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The Robert Heinlein Interview And Other Heinleiniana
In 1973, Robert A. Heinlein was sixty-six, at the height of his literary career; J. Neil Schulman was twenty and hadn't yet started his first novel. Because he was looking for a way to meet his idol, Schulman wangled an assignment from the New York Daily News--at the time the largest circulation newspaper in the U.S.--to interview Heinlein for its Sunday Book Supplement. The resulting taped interview lasted three-and-a-half hours. This turned out to be the longest interview Heinlein ever granted, and the only one in which he talked freely and extensively about his personal philosophy and ideology.
The Robert Heinlein Interview contains Heinlein you won't find anywhere else--even in Heinlein's own Expanded Universe. If you want to know what Heinlein had to say about UFO's, life after death, epistemology, or libertarianism, this interview is the only source available.
Also included in this collection are articles, reviews, and letters that J. Neil Schulman wrote about Heinlein, including the original article written for the Daily News, about which the Heinleins wrote Schulman that it was, "The best article--in style, content, and accuracy--of the many, many written about him over the years."
This book is must-reading for any serious student of Heinlein, or any reader of his seeking to know him better.
Praise for The Robert Heinlein Interview
"I've been encouraging Neil for years to bring out his interview with Robert as a book. To my knowledge, this is the longest interview Robert ever gave. Here is a book that should be on the shelves of everyone interested in science fiction. Libertarians will be using it as a source for years to come."
--Virginia Heinlein
"On June 26 [1973], Schulman phoned to discuss the interview, and Heinlein gave the most 'personal' interview he had ever done ..."
--William H. Patterson Jr., Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century: 1948-1988 The Man Who Learned Better
"I could hear Heinlein's voice in Schulman's faithful transcription of the interview, and more important, I heard an exchange of ideas -- on politics, religion, epistemology, and teleology -- that one rarely encounters in an era schizophrenically split between powder-puff PR pieces and confrontational ambush interviews."
--Victor Koman, author of Kings of the High Frontier, reviewing for the Heinlein Society
"Once in a while you find a writer who says with almost perfect clarity the things you have been thinking. The interview with RAH is the crown jewel of the book. On my scale of 0 to 5, this is worth reading, worth rereading, and worth keeping to read again."
--Darryl Kenning, Reading For Pleasure
"Schulman's book helps put the great master's work and life in context, helps us to see the magnitude and beauty of Heinlein's accomplishments."
--Stephan Kinsella, GEnie Science Fiction and Fantasy RoundTable
"The more Heinlein you read, the more you must read. Inevitably, your curiosity about who he was and how he became one of the world's most extraordinary writers begins to eat at your intelligence. Incredibly, J. Neil Schulman, a mere boy at the time, was able to gain Heinlein's complete confidence and trust. This text of the interview Schulman was able to arrange with Heinlein will answer a thousand questions for you. Schulman was as prepared to interview the great man as any person could have possibly been. Any consideration of Heinlein's life and work will be incomplete without including this small in size, but gigantic in significance, look into the mind of Heinlein, whose genius will only be regarded as greater with every passing year.
The Robert Heinlein Interview contains Heinlein you won't find anywhere else--even in Heinlein's own Expanded Universe. If you want to know what Heinlein had to say about UFO's, life after death, epistemology, or libertarianism, this interview is the only source available.
Also included in this collection are articles, reviews, and letters that J. Neil Schulman wrote about Heinlein, including the original article written for the Daily News, about which the Heinleins wrote Schulman that it was, "The best article--in style, content, and accuracy--of the many, many written about him over the years."
This book is must-reading for any serious student of Heinlein, or any reader of his seeking to know him better.
Praise for The Robert Heinlein Interview
"I've been encouraging Neil for years to bring out his interview with Robert as a book. To my knowledge, this is the longest interview Robert ever gave. Here is a book that should be on the shelves of everyone interested in science fiction. Libertarians will be using it as a source for years to come."
--Virginia Heinlein
"On June 26 [1973], Schulman phoned to discuss the interview, and Heinlein gave the most 'personal' interview he had ever done ..."
--William H. Patterson Jr., Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century: 1948-1988 The Man Who Learned Better
"I could hear Heinlein's voice in Schulman's faithful transcription of the interview, and more important, I heard an exchange of ideas -- on politics, religion, epistemology, and teleology -- that one rarely encounters in an era schizophrenically split between powder-puff PR pieces and confrontational ambush interviews."
--Victor Koman, author of Kings of the High Frontier, reviewing for the Heinlein Society
"Once in a while you find a writer who says with almost perfect clarity the things you have been thinking. The interview with RAH is the crown jewel of the book. On my scale of 0 to 5, this is worth reading, worth rereading, and worth keeping to read again."
--Darryl Kenning, Reading For Pleasure
"Schulman's book helps put the great master's work and life in context, helps us to see the magnitude and beauty of Heinlein's accomplishments."
--Stephan Kinsella, GEnie Science Fiction and Fantasy RoundTable
"The more Heinlein you read, the more you must read. Inevitably, your curiosity about who he was and how he became one of the world's most extraordinary writers begins to eat at your intelligence. Incredibly, J. Neil Schulman, a mere boy at the time, was able to gain Heinlein's complete confidence and trust. This text of the interview Schulman was able to arrange with Heinlein will answer a thousand questions for you. Schulman was as prepared to interview the great man as any person could have possibly been. Any consideration of Heinlein's life and work will be incomplete without including this small in size, but gigantic in significance, look into the mind of Heinlein, whose genius will only be regarded as greater with every passing year.
204 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 31, 1999
61 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 18, 2023
Brief but of great interest to those who like Heinlein or are interested in his thoughts about society, government. etc. Doesn't go into the evolution of Heinlein's thought from a Eugene Debs supporter to a cold-war-supportive libertarian who vouched for Goldwater, though. Modern libertarians would find that an interesting mix. Schulman is very much a libertarian who wrote an an-cap view of the future, Alongside Night, but cites Heinelin, C.S. Lewis, and Ayn Rand as three authors who each vie for his soul. The core of the book is a three-hour interview between Schulman and Heinelin, which is bookended by Schulman's reviews of Heinlein's works.
August 30, 2021
The content is great. The proofreading less so
Numerous typographical errors made the book hard to parse in spots. But a fascinating view of the seminal science fiction writer and life-long proponent of libertarian political philosophy.
Numerous typographical errors made the book hard to parse in spots. But a fascinating view of the seminal science fiction writer and life-long proponent of libertarian political philosophy.
December 26, 2017
Buy this for the interview. That alone makes it gold. The rest? Icing on the cake.
March 8, 2018
Very good. Well done. Saw more into the Man's mind and his writing. I love his books.
August 22, 2012
La verdad es que ha sido un decepción. Una parte sustancial del libro se dedica a que el autor coloque sus propias reviews de obras de Heinlein, y a perseguir su ideología (que coincide en cosas con la mía, pero no es el punto). La entrevista en sí bien, pero se ve que a menudo el autor trata de llevarse a Heinlein a jardines donde este pasa de entrar.
No es malo, pero no es tampoco lo que esperaba. Quizá es culpa mía, dado que soy yo quien pone las expectativas. Desde luego, Heinlein y su esposa consideran que es la mejor entrevista que se le ha hecho, con lo que evidentemente no es un mal trabajo. Pero me ha dejado algo frío.
No es malo, pero no es tampoco lo que esperaba. Quizá es culpa mía, dado que soy yo quien pone las expectativas. Desde luego, Heinlein y su esposa consideran que es la mejor entrevista que se le ha hecho, con lo que evidentemente no es un mal trabajo. Pero me ha dejado algo frío.
January 15, 2016
Ok, I love the writings of Robert Heinlein. There are some great books in his collection. Some solid libertarian writing, and good science fiction. And Schulman is a good writer as well. But there is not much to this book. A few reviews and letters, and about 50 pages of the actual interview. Which was ok, but not filled with insight into Heinlein. It was a quick read, but pretty bland fare. You can skip it without missing much.
December 31, 2013
Some interesting background on Heinlein, but didn't hold my attention well. I get a lot more from reading Heinlein's books than reading about him.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews