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Heinlein Archives Put Online
Posted by
CowboyNeal
on Fri Sep 21, 2007 04:09 AM
from the plenty-to-read dept.
from the plenty-to-read dept.
RaymondRuptime writes "Good news for fans of the late SF master Robert Heinlein, 2 months after his 100th birthday celebration. Per the San Jose Mercury News, 'The entire contents of the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Archive — housed in the UC-Santa Cruz Library's Special Collections since 1968 — have been scanned in an effort to preserve the contents digitally while making the collection easily available to both academics and the general public... The first collection released includes 106,000 pages, consisting of Heinlein's complete manuscripts — including files of all his published works, notes, research, early drafts and edits of manuscripts.' You can skip the brief article and go straight to the archives."
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Robert A. Heinlein's 100th Birthday 202 comments
sasdrtx writes "Today is Robert A. Heinlein's 100th birthday. Regarded as one of the most influential hard Sci-Fi authors of the 20th century, it's definitely worth looking back at his influence on not only science fiction, but the space program, the english language, counter-culture, and political discourse. The Space Review has a piece entitled Ride the Lightning, which discusses Heinlein's history with the space program and (sometimes incorrect) assertions about the future of space flight. For a look at the official celebration, the Heinlein Centennial website has numerous resources available. The program for the event (pdf) makes it sound like they're having a great time in Kansas City."
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For real? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:For real? (Score:5, Insightful)
Just read the Lazarus rant in "Time Enough for Love" when he understands for the first time that his pearls of wisdom are being recorded.
So I think he is more likely laughing than grumbling. After all he said (though Lazarus): "Beware of altruism. It is based on self-deception, the root of all evil."
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Re:For real? (Score:4, Interesting)
He also put in his bequeathing to UCSC that there was one work not to be published... Ever. I haven't the time to search the archive to see if it's there, and at the moment the title escapes me, so I'll have to dig in my annual collection and look up the title (My most prized copy of ?compton's SF? some rag that was carrying RAH's first serials.)
Anyway, I hope they honor his wishes about this. He declared it his single worst story ever, never to be re-printed. He's fairly spot on in his assessment.
-nB
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Re:For real? (Score:4, Interesting)
-nB
*Yes I'm a geek, but old ragstock is known for decay, thus a Lucite box, purged with argon.
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Re:For real? (Score:4, Informative)
The so-called "stinkeroos" (Heinlein's own term for them) are three short stories, all dating from the first phase of his writing career, prior to World War II. With one exception, they have never been reprinted since their original pulp appearances. Heinlein refused reprint requests and never included them in any of his own collections, and his literary executors continue this policy. It is unlikely that any of them will ever be reprinted.
The stinkeroos are:
"Beyond Doubt" (Astonishing Stories, Apr 1941)
"'My Object All Sublime'" (Future, Feb 1942)
"Pied Piper" (Astonishing, Mar 1942)
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Re:For real? (Score:5, Informative)
"Beyond Doubt" (Astonishing Stories, Apr 1941)
http://www.heinleinarchives.net/upload/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=13 [heinleinarchives.net]
"'My Object All Sublime'" (Future, Feb 1942)
http://www.heinleinarchives.net/upload/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=8 [heinleinarchives.net]
"Pied Piper" (Astonishing, Mar 1942)
http://www.heinleinarchives.net/upload/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=9 [heinleinarchives.net]
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Re:Who Robert Heinlein is... (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:For real? - Copyright (Score:3, Interesting)
A friend of mine, now deceased, Amy Mahin was the copyright lawyer for Lassie [wikipedia.org]. She was a wonderful person, thoughtful, and for the last ten years I've wondered often what her take on the copyright mess we are in would be. As many others have commented in the past - the current legal structure supports the distributors - with each individ
A practice that could save us from rereleases. (Score:5, Interesting)
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Does anyone have any proof that this "notes" actually exist? The prequels are so chock-full of contradictions with the original series and - to put it bluntly - flat-out stupidity that I've always suspected that the notes were either too scanty to form a full work; largely ignored by Herbert & Anderson in favour of
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I certainly don't disagree with you, but in all fairness there aren't all that many 'primary' authors that have done a good job carrying on a series. The obsession with never-ending series of books in scifi & fantasy almost guarantees that you will lose interest and/or be disappointed by the quality long before the series is finished. A standard trilogy may not be enough, but if there are m
Re:A practice that could save us from rereleases. (Score:4, Interesting)
I can: Terry Pratchett.
While the Discworld books have evolved significantly from essentially a ripoff of Douglas Adams to the best fantasy humor ever written to painstaking social commentary and satire, even a spinoff into children's stories that are largely as good as the "main" series, after something close to 30 books, I think he's still doing a great job. Of course, they're not coming out twice a year, each thicker (and better) than the last like they were in the 90's, but I think man is still on a roll.
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TANSTAAFL (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:TANSTAAFL (Score:4, Informative)
I saw your acronym, and (once again, clueless me) I had to look it up in Wikipedia. [wikipedia.org] And it's a Heinlein reference!
I take it they are charging for access?Parent
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But if the Estate (or descendants) "invested" in the scanning, and then released the manuscripts a little at a time, via torrents or free / cheap hosting services, it's possible that they would re-energize the market for his books.
I have never bought a Heinlein book, and don't intend to pay to download stuff. But if I were exposed to it via a free website, it might just pique my interest enough to buy a book (which has happened NUMEROUS times to me with technical books).
Then again, they might
It's a shame he renewed everything. (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, it appears there may be one or two available shorts [pgdp.net], the ones that he really
Re:TANSTAAFL (Score:4, Interesting)
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Re:TANSTAAFL (Score:5, Insightful)
The fact is, most of the wonders of modern science were predicted in the writings of people like Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Wells, and Clarke.
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This links to a *STORE*, people... (Score:5, Informative)
Hey, if I link to the "complete" works of another great author on Amazon, can I make FP too? Or does it have to belong to some "special" collection selling out?
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Re:This links to a *STORE*, people... (Score:5, Insightful)
This whole 'everything should be free' movement is weird.
D
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Re:This links to a *STORE*, people... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:This links to a *STORE*, people... (Score:5, Insightful)
Such weak BS.
If an artist wants to take care of their heirs, they need to do like the rest of us and take care of their heirs with the money they earn while they are still alive.
Untimely accident? TFB, death sucks for all of us.
I just don't see what gives artists the right to continue to profit from their works after they die. No one else has that "right".
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Re:This links to a *STORE*, people... (Score:4, Insightful)
My grandfather is dead, but I am his heir. He did some good work 70 years ago but I am quite poor. Everyone must send me $10.
it would be nice to think that one's work could benefit one's children for some time
I would like that too. But my employer has told me that my pay will be stopped when I die. Evidently I am in the wrong industry.
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Why does it have to be free?
By putting a price of even a buck on it you cut out the majority of the world's population.
If you want to read Stanger in a Strange Land for free, whats stopping you from going to the library? If the $21 price tag on the Starship Troopers opus is too much, then head over to Amazon and get the novel for $5.
You're being parochial. The US is less than 5% of the world's population. The european population is more than double that but the entire western world is still less t
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No Free Lunch (Score:2, Interesting)
Grumble, mumble mumble.
Shoulda known.
Copyright concerns (Score:3, Interesting)
Increase the income... (Score:5, Informative)
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No, this benefits only those who accidentally happen to have objectives similar to those of the trust.
---
Like software, intellectual property law is a product of the mind, and can be anything we want it to be. Let's get it right.
I'm a fanboy but... (Score:5, Interesting)
I was hoping to get downloadable versions of all his books that I read as a kid, especially some of the more obscure titles, and as I read them.
Don't get me wrong - this is very cool, but we're not talking the finished product here, but all drafts leading up to the galley that was submitted to the publisher.
So this would be very good to see how the plot, characters & books were developed. But you're not gonna curl up with one of these. I suspect they'll be dense reads.
And expensive! The complete, seven parts of Starship Troopers [heinleinarchives.net] will set you back $21!!
hrmph. (Score:4, Insightful)
I have all his books, even the one finished by Spider Robinson.
But when I can buy an copy off the 'net for less then a scanned, no doubt DRM'd, electronic copy - I have to wonder who the target of this website is.
Bottom line - If you want to impress people donate the collected works to the Gutenberg archive.
But of course that is not a money spinner. Hardcore fans only indeed - though I am not knocking this as a source for historical research for the academics.
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While I love to read, I have very little interest in HOW a book is written. I mean, I kind of care, but not enough to sift through tons of notes and try to recreate his thought process on a book that took him months or years to write. I simply don't have enough time to care.
On the other hand, if I were looking at writing my first book, I'd be sorely tempted to take a look at the process a master used, and see what could help me along.
And if I lived
Playboy.com makes mens magazine available online! (Score:5, Funny)
smokin something (Score:2)
Job: A comedy of Justice, used on Amazon... $0.01
Job: A comedy of Justice, digitized... $33.00?!?
Re:smokin something (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll stick my two cents in here. Heinlein's juveniles and many other works (up until the period when the transition in quality coming from his cerebral artery problem deeply hurt his work) all celebrated the human condition, and the ability of man to rise to noble heights. They also were cracking good stories, too. Heinlein does not deserve the denigration coming these days from academic hacks and people unable to understand what he was really getting at. He wrote of man's responsibility to society, over and over again, and I find it offensive when some dimwitted, unimaginative 'publish or perish' academic arrogantly demeans him.
In his time - a span of decades overlapping WWII - Heinlein was a giant and an inspiration to many engineers and scientists; any current critic dismissing him as a totalitarian Nazi is getting it completely wrong. His goal was to make money entertaining, true, but he aimed to inspire, he aimed at noble mores. He was not a literary cheat or a fraud and tried to give good value for the money. He was human and he made some mistakes in later years. But overall he saluted the best in man, championed the competent man in his stories. He was in favor of can-do, and held whiny slackers in disdain. If someone finds fault in that, the problem is with them, not him. His Starship Troopers was about genuine duty to man, unlike many of today's shallow military porn 'Sci-Fi" novels. (The movie adaptation was not his fault.) His Door Into Summer inspired me as a budding engineer. Today's lightweight bookstore rack-space fillers, by contrast, are shallow and disposable. I don't see many of them lighting the right sparks in growing minds like Heinlein did.
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Re:Umm??? I thought Heinlein... (Score:4, Informative)
Heinlein is one of the biggest, most influential names in science fiction. He won 4 Hugos, the very first Grand Master Award from the SFWA, and I'm sure a lot more awards that I don't know about. Fuck, at one time he was referred to as one of the "Big Three" names in sci fi (along with Asimov and Clarke).
Read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Friday, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Citizen of the Galaxy. If you can't appreciate the genius that this man had after that, you're beyond hope.
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It's a tragic shame that Heinlein lived long enough to write his later rubbish, which he apparently typed one-handed, with his trousers off. But his early stuff made good light reading. Fun and full of ideas.
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Yes, yes, YES!
Re:Umm??? I thought Heinlein... (Score:4, Insightful)
Heinlein knew he was writing in the style of Kipling - and Twain - the two best writers in the English language since Shakespeare and Milton. Heinlein knew their work intimately. Since Heinlein was describing outward-looking people and societies, people of the frontiers such as Kipling and Twain had written of, they were perfect models for him. Joyce, by contrast, is an example of European culture turned inward, during a period of great failures and retreat. And that's the problem with most of what passes for "literature" today - it deals in neurosis and failure rather than hope and success. Our scope should be wide enough to encompass both. And of the latter, Heinlein was the greatest author of the 20th Century. His sentences are deliciously-well crafted, too. His care in the details was as fine as Joyce's. It's just a different style. But he was perfect at it, especially in his first couple of decades.
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