Starship Troopers

by Robert A. Heinlein

Book Overview

In Robert A. Heinlein's controversial Hugo Award-winning bestseller, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the Universe--and into battle against mankind's most alarming... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441783589
• Release Date: May 1987
• Publisher: Ace
• Length: 263 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

One of the greatest sci-fi books of all time

Heinlein, one of the 3 big sci-fi authors of the mid 20th century along with Asimov and Clark was ahead of his time with this story. It was a trailblazer for the military sci-fi genre. He description of training, battle, while also dealing with themes such as free will, civic virtue, militarism really gets you into the story, and the struggle of Johnny Rico.

One of my top five books ever

If i was stranded on a desert island i would take this book.

A classic!

Maligned by a movie with which it shares a title and some character names but little else, Starship Trooper remains one of the classic works of a giant of the sci-fi genre. Like most of the great titans who turned it from a pulp genre to serious literature, Heinlein used his work to develop complex and often thought provoking critiques on society. Starship Trooper is no exception.Like many of Heinlein's works, this novel's lead character is a young man (to his fault Heinlein could not write women but to his credit before the end of his career he rarely tried) who makes a decision on a lark (joining the Mobile Infantry) and then learns about the universe and becomes a man. In the hands of a lesser writer, the novel would become a kind of interstellar version of British 19th Century gone to sea novels. Heinlein, however, uses it as a platform from which to engage in a biting and thoughtful commentary on the state of society in 1959.Here we are offered an interesting theory of citizenship, the relationship between violence and political power, and the idea of rights. Interestingly, many assume this novel was written in the 1960s or 70s because of its apparent preoccupation with the idea of runaway crime and fear. Heinlein at the end of the staid 50s was prescient in what he saw as the coming threats to society. A rabid anti-communist, readers will also find interesting in the sort of society that Heinlein presents as the ideal opponent of a perfect communist system. What makes this work exceptional is that all of these subjects are rolled neatly into a riveting read. I first read this novel in my early teens and it opened my eyes to a whole range of questions while still keeping me entertained. Controversy still rages among many about what the author intended with this book. Was he presenting an idealistic utopia of civic virtue or a militaristic dystopia bent on conquest? Read it and join an argument that will continue to rage for years to come!

Action-packed and thought-provoking reading

For me, Starship Troopers is all the proof you need in order to name Robert Heinlein science fiction's greatest writer. I am getting in the bad habit of naming specific Heinlein books to be his very best, only to find that the next novel I pick up is even better than the last one. This particular novel is fascinating on a number of levels. There is nothing really special about Johnnie Rico; he's a normal lad who decides to join the military, ostensibly at the time in order to gain citizenship. In this future Terran confederation, only those who serve in the military are awarded citizenship and granted the privilege to vote. The government actually discourages volunteers and makes boot camp so difficult that only men with proper soldier qualities get through it. On the broadest level, we see Rico's progression from harrowed recruit to active service in the Mobile Infantry to combat against the Klendathu. I have no military background at all, but I found Heinlein's descriptions of military life and actual combat to be detailed and thrilling. We watch Johnnie Rico become a soldier. Along the way, he figures out why he actually did volunteer, developing a whole new outlook on duty and responsibility.I don't want to delve too deeply into the politics of this novel. Some have pinned a fascist connotation on it, but I try to examine this future society philosophically. Only those who serve in the military can vote, but the vast majority of people choose not to serve and live happy lives as civilians, so I don't see anything fascist about this society. What intrigues me most, and it is this that sets this book apart from the vast majority of science fiction, is Heinlein's thought-provoking ideas about ethics, morality, duty, responsibility, etc. Mr. Dubois, Ricco's high school instructor in History and Moral Philosophy (a required course for all) gets in the ring and dukes it out with Plato, John Locke, and a host of other political thinkers. He argues that man has no natural moral instinct; morality is acquired by the individual and is an elaboration of the instinct to survive. If an individual is not taught the lessons of living in society, he will not learn that the basis of all morality is duty. In this way he criticizes the democracies of the late twentieth century and explains their ultimate failure. The promotion of the idea that certain natural rights are necessarily due each person caused young people to neglect their duties--by concentrating on the rights they think are due them. Liberty and freedom must be earned and paid for, and democracies failed because they did not understand this basic tenet. These kinds of ideas are the source of most of the criticisms directed toward Starship Troopers. I found many cogent arguments in the novel; criticism of democracy is not an endorsement of totalitarianism. Many would agree with some of the ideas Mr. Dubois puts forth (and which find their way into various places elsewhere in the

A controversial novel--is it Heinlein's best?

I've read nearly everything Heinlein ever wrote. I like to group his novels into three general categories. They are:1. "Youth" novels such as the excellent "Citizen of the Galaxy", "Tunnel in the Sky" and "Podkayne of Mars." These feature young heroes or heroines in challenging situations.2. "Future History" novels, such as "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress","Time Enough for Love", "Methuselah's Children", "To Sail Beyond the Sunset" and "Friday."3. Novels with metaphysical or philosophical leanings such as "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Starship Troopers." You could put "Starship Troopers" in the category of a youth novels. Rico, the young hero of the novel is barely out of high school when he volunteers for military service in order to win citizenship privileges--and impress pretty fellow student Carmen. She's volunteering for service, hoping her mathematics talent will gain her a pilot's seat.Wait! Citizenship privileges--what's that? Aren't we all endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the vote? Well, not in John Rico's world. There, citizenship is earned by military service, and it isn't all flowers and pancakes, either. If war breaks out, your short stint becomes...indefinite.So why would anyone risk life and limb, plus some very unpleasant times in boot camp, just to be able to vote? That's the philosophical underpinning of "Starship Troopers." Heinlein creates a republic based on a sort of responsible freedom, where liberty is granted, but the right to direct it is earned by those who paid in a stake. So, is this book a boring political rant? Heck no! In amongst the lectures on liberty and good government a la Heinlein is an incredibly action-packed adventure. The Bugs are an alien race bent on destroying the Earth. And Earth armies have little idea how to stop them except they know they must do so to survive. The scenes in boot camp are gripping. The battle scenes are realistic. The "special effects"--the armored suits the infantry wears are amazing "seven-league boots" that impart near-Superman powers on the soldier who wears it. The film that was based on this book caught the excitement of a society at war with a deadly enemy, but the book has more action than the film ever could have...and a lot more explanation of what motivates each character. If you haven't read this, you are in for a real treat. This is, in my opinion, one of Heinlein's best novels, along with "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and the rambling but brilliant "Time Enough For Love." It's so good that I almost make a fourth category for just "Starship Troopers" by itself. It's my favorite of Heinlein's works.

A gauntlet thrown down

Starship Troopers does not advocate a facist goverment! It considers a democracy where individuals who desire the right to vote must prove that they are willing to pay the cost of freedom. The fact, that so many people today find this requirement for personal responsibility threatening, does not bode well for our nation. I first read the novel in a high school English class. I was a 16 year old punk at the time. It greated a great deal of debate, to say the least, but had a profound impact on me. I enlisted in the Marine Corps on my 18th birthday, against the wishes of my parents, and have served, as both an enlisted Marine and Marine Officer, for 11 years. I have reread the book several times and was excited to learn, in 1992, that the Commandant of the Marine Corps had made Starship Troopers required reading for all Marines. Read this book with an open mind. It is science fiction literature, more importantly it challenges the reader to examine our role in society. Bryon J. Fugate