Heinlein was an interesting fellow. Smart, yes. As smart as he thought he was, most probably not.
The arguably one good book he wrote was "Stranger in a Strange Land", but it was full of hippie, ubermench, Christ-marginilizing, sexually deviant commie propaganda.
He gets pushed in a lot of academia because the egotism of his writing appeals to the hidden egotism of the professors. "Boohoo humanity sucks, but we know better!"
That stuff you're citing was Heinlein's stab at that culture, not a treatise on why we should like it. He wrote some great stories, but I certainly wouldn't elevate him to some kind of infallible, god-like status. Even he confessed he was a shitty writer who happened to stumble into some good luck. His work was entertaining, but you can definitely see his quality plunge (like a car off a cliff) as he got older.
He has many good stories. It's important to contextualize them in the time he wrote them, and then to see what he was satirizing or commenting on. Most of us still understand TANSTAAFL. I think that mindset is lost on the current young generation.
Heinlein was an interesting fellow. Smart, yes. As smart as he thought he was, most probably not.
The arguably one good book he wrote was "Stranger in a Strange Land", but it was full of hippie, ubermench, Christ-marginilizing, sexually deviant commie propaganda.
He gets pushed in a lot of academia because the egotism of his writing appeals to the hidden egotism of the professors. "Boohoo humanity sucks, but we know better!"
Great track by Iron Maiden though
This!
I read everything Heinlein wrote, twice.
"Stranger in a Strange Land" was not his best work, acclaimed by those who did not understand the genius of the man.
Glory Road was the better book, fight me.
That stuff you're citing was Heinlein's stab at that culture, not a treatise on why we should like it. He wrote some great stories, but I certainly wouldn't elevate him to some kind of infallible, god-like status. Even he confessed he was a shitty writer who happened to stumble into some good luck. His work was entertaining, but you can definitely see his quality plunge (like a car off a cliff) as he got older.
He has many good stories. It's important to contextualize them in the time he wrote them, and then to see what he was satirizing or commenting on. Most of us still understand TANSTAAFL. I think that mindset is lost on the current young generation.