Talk:Robert A. Heinlein - Misplaced Pages

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To-do list for Robert A. Heinlein: edit · history · watch · refresh · Updated 2011-03-03

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Copyedit : Use the concordance at the Heinlein Society website as a source for missing references, particularly in plot summaries for his novels.

Sayings of Heinlein - section here or list article ?

There are a number of fairly famous Heinlein sayings said by characters in his stories. Would it be better to have a mention here of that with just the more famous ones, or should it be a list article and go into the less common ones ?

I'm thinking of things like

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men.
No project is ever completed on time or within budget.
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.
Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.

Cheers Markbassett (talk) 13:01, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

I think you want Wikiquote. --Escape Orbit 13:04, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

"A2 negative"

Is there an RS for Heinlein's blood being A2-negative? In a quick search, I could find only fringe libertarian blogs, and occasional science fiction bios copied from those or Misplaced Pages. Does anyone have an RS, even a good self-source, on this? - David Gerard (talk) 14:44, 11 October 2021 (UTC)

I've requested Robert A. Heinlein : in dialogue with his century. Volume 2, 1948-1988 from the library, which should cover it. Schazjmd (talk) 15:29, 11 October 2021 (UTC)

Got the book. I found this: Since Robert had an uncommon blood type (universal recipient—Ginny had the even rarer universal donor type), it was almost certain that his life had been saved by the efforts of the National Rare Blood Club he had come across while researching I Will Fear No Evil. Web search says universal recipient is AB positive. I'll have to read the whole thing to see if there are any other mentions. Schazjmd (talk) 22:53, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

A 1977 newspaper article says his blood type is A-negative. Schazjmd (talk) 17:00, 18 October 2021 (UTC)

None of these types are rare. 2001:171B:2274:7C21:612E:A33A:FD87:5F14 (talk) 13:26, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

Movie adaptations lacking

Hi folks, I've just noticed this article doesn't talk about the movie adaptations of Heinlein's writings. I don't know how many there are, but I know Predestination (2014) and Starship Troopers (1997) are of the lot. MonsieurD (talk) 20:11, 2 February 2022 (UTC)

Destination Moon was the first one, as I recall. Heinlein has written about his experience as a technical consultant with that one. sbelknap (talk) 03:36, 4 March 2022 (UTC)

Heinlein also shares screenwriting credits for Project Moonbase.

I've added these two to the new Movies section; are there other films for which Heinlein made direct contributions? The adaptations of his written works to film are in the separate Heinlein bibliography article. The new section links to the bibliography article, where I've added the missing IMDb links. sbelknap (talk) 22:03, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Military-controlled government

The statement "Space Cadet describes a future scenario where a military-controlled global government enforces world peace." seems inaccurate. There is no suggestion that the government is controlled by the military (the Space Patrol). The government is never mentioned. The only accurate statement is that the Space Patrol has a duty, presumably to a government but that is only an inference, to enforce peace. I think this statement should be changed. Zaslav (talk) 21:30, 13 August 2022 (UTC)

The source for that para says "In his 1949 novel Space Cadet, Heinlein depicts a future where peace is preserved through a global government controlled by the military.". Schazjmd (talk) 21:47, 13 August 2022 (UTC)

Zaslav is right, and the National Review article is wrong.-Ben Crowell — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2603:8000:8900:6E00:79C8:DB5F:3DBF:D95E (talk) 20:53, 3 April 2023 (UTC)

What source is Zaslav citing when making their assertion? —C.Fred (talk) 21:00, 3 April 2023 (UTC)

His own reading comprehension, obviously. 2600:1700:DA90:2AB0:CC40:5A96:6FF0:D992 (talk) 10:52, 4 May 2023 (UTC)

So you agree that the description should not be changed, then, since a change would rely on original research? —C.Fred (talk) 11:52, 4 May 2023 (UTC)

The source is dubious and as he pointed out, obviously wrong. 2A01:CB0C:CD:D800:1508:FC82:66CC:D167 (talk) 08:51, 9 May 2023 (UTC)

Again, what secondary source has presented an analysis of the novel counter to National Review's? —C.Fred (talk) 11:29, 9 May 2023 (UTC)

"Diane Parkin-Speer suggests that Heinlein's intent seems more to provoke the reader and to question sexual norms than to promote any particular sexual agenda"

This is a topic worth expounding on - I have no source but it seems that on a wide range of topics, not just sexual mores, RAH's incessant pontification via his protagonists could at least equally well be viewed as provocation (or perhaps just making the piece interesting and lively enough to sell) as it could be taken as a political act per se. The point seems germane as various groups like to claim RAH as their ideological champion. 2A01:CB0C:CD:D800:1508:FC82:66CC:D167 (talk) 09:08, 9 May 2023 (UTC)

Big Three -Vandalism

The Big Three are, according to Brian W. Aldiss in Billion Year Spree, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury. Robert A. Heinlein never was one of them, this claim is "alternative facts" and this vandalism doesn't seem to be recent. Please correct.2001:7E8:C29C:2400:983E:960F:67FC:EB6 (talk) 15:36, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

The Big Book of Science Fiction identifies the "big three" as Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein, as does The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s, Science Fiction Literature Through History: An Encyclopedia, and Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction (which notes that van Vogt was replaced as one of the "big three" as his popularity waned and Clarke's grew). Schazjmd (talk) 15:56, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

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