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Robert A. Heinlein: America as Science Fiction
A brief biographical profile accompanies a detailed analysis of the stories and novels of the science fiction author and an evaluation of his influence on the genre
244 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 23, 2014
Intriguing, if necessarily incomplete.
I came to this book after a recommendation from Jeet Heer, who destroyed the recent biography of Heinlein in the pages of the New Republic. He said that this book remains the best on Heinlein, and that's true to my way of reading.
This is not really a biography, but a critical reading of Heinlein's work--written at a time when Heinlein was still alive. And that provides some of the book's strengths--he had a chance to correspond with Heinlein--but some of its weaknesses, too--not that he was too close (that's actually true of the new biographer--but that he didn't have important biographical details. In particular, Franklin notes Heinlein's sex fetishes that come through, especially, in his later works, but does not reference--because he didn't know? or because Heinlein was alive?--that the author lived some of them out, to the chagrin of his second wife.
Another reason the book works is that Franklin is a Marxist. It's not that Marxism is a privileged point of view, and Marxist literary criticism can be especially heavy handed, but it gives him a perspective from which to judge Heinlein. Like the current biography, this book wants to see Heinlein as a reflection of 20th century cultural trends--which is a weak as hell thesis--but at least Franklin has some distance, not seeing every point that Heinlein makes as perfect and reasonable.
He calls out Heinlein's pervasive paranoia, which may be a key to how the socialist of the 1930s became the John Bircher-type of the 1950s. He picks up on the sex, on his views of imperialism and technology, and offers nuanced accounts of these in Heinlein's writings.
The only real criticism is that the book, short as it is, can be too detailed, with too many plot synopses, and more than a bit of repetition.
I came to this book after a recommendation from Jeet Heer, who destroyed the recent biography of Heinlein in the pages of the New Republic. He said that this book remains the best on Heinlein, and that's true to my way of reading.
This is not really a biography, but a critical reading of Heinlein's work--written at a time when Heinlein was still alive. And that provides some of the book's strengths--he had a chance to correspond with Heinlein--but some of its weaknesses, too--not that he was too close (that's actually true of the new biographer--but that he didn't have important biographical details. In particular, Franklin notes Heinlein's sex fetishes that come through, especially, in his later works, but does not reference--because he didn't know? or because Heinlein was alive?--that the author lived some of them out, to the chagrin of his second wife.
Another reason the book works is that Franklin is a Marxist. It's not that Marxism is a privileged point of view, and Marxist literary criticism can be especially heavy handed, but it gives him a perspective from which to judge Heinlein. Like the current biography, this book wants to see Heinlein as a reflection of 20th century cultural trends--which is a weak as hell thesis--but at least Franklin has some distance, not seeing every point that Heinlein makes as perfect and reasonable.
He calls out Heinlein's pervasive paranoia, which may be a key to how the socialist of the 1930s became the John Bircher-type of the 1950s. He picks up on the sex, on his views of imperialism and technology, and offers nuanced accounts of these in Heinlein's writings.
The only real criticism is that the book, short as it is, can be too detailed, with too many plot synopses, and more than a bit of repetition.
February 19, 2012
This book is a very much two toned. For some of the book the author merely recites, very tersely, what happened in a particular story. He goes through quite a few books like this, and while it is somewhat appropriate for the book, it could very well be omitted. On the other hand he does a couple stories very well, he gives great historical context about the world and political climate in America. Easily this could have been 100 pages instead of 200. The author also highlights much of the misogyny and racism in Heinlein's writings. I'm a bit reluctant to read some of the Heinlein's later works now they almost sound uncomfortable. If you thought stranger in a strange land was bad due to the orgies...the orgies weren't that bad. Oh also no the meaning of solipsism before stepping into this one.
March 23, 2009
disgusting hatchet job
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews