Tomorrow the Stars
by Robert A. Heinlein (Editor)
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Robert Anson Heinlein was born in Missouri in 1907, and was raised there. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1929, but was forced by illness to retire from the Navy in 1934. He settled in California and over the next five years held a variety of jobs while doing post-graduate work in mathematics and physics at the University of California. In 1939 he sold his first science fiction story to Astounding magazine and soon devoted himself to the genre. He was a four-time winner of the show more Hugo Award for his novels Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), Starship Troopers (1959), Double Star (1956), and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966). His Future History series, incorporating both short stories and novels, was first mapped out in 1941. The series charts the social, political, and technological changes shaping human society from the present through several centuries into the future. Robert A. Heinlein's books were among the first works of science fiction to reach bestseller status in both hardcover and paperback. he continued to work into his eighties, and his work never ceased to amaze, to entertain, and to generate controversy. By the time hed died, in 1988, it was evident that he was one of the formative talents of science fiction: a writer whose unique vision, unflagging energy, and persistence, over the course of five decades, made a great impact on the American mind. show lessTags
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In his introduction, Heinlein explained that the purpose of the collection was simply to give you pleasure. He intentionally selected 14 stories that had never been anthologized before, showcasing the breadth of early speculative fiction.
The Silly Season - C.M. Kornbluth: A satirical look at a mundane future where journalists are duped by bizarre alien antics, coining the phrase silly season to describe illogical news cycles.
I'm Scared - Jack Finney: A thrilling, atmospheric tale blending time-travel paradoxes with a sense of impending doom.
Survival Ship - Judith Merril: A suspenseful, psychological story dealing with the isolation and survival parameters of multi-generational space travel.
Keyhole - Murray Leinster: A gripping story show more detailing the discovery and observation of alien intelligence on another world. show less
The Silly Season - C.M. Kornbluth: A satirical look at a mundane future where journalists are duped by bizarre alien antics, coining the phrase silly season to describe illogical news cycles.
I'm Scared - Jack Finney: A thrilling, atmospheric tale blending time-travel paradoxes with a sense of impending doom.
Survival Ship - Judith Merril: A suspenseful, psychological story dealing with the isolation and survival parameters of multi-generational space travel.
Keyhole - Murray Leinster: A gripping story show more detailing the discovery and observation of alien intelligence on another world. show less
for del Rey's The Monster, one of his hacks that he's proud of...
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Seems I've read this collection before; all the stories I've attempted are familiar.
"Monster" is a very good one, both pulp adventure and a bit literary... I'm glad that I took this chance to (re)read it and I do recommend it to other fans of 40s/50s era SF.
I do want to find more stories from [a:Judith Merril|171627|Judith Merril|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1340211149p2/171627.jpg] (note the singular 'l' at the end when searching for her). [b:That Only a Mother|17828345|That Only a Mother|Judith Merril|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1406988346l/17828345._SX50_.jpg|24941524] is of course her most famous story, and she has show more edited several anthologies, and worked with Kornbluth, but she deserves to be better known as a writer in her own right. 'Survival Ship' gives us the What If idea of "Twenty and Four" which would never have been written by a male author back in the day....
Anyway, this is a fun sampler for those youngsters who wonder what the appeal of the older SF was. And a nice reminder for those of us already fans. I wound up skimming every story for the Idea and being satisfied with that, not feeling the need for a careful reading because these were not written with a careful reading in mind. Thank you. ;) show less
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Seems I've read this collection before; all the stories I've attempted are familiar.
"Monster" is a very good one, both pulp adventure and a bit literary... I'm glad that I took this chance to (re)read it and I do recommend it to other fans of 40s/50s era SF.
I do want to find more stories from [a:Judith Merril|171627|Judith Merril|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1340211149p2/171627.jpg] (note the singular 'l' at the end when searching for her). [b:That Only a Mother|17828345|That Only a Mother|Judith Merril|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1406988346l/17828345._SX50_.jpg|24941524] is of course her most famous story, and she has show more edited several anthologies, and worked with Kornbluth, but she deserves to be better known as a writer in her own right. 'Survival Ship' gives us the What If idea of "Twenty and Four" which would never have been written by a male author back in the day....
Anyway, this is a fun sampler for those youngsters who wonder what the appeal of the older SF was. And a nice reminder for those of us already fans. I wound up skimming every story for the Idea and being satisfied with that, not feeling the need for a careful reading because these were not written with a careful reading in mind. Thank you. ;) show less
First printed in 1952, reprinted in '67, these stories exemplify the 'social' SciFi: technical details are irrelevant and the social repercussions of an idea/technology taken to an extreme. Almost all of these stories were written by accomplished authors and are fairly polished in their style and execution and deserving of a re-read...even if they're not "exciting" by today's standards.
A classic early anthology by "the youthful dean of science-fiction writers."
Scifi anthology edited by Heinlein (and, uncredited, Frederik Pohl & Judith Merril). It doesn't contain any of his stories, but he did write the Preface.
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334 works; 200 members
Author Information
Robert Anson Heinlein was born on July 7, 1907 in Butler, Mo. The son of Rex Ivar and Bam Lyle Heinlein, Robert Heinlein had two older brothers, one younger brother, and three younger sisters. Moving to Kansas City, Mo., at a young age, Heinlein graduated from Central High School in 1924 and attended one year of college at Kansas City Community show more College. Following in his older brother's footsteps, Heinlein entered the Navel Academy in 1925. After contracting pulmonary tuberculosis, of which he was later cured, Heinlein retired from the Navy and married Leslyn MacDonald. Heinlein was said to have held jobs in real estate and photography, before he began working as a staff writer for Upton Sinclair's EPIC News in 1938. Still needing money desperately, Heinlein entered a writing contest sponsored by the science fiction magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories. Heinlein wrote and submitted the story "Life-Line," which went on to win the contest. This guaranteed Heinlein a future in writing. Using his real name and the pen names Caleb Saunders, Anson MacDonald, Lyle Monroe, John Riverside, and Simon York, Heinlein wrote numerous novels including For Us the Living, Methuselah's Children, and Starship Troopers, which was adapted into a big-budget film for Tri-Star Pictures in 1997. The Science Fiction Writers of America named Heinlein its first Grand Master in 1974, presented 1975. Officers and past presidents of the Association select a living writer for lifetime achievement. Also, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted Heinlein in 1998. Heinlein died in 1988 from emphysema and other related health problems. Heinlein's remains were scattered from the stern of a Navy warship off the coast of California. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Contains
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1952
- Dedication
- For Dorothy and Clare
- First words
- I'm very badly scared, not so much for myself - I'm a gray-haired man of sixty-six, after all - but for you and everyone else who has not yet lived out his life.
- Quotations
- From: The Tourist Trade - Judy climbed the stairs at a brisk trot and the bedroom door slammed in its usual fashion. It was opened again and Judy trotted back down just as briskly. She put her head into the living room. “Da... (show all)ddy?” “Uh-what?” He came up from the depths of the book. “The ghost says you had better come up there or else.” “Indeed! Or else what?” “Or else he’ll report you.” Donald slammed the book to the floor. Judy jumped in alarm. “Well, Daddy, he did. He did!” the girl cried. “Judy – you get right back up those stairs and tell that ghost I’m not coming up to meet him. Not until he plays ‘Yankee Doodle’ on the saxophone. Get that?” “Yes, Daddy.” “All right then, get moving. And good night!” “Good night, Daddy.” The young feet retraced the path up the stairs and the young hands gave the bedroom door a thumping slam. After that the silence from the second floor was a welcome thing. “There,” Donald said in triumph. “I told you I’d handle her. Tact. That’s all it takes, tact.” He dropped into the overstuffed chair and sought his place in the mystery novel. From Judy’s bedroom came the loud, blaring sound of a saxophone tearing into “Yankee Doodle.”
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)She said very sweetly and sympathetically, "Poor Superman."
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- Members
- 650
- Popularity
- 44,120
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.67)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 18
