Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Finished the Heinlein Biography 2nd Volume


... a couple of months ago.  If you're a fan, it's a must-read.  The details, the small incidents that motivated Heinlein's writing, his classic period of the 50's, followed by the wild 1960's response to Stranger in a Strange Land.  And then there's the struggle as his health declined over his last two decades.  That's the painful part.  Heinlein had just made it and in grand style when a lifetime of cigarettes caught up with him at around age 60.  Oh, he put up a fight, cranked out several more important books, did what he could for this world, and tried to enjoy his money.  But there was a revolving door down at the local hospital for him and in the end Joe Camel knelt at Heinlein's gate in the late eighties.

It is frustrating to contemplate how much more he could have achieved.  Anyway, it's for the rest of us to carry on, to keep reaching for the stars while pushing back against the endarkenment.  Getting to be time to read Friday again.

Before I wrap this up, I suppose it is customary to explicitly mention the actual title of the book: Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century, Vol. 2 – The Man Who Learned Better, 1948-1988.  And here are some links to other related Heinleinania around this place, including some comments on Volume 1:
http://coyoteswamp.blogspot.com/2010/12/and-more-book-ey-goodness.html
http://coyoteswamp.blogspot.com/2010/12/finished-heinlein-bio.html
http://coyoteswamp.blogspot.com/2015/03/book-discussion-heritage-of-heinlein.html

Pfft.  I've got some electrons to go push around now.

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