Past Through Tomorrow (1967)

A combo of anthology and omnibus; it has his "Future Histories" stories and 3 of the novels. I'd already read the majority of the short stories, and seeing how they all tied into a single time line was a bit more interesting than the stories taken individually. I'd never read any of the novels before.

Not bad enough to stop reading - just very, very shallow.

Though, Number of the Beasts might make more sense now that I've read Methuselah's Children. Ok, maybe not. I think psychotropic drugs are needed to understand that behemoth. ( )

This is a collection of 21 stories that fit into Heinlein's "Future History." As Damon Knight's introduction relates, this isn't the future history, one that should be seen as predictive, but a future history. And it definitely has to be read in that spirit, otherwise especially in the beginning the works could be seen as hopelessly dated. The earliest story here--the earliest Heinlein ever published, "Life-Line," came out in 1939 (and it's remarkable for a first story). All but "Searchlight" predate the Apollo Program (and that barely) and all but that story and "The Menace from Earth" predate Sputnik. That bothered me in one of the longest stories, "The Man That Sold the Moon"--particularly the detail where those putting together the project are looking for the tallest possible site for the launch--as if that would make a difference in distance or escape velocity. But, naturally, the farther you go into the book, the less that matters, and the more I began to see the stories as a whole bigger than its parts. And I don't think the later story "Requiem" would be half as moving without the context of the earlier story. And several of the stories are strong even taken in isolation: "The Long Watch," "Ordeal in Space," "Coventry," and my favorite among the shorts, "The Menace from Earth"--the one story in the collection with a female protagonist. There are two other novella-length stories, both of which I found engrossing. "If This Goes On--" and "Methuselah's Children." The first was revised and expanded into the novel Revolt in 2100 and the second is the first story featuring Lazarus Long, who'd feature in four later Heinlein novels, including Time Enough for Love. I'd name other Heinlein works as favorites: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Space Troopers, Citizen of the Galaxy. Nevertheless, this wouldn't make a bad introduction to Heinlein. ( )

Read all in a row, Heinlein's "Past Through Tomorrow" collection is dizzying in scope. There are twenty stories in chronological order which are presented not so much as a sci-fi future but an alternate "future history" of Earth civilization. I have to admit the distinction was a little lost on me at first, but I think it's more about the mindset that Heinlein wanted his narration to be coming from. There is a wide range of topics covered, from predicting the future, to new modes of transportation, to moon colonization, to human flight, and human immortality. All weighty subjects, indeed. Heinlein chooses to illustrate the vast changes that occur within a civilzation through personal tales from one or two characters in each story, making it an enjoyable challenge to mentally link together the history that is patched together as the stories leap forward through the ages. All in all a wonderful collection of narratives that work together beautifully as a whole. ( )

This has some very special short stories. I particularly enjoyed The Menace from Earth, growing up. I think that these stories are also where Lazarus Long first shows up. ( )

This is a MUST READ for a Heinlein fan. So many of his stories intertwine and many of the characters appear in many different books. These short stories help fill in some of the gaps. Some of the stories, though, are completely independent of his other works, but I enjoyed them all. Definitely pick this one up! ( )