The Classic Collection of Robert A. Heinlein. Fourteen Short Stories

Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988), alongside Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, formed the legendary "Big Three" of 20th-century science fiction — writers who didn't merely imagine the future, but reshaped our expectations of it. Born in Butler, Missouri, in 1907, Heinlein attended the U.S. Naval Academy and served with distinction until pulmonary tuberculosis forced him into early retirement. That twist of fate led him to a new mission: writing. His scientific training gave his stories unusual credibility, while his restless intellect pushed boundaries — political, philosophical, and technological. His first story, Life-Line (1939), opened the gates. By the 1940s, Heinlein was the leading figure of the Golden Age of science fiction, producing tightly engineered tales like The Roads Must Roll and Blowups Happen. In the decades that followed, his works expanded in scale and daring, exploring themes like individual liberty (The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress), religion (Stranger in a Strange Land), and civic duty (Starship Troopers). He married three times, but it was his third wife, Virginia "Ginny" Heinlein — an engineer, Navy veteran, and lifelong supporter — who became his muse, editor, and traveling companion. Their partnership was legendary in fandom. Despite recurring health issues, Heinlein continued writing into his seventies. He passed away in 1988 in Carmel, California, leaving behind not just dozens of novels and stories, but a transformed literary landscape. To read Heinlein is to wrestle with ideas — sharp, strange, liberating. He believed fiction was a vehicle for truth, and in that mission, he never faltered. He dreamed in blueprints and wrote in fire.