One of the largest American writers - Robert Heinlein - was born in Missouri on July 7, 1907. His childhood passed there. The greatest influence on the formation of the child’s personality was made by his grandfather, who, firstly, instilled in him a love of reading, and, secondly, developed positive character traits in him, such as determination and responsibility. The passion of both was a game of chess, accustomed to logical thinking.
Education and hobbies
Robert's family had strong Christian traditions, so he was brought up in a strict Puritan spirit. It was a Methodist teaching popular in that region of the USA. It included prohibitions on drinking alcohol in any quantities, gambling, dancing and much more. Over time, Heinlein departed from these strict rules, which affected the heroes of his books.
At school, the child was most interested in the exact sciences: mathematics, astronomy, and also biology. His worldview changed dramatically when he learned about Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory. In the city of Kansas City, where he lived, his favorite place was the public library, from where he drew all possible literature on the above topics.
Education
Robert Heinlein had three brothers and three sisters. He followed the example of the eldest - Rex - and went to serve in the army. His goal was the city of Annapolis, where the United States Naval Academy was located. The American system of enrolling students in such universities is quite complicated. Unlike civil universities, where it is enough to send all the necessary documents by mail, it was also required to get positive recommendations from congressmen who could issue quotas for admission. The situation was complicated by the fact that, according to the rules, only one person from a generation could get to the academy from one family. This was already the older brother of Rex, but Robert did not give up and began to fill up letters of responsible persons with requests.
It took him a year to do this. During this time, Robert Heinlein studied one course at the University of Missouri. When the academy began to select applicants, it turned out that about 50 applications from 50 people and another 50 applications from one applicant were received. That was Robert. He successfully entered and moved to Bancroft Hall. So called the hostel of the midshipmen, where the cadets lived.
Fleet
The service will later be reflected in the writer's work. In 1948, he will write the novel "Space Cadet" (Space Cadet - in Russia also translated as "Space Patrol"). In the book, the author indulges in nostalgic memories of the time spent in the navy through the prism of his own imagination. The main character of the work enters the school of the Patrol Service, after which he goes on an expedition to Venus.
Robert Heinlein himself noted his naval career with many brilliant achievements. In addition to succeeding in traditional disciplines in the training program, he also engaged in shooting, fencing and wrestling. In all these endeavors, he became the champion of his own academy. After graduation, his name was on the list of best cadets.
After graduating from the academy in 1929, Heinlein received the rank of Ensign. It was a junior officer rank. While still a student, he practiced on various vessels - Utah, Oklahoma and Arkansas. He received his first real appointment for the Lexington aircraft carrier, which was listed in the ranks of the US Navy. His duty was to monitor the quality of communication between the ship and the aircraft. However, the career was ruined due to a state of health - tuberculosis was discovered in a young officer. Even after Robert recovered, he was not allowed to return to work and was assigned a pension.
The Beginning of Writing
Failures in ordinary activities and loan debts gave Heinlein the incentive to start writing and publishing his own works of art. In 1939, he sold his first story, The Line of Life, to the publisher. After that, he earned mainly in writing, putting aside all other hobbies.
The Life Line was written in the genre of science fiction, which became the leitmotif of all the work that Robert Heinlein followed. The comments on the story were positive, and the writer decided to continue the “Life Line” with a cycle of similar works.
The result was a "History of the Future." This cycle included several short stories, novels and novels. The plot generalized the history of mankind in the period from XX to XXIII century. Most of the books were written at the beginning of the author's career, as well as from 1945 to 1950. Editor John Campbell called the series "History of the Future" and promoted it in many publications.
For convenient navigation through the fantastic universe, a special table has been created that includes the chronology and main characters, authored by Robert Heinlein himself. The best of this cycle became a classic of the genre, and History itself was nominated for the Hugo Prize in 1966, but lost to Isaac Asimov's Foundation.
Children's literature
Heinlein's first published novel appeared in 1947. It was the Galileo Missile Ship. ” The plot of the book told of a trip to the moon. At that moment, the publisher thought that this topic was too irrelevant and would not be accepted by the public. Therefore, the author sent the manuscript to Charles Scribner's Sons, where his works began to be produced in series for childhood and adolescence. They enjoyed constant popularity both among their main audience and among adults. At the same time, numerous genre cliches appeared, the author of which was Robert Heinlein. The bibliography included stories about alien parasites, colonization of planets, etc.
Awards and Success
The Double Star novel was the first to receive the prestigious Hugo Award. In the future, the same awards were achieved by the works “Starship Troopers”, “A Stranger in a Stranger’s Land”, “The Moon is a Strict Hostess”. As one of the founders of the genre, the author further received other prizes, including posthumously.
The first novel to break out of this “childish” concept was the “Starship Troopers”, written in 1959 on a wave of indignation at the US nuclear program. From this moment, the author received great importance motives of social conflicts and other serious topics.
Stranger in a foreign country
In 1961, his most successful and famous novel, A Stranger in a Foreign Country, was released. The then American public was shocked by the heated issues that Robert Heinlein raised. Quotes included debates about free love, libertarianism, individualism, and other philosophical concepts.
This book was created over a dozen years, which is a record for the author. One of the reasons for this was censorship at the time, which forbade raising issues of a sexual nature. In one of the first editions, the work was called "Heretic", which reveals the meaning of the plot. The main character of the bangs, brought up by the Martians, returns to Earth, where he becomes the messiah among the local population. Censorship stopped about a quarter of the text due to sexual and religious motives. The full author edition was released only in 1991.
The work had many allusions, including the plot of Mowgli, used by Kipling. The name of the novel itself is a reference to the Bible.
“A stranger in a foreign country” raises a debate about the dangers of fusion of religion and power. Raised in a Christian family, the author rethought his own views on canonical teachings.
Value
In addition, this topic was continued somewhat later in the novel Job. It was a satirical book that became the symbol of the last stage of the bibliography, authored by Robert Heinlein. The works received many hidden hints and comparisons that an unprepared reader could hardly understand.
The writer is considered one of the three Great Masters of Science Fiction along with Isaac Asimov and Arthur Clark. His name is closely connected with the Golden Age of this genre, when it was especially popular among the masses of readers. The propaganda of scientific ideas in these works has become an important symbol and forerunner of the Space Race and numerous studies in this direction.
Personal life
In the year he graduated from the academy (1929), Heinlein married a girl whom he had known since his school years. However, because of the husband’s official travels, the marriage did not work out, and soon the wife filed for divorce. In 1932, Robert decided to connect his life with political activist Leslyn MacDonald. Their marriage lasted longer and ended only in 1947. Then the writer married Virginia Gerstenfeld, whom he met during the war, when he worked in Philadelphia.
The wife had a great influence on her husband's work, was his manager and secretary. She read all of his works before they hit the publishers. This played an important role in the activities led by Robert Heinlein. The author’s best works include scenes inspired by his wife.