In 1974, a book, ostensibly by Robert A. Heinlein, & entitled Tricks Of The Trade, was published.
But it is not by Mr. Heinlen!
It is a book on prostitution, written by an ex-hooker who put R.A.H.'s name on it!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0451057740/sr=1-1/qid=1173533113/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/102-5179837-8033704?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1173533113&sr=1-1
Why?
Why a noted science fiction writer?
Why a male writer?
There must be a good story behind this!
If anybody knows, it’s the Dopers!
C’mon! GIVE!
First I’ve heard of it, but I can thow a few guesses out there. She may have thought that it would sell better under the name of an established author. As to why she picked Heinlein in particular, she might have thought that he appealed to the same target demographic that she was shooting for. Or, she might have been a science fiction fan, and just really liked Heinlein.
According to various blogs, Heinlein wrote the following in something called From the Notebooks of Lazarus Long):
> A whore should be judged by the same criteria as other professionals offering
> services for pay – such as dentists, lawyers, hairdressers, physicians,
> plumbers, etc. Is she professionally competent? Does she give good measure?
> Is she honest with her clients? It is possible that the percentage of honest and
> competent whores is higher than that of plumbers and much higher than that of
> lawyers. And enormously higher than that of professors.
I don’t remember if Heinlein actually wrote this exact quotation, but I do recall him praising prostitution in several places in his works. The person who wrote the book apparently did so because of things like this that Heinlein wrote.
Yes, that’s an exact quote from the Notebooks. And Heinlein certainly featured sympathetic prostitutes in his writings from time to time.