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Future History (novel)
The ''Future History'' is a series of science fiction stories written by American author Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988). It describes a projected future of the human race from the middle of the 20th century through the early 23rd century. The term ''Future History'' was coined by John W. Campbell Jr. in the February 1941 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction''. Campbell published an early draft of Heinlein's chart of the series in the May 1941 issue. Heinlein wrote most of the ''Future History'' stories early in his career, between 1939 and 1941 and between 1945 and 1950. Most of the ''Future History'' stories were collected in book form as '' The Past Through Tomorrow'' (1967), which also contains the final version of the chart. That collection does not include the 1941 novellas ''Universe'' and ''Common Sense''; they were published together in book form as '' Orphans of the Sky'' in 1963. Groff Conklin called the ''Future History'' "the greatest of all histories of tom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Number Of The Beast (novel)
''The Number of the Beast'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1980. Excerpts from the novel were serialized in the magazine '' Omni'' (October–November 1979). Plot The book is a series of diary entries primarily by each of the four main characters: Zebadiah "Zeb" John Carter, programmer Dejah Thoris "Deety" Burroughs Carter, her mathematics professor father Jacob Burroughs, and off-campus socialite Hilda Corners. The names "Dejah Thoris", "Burroughs", and "Carter" are overt references to John Carter and Dejah Thoris, the protagonists of the Barsoom novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. In the opening, Deety is dancing with Zeb at a party at Hilda's mansion. Deety is trying to get Zeb to meet her father to discuss what she thinks is an article Zeb wrote about n-dimensional space, even going so far as to offer herself. Zeb figures out and explains to Deety that he is not the one who wrote the article but a relative with a similar name. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Between Planets
''Between Planets'' is a juvenile science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in ''Blue Book'' magazine in 1951 as "Planets in Combat". It was published in hardcover that year by Scribner's as part of the Heinlein juveniles. Plot summary Don Harvey's scientist parents withdraw him from his high school in New Mexico in the middle of the term so that he can join them on Mars. The headmaster suggests that they want him out of a potential war zone, where he might be viewed suspiciously because of doubts about his loyalties. At his parents' behest, he visits an old family friend who asks him to deliver a ring to his father; security forces later arrest both of them. Harvey is released and given his ring back, after it has been examined; he is told that his friend has died of "heart failure". Only later does he realize that ''all'' deaths can be described that way. Harvey boards a shuttle to a space station orbiting Earth. The station doubles as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heinlein Juveniles
The Heinlein juveniles are the science-fiction novels written by Robert A. Heinlein for Scribner's young-adult line. Each features "a young male protagonist entering the adult world of conflict, decisions, and responsibilities". Together, they tell a loosely connected story of space exploration. Scribner's published the first 12 between 1947 and 1958, but rejected the 13th, '' Starship Troopers''. That one was instead published by Putnam. A 14th novel, ''Podkayne of Mars'', is sometimes listed as a "Heinlein juvenile", although Heinlein himself did not consider it to be one. The intended market was teenaged boys, but the books have been enjoyed by a wide range of readers. Heinlein wanted to present challenging material to children, such as the firearms for teenagers in '' Red Planet''. This led to "annual quarrels over what was suitable for juvenile reading" with Scribner's editors. In addition to the juveniles, Heinlein wrote two short stories about Scouting for boys and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
"—And He Built A Crooked House—"
'—And He Built a Crooked House—' is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' in February 1941. It was reprinted in the anthology ''Fantasia Mathematica'' (Clifton Fadiman, ed.) in 1958, and in the Heinlein collections '' The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag'' in 1959 and ''The Best of Robert Heinlein'' in 1973. The story is about a mathematically inclined architect named Quintus Teal who has what he thinks is a brilliant idea to save on real estate costs by building a house shaped like the unfolded net of a tesseract. The title is paraphrased from the nursery rhyme "There Was a Crooked Man". Plot summary Quintus Teal, a "Graduate Architect" in the Los Angeles area, wants architects to be inspired by topology and the Picard–Vessiot theory. During a conversation with friend Homer Bailey he shows models made of toothpicks and clay, representing projections of a four-dimensional tesseract, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Black Pits Of Luna
"The Black Pits of Luna" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, about a Boy Scout on a trip to the Moon and his novel way of finding his lost brother. Included as part of his Future History, it originally appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'', January 10, 1948, and was collected in ''The Green Hills of Earth'' (and subsequently ''The Past Through Tomorrow''). Synopsis The short story is told from the viewpoint of Dick Logan, a Boy Scout who has accompanied his father on a business trip to the Moon alongside his mother and little brother, "Baby Darling". They're encouraged to visit the Black Pits of Luna on the back side of the Moon, however upon arriving they are told that the tour is too dangerous for small children. Unwilling to deny their "Baby Darling", the parents raise a fuss until they are permitted to use a small space suit that had been special ordered for an elite's daughter. Dick is instructed to watch over his brother, however onc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Green Hills Of Earth
"The Green Hills of Earth" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. One of his Future History (novel), Future History stories, the short story originally appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' (February 8, 1947), and it was collected in ''The Green Hills of Earth (short story collection), The Green Hills of Earth'' (and subsequently in ''The Past Through Tomorrow''). Heinlein selected the story for inclusion in the 1949 anthology ''My Best Science Fiction Story''. "The Green Hills of Earth" is also the title of a song mentioned in several of Heinlein's novels. The Rhysling Award for speculative fiction poetry awarded by the Science Fiction Poetry Association (SFPA) is named for the blind poet Rhysling in “The Green Hills of Earth.” Rhysling (crater) on the Moon was named by Apollo 15 astronauts. Flight controller#Spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM), Capcom Joe Allen on Earth summoned David Scott and Jim Irwin with the words "As the space poet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It's Great To Be Back!
"It's Great to Be Back!" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. One of his Future History stories, it was first published in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' in the July 26, 1947 issue and later reprinted in ''The Green Hills of Earth'' (and subsequently '' The Past Through Tomorrow''). Plot summary A physical chemist and his wife (the MacRaes), who have been in residence in Luna City on the Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ... for some time, spend much of their time volubly regretting having ever left Earth. When this attitude results in social conflict with "Loonies" who love their home, the couple feels isolated, misunderstood, and put-upon. They decide to return to "dirt-side", only to discover that the Earth of their imaginati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Jockey (short Story)
"Space Jockey" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein.James Gifford. 2000. ''Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader's Companion''. SacramentoNitrosyncretic Press. Part of his Future History series, it originally appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'', April 26, 1947, and was collected in ''The Green Hills of Earth'' (and subsequently ''The Past Through Tomorrow''). The story is set in the near future. It realistically depicts a day in the life of a rocket pilot who pilots commercial passenger spacecraft on scheduled runs between the Earth and the Moon. It shows the pilot dealing with problems such as an unruly child of a VIP visiting his control room, recalculating the trajectory when the spoiled brat sends the rocket off course, facing a choice between jettisoning cargo and not having enough fuel to reach the destination, and coping with the demands of superiors. The story begins with a contentious scene between the pilot and his wife, who is unhappy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influential magazines among the American middle class, with fiction, non-fiction, cartoons and features that reached two million homes every week. In the 1960s, the magazine's readership began to decline. In 1969, ''The Saturday Evening Post'' folded for two years before being revived as a quarterly publication with an emphasis on medical articles in 1971. As of the late 2000s, ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is published six times a year by the Saturday Evening Post Society, which purchased the magazine in 1982. The magazine was redesigned in 2013. History 19th century ''The Saturday Evening Post'' was first published in 1821 in the same printing shop at 53 Market Street (Philadelphia), Market Street in Philadelphia, where the Benjamin Frankl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
—We Also Walk Dogs
"—We Also Walk Dogs" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. One of his Future History stories, it was first published in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (July 1941, as by Anson MacDonald) and collected in ''The Green Hills of Earth'' (and subsequently ''The Past Through Tomorrow''). Although considered part of the Future History, the story has no references to other stories in the canon, and features elements such as anti-gravity that are not fully consistent with other stories. Plot summary ''General Services'' is a very successful company that provides various personal services such as shopping for you or walking your dogs or supplying a host for a party, but also proudly advertises that no job is too large. One ad campaign idea which the staff discusses is "Want somebody murdered? Then DON'T call General Services. But for ''anything else'', call.... It Pays!". The business model involves knowing to whom to subcontract work. The technology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Menace From Earth
"The Menace From Earth" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in the August 1957 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction''. Plot summary The story is set in the near future, when the Moon is colonized with people living in underground cities. The "menace" of the title is a glamorous woman tourist who visits the Moon colony. She is assigned a young guide named Holly, a 15-year-old girl and aspiring starship designer who is the first-person narrator. Holly's best friend Jeff develops a crush on the "groundhog" visitor, Ariel. As Jeff spends more time with Ariel, Holly becomes jealous and begins to doubt his friendship. Living in an underground city on the Moon, Holly and Jeff's hobby is flying with strap-on wings in a great cavern, made possible because the gravity field is one sixth the strength of Earth's and the air pressure in the cavern is kept high enough. Ariel wants to try flying, and Holly, in order not to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
