00:56:23Z")
Amazon has a bunch of them for less than $5 each.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/5 "2006-01-18T01:07:26Z")
Damn, son! I’ve only read those on mimeographs!
Fenris! You da man!
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### Author:  [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/6 "2006-01-18T01:14:52Z")
Dude! Damnit I’m not turning anything up on Amazon, anyone got an ISBN to share or something?
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### Author:  [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/7 "2006-01-18T01:18:23Z")
\>\>\> prays for a Doper with a generous heart to send him a gift copy \<\<\<
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/8 "2006-01-18T01:18:26Z")
Search on ‘Off the Main Sequence’. That’s what I had to do. It’s there.
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### Author:  [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/9 "2006-01-18T01:19:21Z")
Thanks! Found it just as you posted. ISBN for others is: 1582881847
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### Author:  [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/10 "2006-01-18T01:37:03Z")
Got Mine!!!
Thanks for the heads up.
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### Author:  [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/11 "2006-01-18T02:39:56Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Fenris \***“Let There Be Light…” (which IS a Future History story. The characters are constantly referred to in the first half of The Past Through Tomorrow. It’s not in there because Heinlein (wrongly) felt it was too ‘slangy’. There’s two versions that differ by about 10 words (one “dirty”, one “clean”. I don’t know yet which this is, but given how the editor talks about how they strove to get the “correct” text, I’d guess it was the ‘dirty’ version)**
Oops. I didn’t compare the stories word-for-word yet, but the easiest clue as to the difference between the “raunchy” (to use the actual term) version from the “clean” version is when the two main characters meet. In the “raunchy” version, he compares her to either Betty Grable (or, in the original magazine, Sally Rand). In the “clean” version, she’s compared to Marilyn Monroe.
In this compilation, the comparison is to Marilyn Monroe, so it’s nearly certain that it’s the “clean” version. That being said, it’s possible (if unlikely) that this is a mix of both versions (like they did with a recent edition of **Podkayne** which splices together both of Heinlein’s unsatisfactory endings into, IMO a far stronger one)
Also, looking at the timeline of when/how it was published, it couldn’t have been whatshername–Campbell’s prude secretary who required the clean-up. The original magazine that printed it (after Campbell rejected it) was Super Science Stories, and after publishing the “raunchy” version (with the Sally Rand comparison) they got a bunch of angry letters complaining about smut and Heinlein apparently cleaned it up himself for book publication, so a case can be made that the ‘clean’ version is the author’s preferred text.
Finally, as an aside, you _CAN_ get your hands on a copy of the ‘raunchy’ version pretty easily if you haunt your used bookstores. Look for **The Man Who Sold The Moon** : there are two Signet versions, one with six stories, one with only four. The one with _six_ stories has the “raunchy” version (with the Betty Grable update). There have been later (Baen, I think) printings of **The Man Who Sold The Moon** but I don’t know which text is used. I _know_ the Signet edition with six stories contains the “raunchy” version. IIRC, the minor differences in the “clean” version dulled some of the sharp, witty banter. I vaguely recall prefering the “raunchy” version.
Not that I’m a completist or vaguely obsessive or anything. 😉 😛
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### Author:  [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/12 "2006-01-18T04:25:11Z")
Just a heads up, Spider Robenson has suposidly turned in a manuscript to the publisher that he has fleshed out from RAH notes. All concerned with it are quite pleased, from reports I have heard.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/13 "2006-01-18T18:52:18Z")
Thank you **Fenris** , I just ordered it used on amazon. $9.26 with shipping.
Jim
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### Author:  [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/14 "2006-01-18T19:31:40Z")
Oh, Hell. Do I have to give up _all_ my secrets, now?
Well, I’m Andrew Wheeler, and I edited **Off the Main Sequence** , so thanks for all of the nice words. But one of the _reasons_ I edited it was to entice people into joining the SFBC. So I would really prefer if you _didn’t_ buy it from eBay or wherever for thirty bucks – especially since you can join the club and get it, along with four other things of your choice, for a buck! [Advertisement over; google for “Science Fiction Book Club” if you do want to join.]
It’s not a “one-time deal,” either – we’ll keep it in print as long as _members of the club_ keep buying it, which I hope will be many years to come.
Thanks to everyone who enjoyed it, and now that **Fenris** has smoked me out, I’ll have to figure out who _he_ really is…
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### Author:  [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/15 "2006-01-18T19:38:13Z")
Has anyone used the “F” word yet?
If not
FASCIST
carry on
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### Author:  [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/16 "2006-01-18T21:11:54Z")
Can I play too?
“Flugelhorn”
Another ‘F’ word that has absolutely nothing to do with this thread. Do I win a kewpie doll?
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### Author:  [@PerditaX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PerditaX)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/17 "2006-01-18T21:38:58Z")
> [@G.B.H. Hornswoggler](#):
>
> …one of the _reasons_ I edited it was to entice people into joining the SFBC…you can join the club and get it, along with four other things of your choice, for a buck.
Please excuse a slight highjack…
As an SFBC member for over 10 years, I would encourage any SF-loving Doper to join. I can always find what I’m looking for at a fraction of the bookstore price, and there are always wonderful club-only compilations and omnibus-editions that you just can’t get anywhere else (I am tremendously possessive of my copy of “The Chronicles of Master Li & Number Ten Ox!”). 🆒
Don’t be afraid of the “commitment” either - it’s only four more books in two years - I satisfied that in about two MONTHS, there’s so much good stuff available! It does have the usual book-club thing that if you don’t respond to the mailings in time the “Featured Selections” are sent automatically - but I have to say that some of my now-favorite books and authors are ones I got “accidentally!”
And, ftr, I have no financial interest in SFBC; I’m just a satisfied customer.
(But, Andrew, I’d happily accept a free book in exchange for my unsolicited testimonial) 😃
\
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### Author:  [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/18 "2006-01-18T21:40:01Z")
Well, thank you Mr. Hornswoggler. I do happen to be a member and planned to buy it from the SFBC anyhow, but I think it’s pretty cool that you’re from here.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/19 "2006-01-18T22:29:26Z")
> [@G.B.H. Hornswoggler](#):
>
> Oh, Hell. Do I have to give up _all_ my secrets, now?
>
> Well, I’m Andrew Wheeler, and I edited **Off the Main Sequence** , so thanks for all of the nice words. But one of the _reasons_ I edited it was to entice people into joining the SFBC. So I would really prefer if you _didn’t_ buy it from eBay or wherever for thirty bucks – especially since you can join the club and get it, along with four other things of your choice, for a buck! [Advertisement over; google for “Science Fiction Book Club” if you do want to join.]
>
> It’s not a “one-time deal,” either – we’ll keep it in print as long as _members of the club_ keep buying it, which I hope will be many years to come.
>
> Thanks to everyone who enjoyed it, and now that **Fenris** has smoked me out, I’ll have to figure out who _he_ really is…
Well you have me thinking about rejoining, I haven’t been a member since the 80’s.
You also have me wondering what part of NJ your in. I am down in Monmouth. Near exit 114 in fact.
Jim
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### Author:  [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fans-read-this-youll-thank-me/340441/20 "2006-01-18T23:22:42Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#):
>
> Can I play too?
>
> “Flugelhorn”
>
> Another ‘F’ word that has absolutely nothing to do with this thread. Do I win a kewpie doll?
No, you would have won a kewpie doll if you had mentioned the banjo (hats off to Roger Zelazny) as in “strumming their fascist banjos”, but flugelhorns win you nothing. Thanks for playing.
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