# Which Robert Heinlein Books Are The Best? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088 "2011-11-06T19:15:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/41 "2011-11-07T09:01:04Z")
The passage in _Job: a comedy of justice_ where Heinlein describes what it’s like in heaven should be compulsory reading in every library school. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/42 "2011-11-07T09:19:07Z")
I don’t think _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ can be seen as a direct parallel to any historic independence movement. Australia was known as a penal colony (although in reality Australia was settled more by miners than convicts) but it never had a real revolution. Ireland did fight for its independence but Ireland wasn’t a penal colony and the Irish certainly didn’t feel the problem with the British was they were too far away - rather the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/43 "2011-11-07T13:29:17Z")
_TMiaHM_ parallels several revolutionary movements, so you really can’t equate it with just one. There are elements from Australia, Ireland, France, Russia and the US all woven together. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/44 "2011-11-07T19:16:21Z")
At least partly by design, too: Prof was actively trying to make it look like any number of Earthly revolutions, to make the people of those nations more sympathetic to the cause. And **Rala** , none of those books is one I’d recommend to someone just starting on Heinlein. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/45 "2011-11-07T19:59:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Oh, God no. _Cat_ is **not** where to start with RAH. It only makes any kind of sense if you’ve read all that came before. And not a lot of sense then. I haven’t read it for a while now - I’ll bow to your opinion. 🙂 > [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > Probably easier to make a list of works to be avoided the first time around… > > **Space Cadet > I Will Fear No Evil > Farnhamn’s Freehold > The Number of the Beast** > > **Job** is pretty damn good, everyone forgets that one. I really enjoyed “Job,” too. I _did_ forget that one. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/46 "2011-11-07T20:40:38Z")
_Job_ is good, but not a good starting place. **longhair75** mentioned a good one: _Revolt In 2100_. Really two novellas slapped together, at least the first half is excellent, timely and all-too-possible. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/47 "2011-11-07T21:27:39Z")
_Revolt in 2100_ is entirely contained within _The Past through Tomorow_, which also contains a lot of other good stories. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/48 "2011-11-07T22:26:54Z")
I like “The Door Into Summer” and “The Roads Must Roll”. I like Heinlein because he is a mid-century author (20th century)-and its fun to see how technology has advanced . As for his politics, yes, that it 1950’s as well-with the ever-present Red Scare. It’s like reading Jules Verne-you have to accept that the world has changed quite a bit since the books came out. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/49 "2011-11-07T23:04:25Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Also _Sixth Column_, which cannot be laid entirely at RAH’s feet, since he wrote it from an outline by Campbell. When the guy who buys your stories gives you an outline, you by Og write the story, no matter how racist the outline is. I liked it. I re-read it every few years. Retitled_The Day After Tomorrow_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/50 "2011-11-08T00:51:32Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Also Sixth Column, which cannot be laid entirely at RAH’s feet, since he wrote it from an outline by Campbell. When the guy who buys your stories gives you an outline, you by Og write the story, no matter how racist the outline is. > > I liked it. I re-read it every few years. > > RetitledThe Day After Tomorrow. It’s infinitely better than Campbell’s version, which was published after his death under the title _All_. But even Heinlein didn’t much like the plot. **cat Whisperer** wrote: > [@](#): > > You know, I loved both of those books. Yes, but, just as you wouldn’t recommend them for a beginning Heinlein reader, neither would I, which is why I wrote what I did. And I suspect that you wouldn’t be so happy with For Us the Living if you’d come across it unattributed. It’s only interesting as a historical artifiact and one of our earliest pieces of Heinleiniana. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/51 "2011-11-08T01:06:25Z")
I’ve read _Friday_, _Stranger in a Strange Land_, and _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_. The last is one of my favorite books ever, but I wouldn’t really recommend the other two. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/52 "2011-11-08T02:33:23Z")
> [@Rala](#): > > The books I have are _Stranger in a Strange Land, I Will Fear No Evil, Time Enough For Love, The Number of the Beast_ and _Job: A Comedy of Justice_. The ones I started and gave up on are _I Will Fear No Evil_ and _Job: A Comedy of Justice_. Can the fans in this thread tell me if any of the books I have are worth trying? Man! Did you ever get the booby prize! If I were coming up with a list of the worst possible Heinleins to start with, it would not be far off of yours. There is some good stuff to be had in there, but it’s definitely an acquired taste. As noted above, the juveniles, the several adult (in the sense of being written for grownups) novels of the same period (_Double Star, Puppet Masters, Door into Summer_), the short stories, and _Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ and all much accessible works. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/53 "2013-07-28T18:38:00Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > \*\*Chronos \*\*said it perfectly: “_The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ is quite possibly the best science fiction novel ever written by anyone.” I’m bumping this thread from pure fanboy exuberance. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/54 "2013-07-28T19:53:22Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > I’m bumping this thread from pure fanboy exuberance. Well, as you’ve awakened the zombie, I’ll feed it. _The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Starship Troopers Tunnel in the Sky The Door Into Summer Citizen of the Galaxy Have Spacesuit, Will Travel Starman Jones Red Planet_ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/55 "2013-07-28T21:52:05Z")
A couple of years later and I stand by my list in Post #7. With the passage of time, I will admit that I reread _To Sail Beyond the Sunset_ every now and then. Don’t judge me. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/56 "2013-07-28T21:59:11Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > _The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress > Starship Troopers > Tunnel in the Sky > The Door Into Summer > Citizen of the Galaxy > Have Spacesuit, Will Travel > Starman Jones > Red Planet_ > [@silenus](#): > > A couple of years later and I stand by my list in Post #7. > [@silenus](#): > > _The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress > Starship Troopers > Glory Road > Double Star > Tunnel In the Sky > The Door Into Summer > Methuselah’s Children > Time Enough For Love > The Puppet Masters > The Rolling Stones_ Good lists, both. I still get asked for such lists and while I try to tailor them to age and interests, my lists look a lot like these. A little iffy on TEFL - too long and confusing for some new readers. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/57 "2013-07-28T22:38:10Z")
I just reread _The Rolling Stones_ while on vacation and I probably reread _Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ every other year. I reread _Puppet Masters_ last year. These classic don’t get old. Though I probably only reread about 3 Heinlein’s per year now. ---
**Author:** ![MsBatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@MsBatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsBatt)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/58 "2013-07-29T01:22:52Z")
“The Number of the Beast” is the very first book I EVER failed to finish. In fact, I slogged on to within 50 pages of the end, and threw the book in the garbage in disgust. However, I LOVE Golden-Age Heinlein. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/59 "2013-07-29T02:24:35Z")
People didn’t like _Space Cadet_? Number of the Beast leads into some better stories. By itself, I’d still put it ahead of Farnham’s Freehold. I listened to _Variable Star_, by Spider Robinson, based on Heinlein’s notes. Interesting and fun. Parts read like Spider Robinson, and parts read like a Heinlein juvenile. It’s set in the Future History, but not the main branch. We get to see a bit about how the Prophet came to power, a story Heinlein dreaded writing. Some scenes are quite funny, I LOLed out loud more than once. As a Spider Robinson novel, it’s good. As a Heinlein novel, it’s not the worst ever. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088/60 "2013-07-29T04:02:37Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > People didn’t like _Space Cadet_? I feel similarly, about _Time For The Stars_. Two dis-recommendations, one recommendation, and no mention of the book otherwise. I like best, (many of) Heinlein’s stand-alone novels / “juveniles”, and would suggest same to a new reader. _TFTS_ is one of my four or five top favourites among those. I wonder why many readers seemingly find it wanting? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-robert-heinlein-books-are-the-best/602088.md?page=4)