An interesting book, if somewhat dated. Heinlein approaches politics in a ‘first half of the 20th century’ Machine Politics mold. That has largely died off with the rise of the primary system.
Still, his take on politics such as
[ul]
[li]Expect graft. If you take it you’ll be small time all of your life"[/li][li]Anyone can fight a machine.[/li][li]Accept any volunteer job at first.[/li][li]Build your base whenever you can[/li][li]Businessmen make lousy elected officials[/li][/ul]
That last one seems oddly appropriate now. Heinlein makes the point that the skills and attitudes necessary to keep a city happy are entirely different than those required to run a profitable enterprise.
I’ll try to get through this one quickly as it’s the completist in me driving me to it. But I’ll take suggestions for the next one that I read and review.
An interesting book that the extra material claims was inspired by Heinlein’s dismay at American politics.
Note: I have run for office myself so some of this is likely more interesting to me than the rest of you.
Other than a mid-20th century fixation on machine politics (which has collapsed in the wake of the primary system) much of the advice here (the book is alternately titled “Take Back Your Government”) is still sound.
Decide which party you prefer.
Begin volunteering with your party
Be willing to take any job.
Prepare to run for office once you’re known
If you win office don’t sell out cheap
The important thing there is the last one. Heinlein claims, and I agree, that once you’re in you’ll be given offers to sell out or overly compromise. If you do so too quickly or too cheaply that will stop your career. One needs to maintain a certain level of ambition and not sell out until the price is right. Well, sort of, but very few politicians play at the highest levels without some form of compromise. The question is with whom do you do so?
Still, only a book for a serious Heinlein fan who must read everything.
I’m catching up on these, post-Election. Forgive the delay.
Between Planets
Here we have another one of Heinlein’s juveniles. But again this is one of the ones where, unlike some of them, the main character, Don Harvey, is largely passive. He finds himself swept up in events beyond his control and forced into actions that aren’t of his own choice.
He wants to see New Chicago on his own. He ends up seeing it with a friend of his parents.
He wants to go to Mars. He ends up on Venus.
He wants to join the High Guard (Navy). He ends up in the infantry.
Really, he might be the least on top of his game Heinlein protagonist. Or at least he’s in the running with John Thomas Stuart XI in The Star Beast.
Also, as in The Star Beast, we see a Heinlein ‘take charge’ young woman in Isobel Costello. She doesn’t have much screen time but it’s clear she can boss Don around pretty much whenever she wants. An interesting note is that in one of his letters Heinlein is clear that Isobel not only wants to marry Don but does so after the book ends. He says that she wouldn’t have stood for anything less.
Still, an interesting book and one that shows that an early juvenile (This was published in 1951) still can have a more complex backdrop. The political situation and the challenges confronting Don Harvey are more grown up that the ones in the books immediately before, Red Planet, and after, The Rolling Stones. Both of those books seems younger, somehow.
Next will be the compilation book, Creating a Genre. This book features short stories written by Heinlein between 1939 and 1942 and published under his pen names. I’ll get brief reviews of each story as I finish them.
I didn’t care for “Take Back Your Government” although the horribly retarded…and I’m not saying “in hindsight”, I mean, “retarded for the time” notes by Pournelle in the one printing of the book…notes about how ROSS PEROT WILL SAVE US ALL are hilarious. Were they anywhere in the Virginia Editions? (As an appendix or something)?
Also Trampe Royale is fun. It’s very much a product of it’s time, but Heinlein’s odd stream-of-consciousness rambling is fascinating and some of his opinions are kind of surprising (He thinks Joe McCarthy is/was a douche, but that, despite his douchiness and douchy tactics, he wasn’t entirely wrong on the basic problem…and it’s not the business of any other country, for example). Very good read, if totally outdated.
Of all of the juvies, Between Planets is the one I remember least. In fact, about all I do remember of it is Venusian dragons speaking via voder. Clearly, I need to go re-read it.
You should, Chronos. I consider it one of his better ones.
Fenris, the intro to ‘Take Back Your Government’ gives the Pournelle history in such as way as to say that the book wouldn’t have ever seen modern print without Pournelle’s intervention. So there’s that. And yes, it goes into how Pournelle overcommitted (much like my dear father) to Ross Perot, God help us all.
Still, I could see it being a valued manual way back when. There are better, now. Trust me on that.
OK, then.
Elsewhen from Creating a Genre
Clearly an early story of Heinlein’s this is one of those ‘multiple worlds’ tales where the characters leave the ‘real’ world for others that they reach, this time through hypnosis and suggestion. It may have been ground-breaking in 1940 or so but it feels clunky now. The writing is stilted and the dialog a bit overwrought in places but the idea is good.
One thing that’s odd is that it seems to go on for about 3-4 more pages than it needs to. Once the hero, a college professor named Frost, escapes from the police (who want him for the disappearance of several students who are now in other universes) there’s quite a bit more of him living in other universe that, to me, don’t really contribute. Just his saying “a matter of time” and vanishing would have been enough.
The more cynical among us might note that Heinlein was being paid by the word. Just sayin’.
Sorry to not let this go but I realized last night (and forgot to include in my review) that the rebels in Between Planets are a group of scientists and academics. Those with a good knowledge of Heinlein will realize that in several other places he explicitly makes fun of/has foolish characters espouse the idea that government should be by an educated elite.
It is indeed curious that the same man who gave us such gems of time travel fiction as “By His Own Bootstraps” and “All You Zombies” was also responsible for the drek of “Elsewhen”.
The first of the self-labelled ‘stinkeroos’ that I’ve run into. It starts as a sort of hard-boiled yarn and never really picks up the pace. A gadget story in which the gadget is hardly used on stage. This could have used a little more science or a little more comedy, either one.
Frankly, it’s best that it was a quick read. But it’s notable, to we here at least, because both the ‘Taken From’ and Endnotes contain mention of the Heinlein compilation Off the Main Sequence, which was edited by one of our own G.B.H. Hornswoggler. I can’t find the private message in which he mentions it to me but I’m very happy to see him mentioned. There are few things that I truly envy about other men but being mentioned in The Virginia Edition is one of them.
Oh, and I find I’m astonished to see in the endnote for the story that Heinlein once wrote a screenplay for Abbott and Costello. Oofah.
Another pretty dodgy effort. This one features, again, a gadget story that doesn’t really have the gadget in it. Instead we see the impact of the gadget in how different music makes different demographic cohorts behave as if hypnotized.
Still, just a dull one.
Parenthetical aside: If you ever wonder why I’m not doing these reviews in numerical order (all the books are numbered 1 to 46) it’s because the first one shipped was I Will Fear No Evil. Need I explain?
Farnham’s Freehold wasn’t as bad as it’s made out to be. OK, yeah, it’s definitely in the lower echelon of Heinlein’s work, but it still doesn’t compare to stinkers like Number of the Beast.
I am immensely enjoying this thread, though I have little to add. Do you notice that the juveniles (and the couple of 1950s adult books) show Heinlein at the top of his form, building believable backstories by his extrapolative methods and telling stories with a purpose? He was pretty well clear that his job was to be the man that sold the Moon, in real life. And it shows.
He wrote a treatment on pretty much the same basis any hopeful in H’wood might. There’s no sign that it was ever even acknowledged by A&C’s representatives.
