Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein. From and To can't be the same language. That page is already in . Something went wrong. Check the webpage URL and try again. Sorry, that page did not respond in a timely manner. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Something went wrong, please try again. Try using the Translator for the Microsoft Edge extension instead. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein. “And nobody else knows. Was it greater than one thousand?” “Probably, sir. Almost certainly.” “Utterly certain—because more than that eventually escaped, found their ways home, were tallied by name. I see you did not read your lesson carefully. Mr. Rico!” Now I am the victim. “Yes, sir.” “Are a thousand unreleased prisoners sufficient reason to start or resume a war? Bear in mind that millions of innocent people may die, almost certainly will die, if war is started or resumed.” I didn’t hesitate. “Yes, sir! More than enough reason.” “‘More than enough.’ Very well, is one prisoner, unreleased by the enemy, enough reason to start or resume a war?” I hesitated. I knew the M.I. answer—but I didn’t think that was the one he wanted. He said sharply, “Come, come, Mister! We have an upper limit of one thousand; I invited you to consider a lower limit of one. But you can’t pay a promissory note which reads ‘somewhere between one and one thousand pounds’—and starting a war is much more serious than paying a trifle of money. Wouldn’t it be criminal to endanger a country —two countries in fact—to save one man? Especially as he may not deserve it? Or may die in the meantime? Thousands of people get killed every day in accidents . . . so why hesitate over one man? Answer! Answer yes, or answer no—you’re holding up the class.” He got my goat. I gave him the cap trooper’s answer. “Yes, sir!” “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a thousand—or just one, sir. You fight.” “Aha! The number of prisoners is irrelevant. Good. Now prove your answer.” I was stuck. I knew it was the right answer. But I didn’t know why. He kept hounding me. “Speak up, Mr. Rico. This is an exact science. You have made a mathematical statement; you must give proof. Someone may claim that you have asserted, by analogy, that one potato is worth the same price, no more, no less, as one thousand potatoes. No?” “Men are not potatoes.” “Good, good, Mr. Rico! I think we have strained your tired brain enough for one day. Bring to class tomorrow a written proof, in symbolic logic, of your answer to my original question. I’ll give you a hint. See reference seven in today’s chapter. Mr. Salomon! How did the present political organization evolve out of the Disorders? And what is its moral justification?” Sally stumbled through the first part. However, nobody can describe accurately how the Federation came about; it just grew. With national governments in collapse at the end of the XXth century, something had to fill the vacuum, and in many cases it was returned veterans. They had lost a war, most of them had no jobs, many were sore as could be over the terms of the Treaty of New Delhi, especially the P.O.W. foul-up—and they knew how to fight. But it wasn’t revolution; it was more like what happened in Russia in 1917—the system collapsed; somebody else moved in. The first known case, in Aberdeen, Scotland, was typical. Some veterans got together as vigilantes to stop rioting and looting, hanged a few people (including two veterans) and decided not to let anyone but veterans on their committee. Just arbitrary at first—they trusted each other a bit, they didn’t trust anyone else. What started as an emergency measure became constitutional practice . . . in a generation or two. Probably those Scottish veterans, since they were finding it necessary to hang some veterans, decided that, if they had to do this, they weren’t going to let any “bleedin’, profiteering, black-market, double-time-for-overtime, army-dodging, unprintable” civilians have any say about it. They’d do what they were told, see?—while us apes straightened things out! That’s my guess, because I might feel the same way . . . and historians agree that antagonism between civilians and returned soldiers was more intense than we can imagine today. Sally didn’t tell it by the book. Finally Major Reid cut him off. “Bring a summary to class tomorrow, three thousand words. Mr. Salomon, can you give me a reason—not historical nor theoretical but practical—why the franchise is today limited to discharged veterans?” “Uh, because they are picked men, sir. Smarter.” “Is the word too long for you? I said it was a silly notion. Service men are not brighter than civilians. In many cases civilians are much more intelligent. That was the sliver of justification underlying the attempted coup d’état just before the Treaty of New Delhi, the so-called ‘Revolt of the Scientists’: let the intelligent elite run things and you’ll have utopia. It fell flat on its foolish face of course. Because the pursuit of science, despite its social benefits, is itself not a social virtue; its practitioners can be men so self-centered as to be lacking in social responsibility. I’ve given you a hint, Mister; can you pick it up?” Sally answered, “Uh, service men are disciplined, sir.” Major Reid was gentle with him. “Sorry. An appealing theory not backed up by facts. You and I are not permitted to vote as long as we remain in the Service, nor is it verifiable that military discipline makes a man self-disciplined once he is out; the crime rate of veterans is much like that of civilians. And you have forgotten that in peacetime most veterans come from non-combatant auxiliary services and have not been subjected to the full rigors of military discipline; they have merely been harried, overworked, and endangered—yet their votes count.” Major Reid smiled. “Mr. Salomon, I handed you a trick question. The practical reason for continuing our system is the same as the practical reason for continuing anything: It works satisfactorily. “Nevertheless, it is instructive to observe the details. Throughout history men have labored to place the sovereign franchise in hands that would guard it well and use it wisely, for the benefit of all. An early attempt was absolute monarchy, passionately defended as the ‘divine right of kings.’ “Sometimes attempts were made to select a wise monarch, rather than leave it up to God, as when the Swedes picked a Frenchman, General Bernadotte, to rule them. The objection to this is that the supply of Bernadottes is limited. “Historic examples ranged from absolute monarch to utter anarch; mankind has tried thousands of ways and many more have been proposed, some weird in the extreme such as the antlike communism urged by Plato under the misleading title The Republic. But the intent has always been moralistic: to provide stable and benevolent government. “All systems seek to achieve this by limiting franchise to those who are believed to have the wisdom to use it justly. I repeat ‘all systems’; even the so-called ‘unlimited democracies’ excluded from franchise not less than one-quarter of their populations by age, birth, poll tax, criminal record, or other.” Major Reid smiled cynically. “I have never been able to see how a thirty-year-old moron can vote more wisely than a fifteen-year-old genius . . . but that was the age of the ‘divine right of the common man.’ Never mind, they paid for their folly. “The sovereign franchise has been bestowed by all sorts of rules—place of birth, family of birth, race, sex, property, education, age, religion, et cetera. All these systems worked and none of them well. All were regarded as tyrannical by many, all eventually collapsed or were overthrown. “Now here are we with still another system . . . and our system works quite well. Many complain but none rebel; personal freedom for all is greatest in history, laws are few, taxes are low, living standards are as high as productivity permits, crime is at its lowest ebb. Why? Not because our voters are smarter than other people; we’ve disposed of that argument. Mr. Tammany—can you tell us why our system works better than any used by our ancestors?” I don’t know where Clyde Tammany got his name; I’d take him for a Hindu. He answered, “Uh, I’d venture to guess that it’s because the electors are a small group who know that the decisions are up to them . . . so they study the issues.” “No guessing, please; this is exact science. And your guess is wrong. The ruling nobles of many another system were a small group fully aware of their grave power. Furthermore, our franchised citizens are not everywhere a small fraction; you know or should know that the percentage of citizens among adults ranges from over eighty per cent on Iskander to less than three per cent in some Terran nations—yet government is much the same everywhere. Nor are the voters picked men; they bring no special wisdom, talent, or training to their sovereign tasks. So what difference is there between our voters and wielders of franchise in the past? We have had enough guesses; I’ll state the obvious: Under our system every voter and officeholder is a man who has demonstrated through voluntary and difficult service that he places the welfare of the group ahead of personal advantage. “And that is the one practical difference. “He may fail in wisdom, he may lapse in civic virtue. But his average performance is enormously better than that of any other class of rulers in history.” Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. Starship Troopers is not only one of the most controversial works of Sci-Fi but also one of the most talked about. First released in 1959, it’s thought that Heinlein wrote the book as a direct response to the nuclear testing moratorium taking place at the time. This has led some to praise the books reflective views while others have criticised its heavy use of military propaganda. Written as a memoir from Juan ‘Johnnie’ Rico’s perspective, there are a lot of information dumps from various characters. Written through Rico’s eyes these second characters still take up large portions of the book. Take his History and Moral Philosophy teacher, Jean V. Dubois, whom he later finds out was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Terran Federation. He lost his hand during the war, and now he’s teaching at Rico’s school, encouraging others to join up as he did. Dubois’ character looks to be a stand-in for Heinlein, as his thoughts and philosophies are like that of the author. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor. Robert Heinlein, Chapter 2. Rico, along with his buddy Carl, trundle through High School thinking life’ll be swell until Carl decides he’s going to fight. This puts Rico in a situation; carry on without his best friend, or follow his path and sign up for the Terran Federation? He chooses the latter. In the beginning, Rico is a whimsical guy. He has a crush on his friend Carmen, who also joins the military on the same day. These two characters play a big part in Rico’s decision-making process, at least in the beginning. As the story progresses, they split up, and each lead their own path to greatness. None of these character arcs is more prominent than Rico’s; going from sappy high-schooler to commander of Rico’s Roughnecks aboard the Rodger Young, later with his father as platoon sergeant. Military Recruitment. An interesting point to note is when Rico and Carl try to sign up for the Terran Federation; they’re always talked out of it. They meet a former military general, Fleet Sergeant Ho, who, with a mechanical arm, tells them that they’re not made for the military. They’re too soft and won’t last five minutes in combat. This is an interesting point because it’s the recruitment’s first attempts at wringing out the weak soldiers, by stopping them from signing up in the first place. There are many examples of this throughout the book: when Rico first begins training; when he’s first launched from his pod into combat; when he wants to become a senior officer. It seems to be their usual way of hardening the ones they have and saving time by discouraging the rest. The counterpoint here is that the military isn’t allowed, by law, to turn anyone away; hence the constant bombardment of negative feedback. If a soldier goes missing, then the services won’t hunt them down and punish them. It’s a win-win situation for both parties. While on the subject of the infantry, Heinlein uses the two warring sides, the voluntary human army and the collective race of bugs, to show their glaring differences. A volunteer force is stronger because the soldiers all choose to be there. They all willingly sign-up without any pressures and can drop out at any time. The underlying premise of the new social order is that the only people fit to govern the state are those willing to sacrifice their lives for the state. Howard Bruce Franklin. Properganda. The Terran Federation is Heinlein’s perfect blend of Government and Army. Domestic and military views present within a single entity, always aggressive and always ready. There are though similarities between the Terran Federation and a Nazi-led Germany. Throughout, Heinlein pushes the notion, often through Rico, that for a society to grow and adapt, they must stay aggressive. This means developing their armed forces and using them whenever necessary. It also leads to violence when a peaceful option may have been a better solution. Attack of the Bugs. Throughout the book, propaganda tells us that the bugs or Pseudo-Arachnids, are stupid and deserve to die, but this is later contradicted by Rico. If the bugs are so stupid then ‘how did they manage to build spaceships?’ While holidaying in Buenos Aires, Rico’s Mother is killed by a bug attack. This is the catalyst that brings Rico and his long-distanced Father together. His Father, who has always been anti-militant and entirely against Rico signing up in the first place, now decides to join his son in combat, all be it in a different command. Eventually, he becomes his Father’s commanding officer, giving him orders when going into battle. This whole switch-around is an exciting idea. The anti-militant Father who later changes his mind due to unforeseen circumstances and joins up with his son. Only to then have his Son become the boss and start to take over these parental responsibilities. Closing Thoughts. The book, at times, does feel like a piece of recruitment propaganda and whether that was Heinlein’s intention or not, it can’t be denied that he was hostile in pushing forward the notion of war. Preachy is probably the best word to describe this kind of content. However, it feels unfair to place Robert Heinlein into a box, say it be; fascist, right-wing dictatorial, or warmongering elitist. The book doesn’t always serve as a means for the author, i.e. his entire voice portrayed through his characters. It is possible to build scenarios to create tension. Isn’t that what great fiction does? Pierces through your powered armour. Overall, Starship Troopers is an enjoyable read and, despite its flaws, will keep you entertained throughout. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein. He is the pioneer of hard science fiction, a sub genre which emphasizes scentific accuracy. His work continues to have an influence on the science- fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally. Heinlein repeatedly addressed social themes in his science-fiction stories. The importance of liberty and self-reliance, the individuals obligation to societies or societies repression of nonconfrom thoughts. Heinlein was named the Science Fiction Grand Master in 1974 and won many awards during his career. In his books he predicted later inventions like the cell phone or computer aided design. Robert also coined terms that have become part of the English language. “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” or “Space Marine” are commonly used even by the President of the United States. Let’s take a look at his most famous book. This is one of my personal all time favorite reads. Setting. The future society of Earth is ruled by the Terran Federation, a global government dominated by the military elite. The rights of a “full citizen” are not universally granted, but must be earned through Federal Service. Only “full citizens” can vote or hold a public office. At the age of 18 people of either gender are expected to enlist in the Terran Federation. This structure arose ad hoc after the collapse of the 20th century Western democracies. Two alien civilizations are known. The “Skinnies” a humanoide species with thin appearance. And the “Arachnids” or “Bugs” an insectoid species and main antagonists of the story. The Bugs have multiple castes; workers, soldiers, brains, and queens and their society is similar to ants and termites. The Skinnies are initially allies of the Arachnids, but switch to being allies of the humans midway through the novel. Faster than light travel exists in the novel. Starship Troopers main character is Johnny Rico a member of the TF Mobile Infrantry. Rico is from a wealthy family, whose members did not serve in the army and see the military drive society critical. The story is loosened up by a series of flashbacks into Rico’s time at school. Story. The novel opens with Rico aboard the corvette Rodger Young, platoon transport for the “Rasczak’s Roughnecks”, about to embark on a raid against the planet of the “Skinnies”, allies of the Arachnids. The raid is relatively brief: the platoon lands on the planet, destroys its targets, and retreats, suffering two casualties in the process. The story then flashes back to Rico’s graduation from high school and his decision to not attend Harvard University, but rather sign up for Federal Service, despite the objections of his wealthy father. This chapter is mostly monologues of two people: retired Lt. Colonel Jean V. Dubois, Rico’s school instructor in the subjects of History and Moral Philosophy, and Fleet Sergeant Ho, a recruiter for the Armed forces of the Terran Federation. Dubois delivers one of the famous statements of the book on how Violence “has settled more issues in history than has any other factor”. Rico is assigned to the Mobile Infantry, and moves to Camp Arthur Currie for his training under Sergeant Charles Zim. He receives combat training of all types, including simulated fights in armored suits. During his training a Arachnid attack destroys the city of Buenos Aires, Rico’s mother is killed in the attack. The “Bug War” changes from border skirmishes to a full-scale war. His first assignment is the Battle of Klendathu, an attack on the Arachnid’s home world, which turns into a disastrous defeat for the Terran Federation with many casualties. With his unit decimated, he is assigned to the “Razak’s Roughnecks” onboard the TF Rodger Young. Several battles with the Arachnids follow and Rico is promoted to corporal and later lieutenant. In the final battle of the book, Rico commands a platoon during “Operation Royalty”, a raid to capture members of the Arachnid brain caste and queens. This operation is a success and a “Brain Bug” is captured. The novel ends with his platoon renaming to “Rico’s Roughnecks”. Quotes. “There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men.” “Liberty is never unalienable; it must be redeemed regularly with the blood of patriots or it always vanishes. Of all the so-called natural human rights that have ever been invented, liberty is least likely to be cheap and is never free of cost.” “Happiness consists in getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more.” “Our behavior is different. How often have you seen a headline like this?–TWO DIE ATTEMPTING RESCUE OF DROWNING CHILD. If a man gets lost in the mountains, hundreds will search and often two or three searchers are killed. But the next time somebody gets lost just as many volunteers turn out. Poor arithmetic, but very human. It runs through all our folklore, all human religions, all our literature–a racial conviction that when one human needs rescue, others should not count the price.” “Any group is weaker than a man alone unless they are perfectly trained to work together.” “To permit irresponsible authority is to sell disaster.” Conclusion. Commentators have stated that Starship Troopers is not driven by its plot, it contains only few desciptions of military combat. Instead much of the novel’s content is the discussion of ideas. The book is based on the social Darwinist idea of society as a struggle for survival based on military strength. It suggests that some conflicts must be resolved by force: one of the lessons Rico is repeatedly taught is that violence can be an effective method of settling conflict. Ricos transformation from boy to soldier is another major theme and the book can be considered a “coming of age” novel. Heinlein also ridicules the idea of inalienable rights, such as “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”, arguing that people only have the rights that they are willing to fight and die for to protect. Critics of the book and the author accused him of glorification of militarism and facism. To me those allegations are refuted by the satirical undertone of the book. Starship Troopers has been influential for the sci-fi genre and praised by reviewers for its scenes of training and combat and its visualization of a future militaristic society. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein. From and To can't be the same language. That page is already in . Something went wrong. Check the webpage URL and try again. Sorry, that page did not respond in a timely manner. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Something went wrong, please try again. Try using the Translator for the Microsoft Edge extension instead. Robert A. Heinlein. Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction writer . Often called "the dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. He was one of the first writers to break into mainstream, general magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post , in the late 1940s, with unvarnished science fiction. He was among the first authors of bestselling, novel-length science fiction in the modern, mass-market era. For many years, Heinlein, Isaac Asimov , and Arthur C. Clarke were known as the "Big Three" of science fiction. [2 ] [3 ] Heinlein was a notable writer of science-fiction short stories , and he was one of a group of writers who were groomed in their writing by John W. Campbell, Jr. the editor of Astounding magazine—though Heinlein himself denied that Campbell influenced his writing to any great degree. Within the framework of his science fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly integrated recognizable social themes: The importance of individual liberty and self-reliance , the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress non-conformist thought. He also examined the relationship between physical and emotional love , explored various unorthodox family structures, and speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices. His iconoclastic approach to these themes led to wildly divergent perceptions of his works and attempts to place mutually contradictory labels on his work. His 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land put him in the unexpected role of a pied piper of the sexual revolution , and of the counterculture , and through this book he was creditedwith popularizing the notion of polyamory . Heinlein won Hugo Awards for four of his novels; in addition, fifty years after publication, three of his works were awarded " Retro Hugos "— awards given retrospectively for years in which Hugo Awards had not been awarded. He also won the first Grand Master Award given by the Science Fiction Writers of America for his lifetime achievement. In his fiction, Heinlein coined words that have become part of the English language, including " grok " and " waldo ", and popularized the term " TANSTAAFL ". . Writing of the Starship Troopers. Some time during 1958 and 1959, Heinlein ceased work on the novel that would become Stranger in a Strange Land and wrote Starship Troopers . It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in October and November 1959 as a serial called Starship Soldier . Although originally written as a juvenile novel for New York publishing house Scribner , it was rejected, prompting Heinlein to cease writing juvenile fiction for Scribners, to end his association with them completely, and begin writing books with more adult themes. The novel was eventually published as teenage fiction by G. P. Putnam's Sons.