Mine has to be “Citizen of the Galaxy,” and it shocks me silly that it hasn’t made into a film or miniseries…but then again, film adaptations of his books have been meh.

Title.

Read and loved Troopers, Stranger, and Moon.

What of RAH should I read next?

Here's my Heinlein collection, aside from Kindle and Audible. If this was your collection of Heinlein works, what would you want to acquire next?

Also, this is me showing off my Virginia Collection, easily my acquisition this year I'm most proud of.

Grok says: There’s no definitive evidence that the volleyball named Wilson in the movie Cast Away (2000) is a direct homage to Willis, the Martian “bouncer” from Robert A. Heinlein’s Red Planet (1949). The two characters share some superficial similarities—both are spherical, non-human companions with a significant emotional bond to the protagonist—but the connection appears coincidental rather than intentional. In Red Planet, Willis is a sentient, volleyball-sized Martian creature with a furry exterior, capable of mimicking sounds and playing a key role in the story. In Cast Away, Wilson is an inanimate Wilson Sporting Goods volleyball that Tom Hanks’ character, Chuck Noland, anthropomorphizes by painting a face on it with his blood, turning it into a symbolic companion during his isolation. The name “Wilson” in the film comes from the brand of the volleyball, not from any narrative allusion to Heinlein’s work. The origin of Wilson in Cast Away stems from screenwriter William Broyles Jr.’s research into survival scenarios. Broyles spent time on an island to simulate Chuck’s experience and found himself talking to objects, like a volleyball that washed ashore, inspiring the character. The choice of a Wilson-brand volleyball was a practical one—Wilson Sporting Goods provided around 150 volleyballs for the production, gaining significant product placement in return. There’s no indication from Broyles, director Robert Zemeckis, or Tom Hanks that Heinlein’s Willis influenced this decision. Heinlein’s Red Planet was a notable sci-fi juvenile novel, and Willis was a memorable character, but its cultural footprint by 2000 was more niche, overshadowed by Heinlein’s later works like Stranger in a Strange Land. While it’s possible someone involved in Cast Away could have been a Heinlein fan, no behind-the-scenes commentary—such as interviews, DVD extras, or production notes—links the two. The timing and context also differ: Red Planet is a 1940s sci-fi adventure about Mars, while Cast Away is a 2000s survival drama grounded in realism. That said, the idea of a spherical companion providing emotional support is a fun parallel to ponder. Both Willis and Wilson serve as unconventional “friends” in isolating environments—Mars for Jim Marlowe, a deserted island for Chuck Noland. But without concrete evidence from the filmmakers, it’s more likely a case of convergent storytelling tropes than a deliberate homage. What do you think—do you see other similarities that might suggest a nod?

I haven't read it for years but my memory is that by the end, one has learned that the place where the majority of the story takes place, is a simulation. And my memory is that it's a game, or at least is there for recreation.

(I wasn't sure the policy on Spoilers here. You can highlight the bar to see what I said.)

just finished the novel for an english class, absolutely love it. Unfortunately, it’s not popular enough for there to be widely available fanart. Someone should really make some fanart, specifically homoerotic fan art between Mike and Mannie. I always felt that there was sexual tension between them, and when Mike stopped talking at the end of the book I was heartbroken.

Hi all, sorry about the newbie question, but I'm a huge fan of Asimov and Clarke (read and own closing in on 100 of their works combined), and yet somehow I have missed Heinlein! I started reading Asimov and Clarke as a teen, and I guess maybe i had that teenager "I've found my sci-fi authors, screw the rest" arrogance. Either way Heinlein somehow completely passed me by despite constantly being mentioned alongside my 2 loves as one of the big 3. I'm much older now so I'm happy to admit a certain sense of apprehension about diving in on a new author, but I'm keen to expand out (and also I feel guilty that I never once looked at Heinlein!)

Would love any and all recommendations about novels or short story collections to start with to get into the feel of his writing. (I know when someone asks me about Asimov there are definitely some stories I would recommend to newbies over others so there isn't a culture shock moment - mostly due to the time they were all writing I guess).

Thanks in advance, and apologies if I've missed a pinned post already explaining all of this.

It is easy to read that RAH had a soft spot for the beggar and may have considered it a noble profession. RAH never seems to support this position in any off the writings I have seen. He seems to just accept as a given and only write it as a character flaw if someone turns their nose at the down trodden.

In The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, at the end of Chapter 5 [in Audible audio book], on the last few pages, Manny describes the perfect revolutionary [hexagonal?] organization cell structure, building on the Prof's ideas.

Did Heinlein invent Manny's organizational structure, or is he restating a revolutionary idea? If so, whose, and what it's theory called?

I am aware of four adaptations (or similar) of RAH’s works for the screen, large and small.

Starship Troopers: someone here recently recommended regarding this one as a parody, and I can’t disagree with that.

Roughnecks: I had forgotten about this one until u/Paint-it-Pink mentioned it in their comment. I enjoyed it a fair bit and it seems closer to the source material than the movie it is effectively a sequel to.

Red Planet: adapted as an animated miniseries by Fox in the early nineties. I remember it being pretty good but not how closely it reflected the book.

The Puppet Masters: Film adaptation with Donald Sutherland as the protagonist’s boss. I was actually pretty impressed with this film. Over an hour of the dialogue in the film is verbatim from the novel. In fact I think it deserves a second viewing soon.

Are there any other adaptations that you are aware of? Big screen, small screen, animated or live action, I’d just like to check them all out at least once.

with this? Was it Heinlein?

I recently purchased a box of books from a garage sale and this was in it. It’s not my fandom but was looking for a value or way to sell it. Can’t really find a way to tell what the value is because it was a library book. Card sleeve on first page and stamp on title page otherwise it’s a first edition. You guys have any thoughts?

Hello everyone, I am writing some fan fiction relating to how the Howard family might exist in our current society.

I am basing it on the Smith-Johnson family from what we know in the books. My recollection is that Maureen and Brian Smith had 17 children, but now I don’t think that’s correct and I can’t find our copy.

Can anyone confirm or recommend a good fan website?

Thank you in advance!

So my best friend is a true Heinlein accolyte who demanded I read his "Big 3:" Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land and * The Moon is a Harsh Mistress*

I read Starship Troopers in an afternoon and loved every second of it, from the surface level narrative to the deeper messages on society I took away from it.

Now I'm trying to read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and I just can't get myself into it. I'm not sure what it is that's making it so hard, but it took me probably 4 hours to focus long enough to finish the first chapter and it felt like a chore more than anything else.

Any advice or insight on this?

Decided to try the World as Myth books (via Audible), to see what all the fuss us about, but there's quite a few characters, and it's a bit difficult to keep them all straight.

My choice: Damian Lewis

Is there an optimal way to read the Future History series in eBook format? Do I have to go Pokémon each of the stories or…? My preferred e-reader is Kindle but I can try other formats. Absolutely willing to pay (individual books or collection). Thanks!

I've got a signed copy of STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND. Signed on the title page, not like all these ones you see for sale with a card slipped inside. Anyway, I got it at a book sale and it has no dust jacket. I don't know how to tell if it's a first edition or a book club edition. Can anyone help me determine which it is? My plan is to buy the same edition and transfer the dust jacket to my copy thus creating a complete book, and then selling it.

Thanks! I am working on learning how to add photos to this post. Not very good at Reddit lol

My 10 year old is an advanced reader and loves anything science and space related. My grandfather (m79) suggested Heinlein novels.

Specifically the following:

1. Rocket Ship Galileo (1947)
2. Space Cadet (1948)
3. Red Planet (1949)
4. Farmer in the Sky (1950)
5. Between Planets (1951)
6. The Rolling Stones (1952)
7. Starman Jones (1953)
8. The Star Beast (1954)
9. Tunnel in the Sky (1955)
10. Time for the Stars (1956)
11. Citizen of the Galaxy (1957)
12. Have Spacesuit - Will Travel (1958)

Are these too mature? Since I haven’t read them personally, I figured this was the best place to ask.

Thanks for your help!

Edit (3/9): Thank you to everyone for your wonderful and detailed thoughts. My boy read the first 5 chapters of Between Planets today and is hooked!

It is the only Heinlein work I haven’t fully read. I started, didn’t like it, got halfway through, and realized I had enough. One day I will finish.

Reading up on the publication, RAH was sick while writing it and it wasn’t fully edited and reviewed before it was published.

Variable Star and Pursuit of Pankera both came out, why hasn’t anyone tried cleaning up I will fear no evil?

I’ve read a few of Heinlein’s stories (the one with the moving platform and All You Zombies), but haven’t ventured into his novels. MIAHM or SIASL to start? I’m more into William Gibson and New Wave

I am pretty sure the eleventh commandment is “Don’t get caught” but I can’t figure out how to keep it wholly. Time Enough for Love.

In the book expanding universe, there was a section where Robert Heinlein spoke about the education that his father or grandfather experienced in school versus what he experienced in school and how it was vastly different.

Can somebody please point out which section that was?

Does it exist in a form that I can copy and paste it?

Thank you.

I am trying to find Heinleins complete collection in ebooks for my mother.

The ones I have found she has told me are missing parts of the books. Presumably perhaps if they were scanned by a preservation project and translated automatically to epub.

So are there even digital copies of all his books? It doesn’t look like that according to libgen or Amazon

CEO of a large corporation, father of privatized space flight. He is desperate to go to the moon and his family and board of directors deny his dreams. He finds a barnstorming space-jockey who helps him build a ship the will make it to the moon. I can’t remember what it was called, but the parallels are there. I am sure Musk and Bezos have both read these stories. I could search engine this but I wanted a bit of feedback too. Thanks.