Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Starship Troopers
Book Review: A Classic in Military of the Future
Summary: 5 Stars
Juan "Johnnie" Rico is a young man who becomes a member of the Mobile Infantry, a part of the army in the not to distant future. This book should satisfy many different kinds of readers. It has the action one looks for in military classics. Beginning with an action packed battle against the "Skinnies" and ending with the "Bugs". For all those interested in the plausibility of the science, there are many things to ponder over, from the suits that make soldiers look like gorillas and are the equivalent of one armored tank, as well as the Karpolov drive which reminds one of the "hyper drive" of Star Trek. To me the area where the book really shines and is considered the most controversial are the philosophical aspects of the book. Understandably so, for most of it is spent talking about the ineffectiveness of governments of the past. It does help in understanding the political and Darwinian principles which it represents in their futuristic culture. I found it intriguing, but many would find preachy. Heinlein gets up on his soapbox, telling us how he feels the world should be run, what's wrong with the way we are running it, and why. Though the philosophical and political elements were enjoyable, and powerful, they lose base when Heinlein "proves" all of his theory and messages mathematically making all ethical and philosophical theory less effective.Like many of his books including Citizen of the Galaxy Heinlein uses the protagonist's education to describe the structures of the society in this case militarily. In the society of the future everyone is a resident and doesn't become a citizen until they, both men and women serve in the army. Our protagonist is forced into the Infantry, for not being qualified for anything else. Much of the book deals with Juan's training which Heinlein has a sharpness and understanding of some one who has a clear vision of what the Infantry would be like. The battle themes are as realistic and believable as one can get for fights with aliens.
Many of themes in the book add a family sense to the story, but most are done in a way where they are picked up periodically and then brought up again fifty or so pages later, they work but not well. One theme that I found peculiar in the book was that the war being fought with the bugs relates to wars with communism and the continued struggle to destroy. The book is an amazing read which I thoroughly enjoyed, and would suggest to anyone interested in reading a book about political and military philosophy.
Book Review: A Classic, Old Fashioned Space Opera
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a true, hardcore Heinlein fan. I have read everything he ever wrote, and have enjoyed it all. Starship Troopers is classic sci-fi at its best; a fast paced, suspenseful, all out space opera, published in 1959 for young teenaged boys. This hard science fiction adventure story stands the test of time and is still an exciting read for boys and girls of all ages.
Taken at face value, this story is about a recruit who joins the Mobile Infantry, endures the toughest boot camp on the planet, and then goes into battle against the toughest enemy ever to face mankind. Any kid to today will love this story; it will grab their attention and capture their imagination with interstellar spaceships, cool weapons, weird aliens and plenty of action.
But as always, Heinlein writes on many levels. Give this book to an adult, and he/she will enjoy it for the same reasons, but find a completely different meaning. Heinlein had a unique, and quite possibly correct, philosophy when came to military service. He did not believe that everyone should be required to serve nor did believe in a draft. In Starship Troopers, Heinlein makes it clear that not only should service be completely voluntary, but only those truly qualified to serve should have the honor of doing so. And what makes a person qualified, aside from intelligence, bravery, and ability? Heinlein's central qualification was that the PRIVILEGE of military service should be limited to those who clearly demonstrated that the health and welfare of their society is more important to them than their own personal health and welfare. The needs of the many...
In this novel, it is extremely hard to join the military, but it is very easy to walk away AT ANY TIME. No one is forced to do something that they do not wish to do. Hence a military career commands the respect and honor it deserves. You would think that in the United States of America, the defense of one's home/country/planet SHOULD command the highest respect, the highest pay, the highest honor. Yet, military service is looked down on, disrespected everywhere, and smart, patriotic people do their best to avoid it. In many cases, the wrong people are defending this country for the wrong reasons. (Please, PLEASE understand, I am speaking in GROSS EXAGGERATION here to make a point; there are many, many fine and honorable soldiers out there to whom I give my greatest appreciation and support.) But we as a country ignore these fine men, do not respect them, and treat them poorly upon discharge. Heinlein recognized this situation in 1959, and I am sad to say that it is worse today. As a country, we need to change.
I was asked recently if I thought that Heinlein glorified war in this novel. My answer is no, I do not. After rereading this novel, it is clear to me that Heinlein hated war, but realized the necessity of it. And if it IS necessary, then he only wanted the best of the best to defend us. I agree.
Book Review: A Classic....But Barely
Summary: 5 Stars
Here is the grandaddy of military scifi. On a lark, Johnny Rico enters military service upon graduating from high school. After going through a brutal and exacting basic training course, he becomes a Mobile Infantryman and is thrown into the fray of an interstellar war. The enemy is an intelligent and tenacious arachnid species known as "The Bugs".
When you think about it, this book could easily have been a flop. A large portion of the novel takes place in classrooms and in the inner thoughts of Rico. Despite this, Heinlein manages to keep a quick pace. He also gives us much to mull over. Some issues he presents include who should be in charge of society, should the army's role be given to Naval forces,are military drafts good, and how should we choose military officers. There is much food for thought here.
In my opinion though, there are some faults that nearly make me want to take away a star. The author doesnt really explain why his "veteranocracy" (only military veterans can vote or hold office) is the perfect form of governance for mankind. After exploring the issue in some depth, Heinlein finally just posits its best because it works. Thats a pretty big leap considering the concept has never really been tried yet! I also have issues with the author's future military structure. Rico's army has almost no logisticians or people allocated to staff work. All officers are combat leaders who take on support/staff work as a secondary role. So a Divisional supply officer will actually command a combat force. I cant see how this could work. Imagine this supply officer trying to sort out a munition distribution problem when he is knee deep in a combat action and with almost no ordnance techs to assist! This future army is certainly highly automated (they move about in powerful and computerized armored suits) and this may allow for such a structure. Still, I am skeptical. Finally, there is officer selection. One cant be a Mobile Infantry officer without first experiencing combat. While this is a laudable hurdle, I think its impractical. The author hints that there had been no major combat actions for some time before Johnny is sent out to fight the Bugs. Seems to me, this army runs the risk of running out of qualified officer candidates! Imagine if the old USSR had this as a requirement to be an officer. Where would they find combat vets in say 1972 when the last time the Red Army was in the field was 1945?
I reviewed the movie a few months ago and sort of panned it for making this future society into something Mussolini (or maybe Hitler even) could have been proud of. Some of the other reviewers reinforce this too. Its really not there. The general populace in the novel seem to have the basic civil liberties we do (except voting rights). On a less touchy point, the book develops an interesting (if minor) sub issue regarding the tensions between Rico and his father. In the movie, Verhoeven kills off Rico Sr in the beginning. Heinlein lets him live and meet up with his son towards the end of the book. I fully understand movie directors have time constraints that force them to shave out such things. Still, I would liked to have seen this sub-plot survive.
This is an excellent story. There are some minor blemishes but in the end its a novel that has stood the test of time.
Book Review: A Devastatingly Lucid Vision of the Future
Summary: 5 Stars
It has been said that Heinlein visualizes our future and then we live in it. Starship Troopers remains remarkably unscathed in that respect even four decades later.A previous reviewer said that he found this book extremely dull. He was looking for the type of action shown in the 1997 movie. Hey, the action is not bad, but that was not why I couldn't put this book down. Now I've read it twice. It is plain to me that this book is not about action. There is a little at the beginning and the end, but the sublime notions behind this mini-masterpiece lie in young Juanito's bewildering experiences in his History and Moral Philosophy classes. When it dawns on you that their class system forfeits the lives of some for the sake of the common good, that alone ought to be reason to read on. Because there are always more answers to the mystery on the tip of Juanito's tongue. His casual, articulate descriptions of history allude to something more.. the reader's appetite is always being whetted with the foreshadowing of more answers. How has this society created such a sociogovernmental monster? How does it work? Why corporal punishment? Why send men to die. Why really send men to die? But why really really? Does Johnny even know?
A large portion of the story deals with life as a cadet, under extremely harsh living conditions. The military atmosphere is highly realistic, especially when it comes to relating to sergeants. All of the military-related chatter sounds highly credible to me, a civilian -- partly because Heinlein drew on his experiences serving in the US Navy.
I can't say this book's philosophy formulates a logical whole, but it fills most of the gaps, leaving the reader to contemplate a very large social/political system. Hey, democracy doesn't make a logical whole either, so I'm not complaining.
This book might be more offensive to liberals, as it implies that corporal punishment is great for establishing and maintaining social order -- making use of the perfectly evolved survival tool, "pain". Furthermore it glorifies military life, discipline, and unity, and pays no great amount of attention to individualism. If you think this might bother you, read this book anyway. It's not long, it's not expensive, and you need a reality check anyway.
Book Review: A Dysutopian maybe, but better than the movie.
Summary: 5 Stars
The two things that stood out for me about the book was that Heinleim was not writing about the future, but about the present. At the same time, though not suprising, Hollywood missed most of the novel's story. The political theories voiced in the novel mostly by Mr. Dubois (Lt-Col., rt) are not that far fetched because as the book suggests, what is the use of a military if one does not plan to use it. The strength of the book is the fact that it is story of growth. Johnnie Rico, the novel's "first person" protagonist, beginning as a rich kid and finding he lacked purpose/direction in life and ending up a career Lt. in the Mobile Infantry. Hollywood though made a mess of the novel's ideas because of course the action was more important and there always had to be a love triangle. Carmen was mentioned only a few times and and Dizzy Flores had a sex change somewhere along the line and was only mention twice, both in reference to his death. In the book the soldiers were men and the Naval pilots were women. The movie was just a little more politcaly correct by having co-ed units. If you have seen the movie and hummed and hawwed about the book do not hesitate but do not expect the same thing.