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alexisrt's review against another edition
The Past Through Tomorrow by Robert A. Heinlein (1987)
metaphorosis's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
A fairly comprehensive (and large) collection of Robert Heinlein's Future History stories.
Review
My paperback copy of The Past Through Tomorrow is beaten up, with a notched cover and a broken spine. That means I’ve had it since before I started treating books carefully, which is a very long time – most of my books look unread. It’s also one of the foundational books of my interest in science fiction.
More important, it’s, as it say son the back, “One of the greatest achievements in the history of science fiction”. That may be overstating it a bit, but there’s no denying that the collection is impressive, and the stories varied and effective. I haven’t read this for some decades, but I remember many of the stories well. Lazarus Long in particular (he also appears in other Heinlein books) was an influential figure in my childhood.
It’s this latter part that has changed. I read this book around age 10. I absorbed its politics uncritically. Reading it now, it’s far clearer that Heinlein’s politics were a) not the same as mine now, and b) somewhat muddled. While famously libertarian, here what he really seems to favor is authoritarianism – so long as it’s his guy in charge. That makes for great competent heroes, but not for sound societies.
One of Heinlein’s strengths, though, was in creating likeable characters. There are weaknesses, of course – lead women are few and far between; when they’re there, they’re hyper-competent, though generally willing to defer to men. But in these stories, Heinlein hadn’t yet descended into his later, “woman are always right, and by the way, incest is fun” stage. Here, Lazarus Long is reluctant to even sleep with a great-great-granddaughter. Generally, though, his heroes, are tough, able, and engaging.
What I found both familiar and surprising – that is, I remembered it, but no longer found it believable – is how Heinlein treats disagreement. Despite his ability to create reasonably credible characters, Henlein repeatedly resolves arguments by having one person explain the facts to his opponent – who then says, “Oh, I see. You’re right, and I retract what I said, and now support you.” Wouldn’t it be great if people worked that way – if all you had to do was present incontrovertible facts and sound logic? The world would be a different place, and a better one.
In any case, this collection is, in many ways, the best of Robert Heinlein, and worth reading. Nobody’s saying you have to read any official canon of SF. But Heinlein was undoubtedly one of the Big Three, and these stories are a big part of the reason why, and why science fiction looked like it did.
Among the best stories are:
The book ends with the novel “Methuselah’s Children”, which is interesting and introduces Lazarus Long for the first time, but ends on a bit of an off note. I see that some later versions of the collection include a final novella, which may function to offset that a bit.
In any case, well worth your time, whether for fun or as a part of SF history.
Summary
A fairly comprehensive (and large) collection of Robert Heinlein's Future History stories.
Review
My paperback copy of The Past Through Tomorrow is beaten up, with a notched cover and a broken spine. That means I’ve had it since before I started treating books carefully, which is a very long time – most of my books look unread. It’s also one of the foundational books of my interest in science fiction.
More important, it’s, as it say son the back, “One of the greatest achievements in the history of science fiction”. That may be overstating it a bit, but there’s no denying that the collection is impressive, and the stories varied and effective. I haven’t read this for some decades, but I remember many of the stories well. Lazarus Long in particular (he also appears in other Heinlein books) was an influential figure in my childhood.
It’s this latter part that has changed. I read this book around age 10. I absorbed its politics uncritically. Reading it now, it’s far clearer that Heinlein’s politics were a) not the same as mine now, and b) somewhat muddled. While famously libertarian, here what he really seems to favor is authoritarianism – so long as it’s his guy in charge. That makes for great competent heroes, but not for sound societies.
One of Heinlein’s strengths, though, was in creating likeable characters. There are weaknesses, of course – lead women are few and far between; when they’re there, they’re hyper-competent, though generally willing to defer to men. But in these stories, Heinlein hadn’t yet descended into his later, “woman are always right, and by the way, incest is fun” stage. Here, Lazarus Long is reluctant to even sleep with a great-great-granddaughter. Generally, though, his heroes, are tough, able, and engaging.
What I found both familiar and surprising – that is, I remembered it, but no longer found it believable – is how Heinlein treats disagreement. Despite his ability to create reasonably credible characters, Henlein repeatedly resolves arguments by having one person explain the facts to his opponent – who then says, “Oh, I see. You’re right, and I retract what I said, and now support you.” Wouldn’t it be great if people worked that way – if all you had to do was present incontrovertible facts and sound logic? The world would be a different place, and a better one.
In any case, this collection is, in many ways, the best of Robert Heinlein, and worth reading. Nobody’s saying you have to read any official canon of SF. But Heinlein was undoubtedly one of the Big Three, and these stories are a big part of the reason why, and why science fiction looked like it did.
Among the best stories are:
- “The Roads Must Roll”
- *“The Man Who Sold the Moon”
- *“Requiem”
- *“We Also Walk Dogs”
- “The Menace from Earth”
- “If This Goes On”
- “Coventry”
The book ends with the novel “Methuselah’s Children”, which is interesting and introduces Lazarus Long for the first time, but ends on a bit of an off note. I see that some later versions of the collection include a final novella, which may function to offset that a bit.
In any case, well worth your time, whether for fun or as a part of SF history.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
ddavis3739's review against another edition
4.0
This collection of short stories is a great representation of Heinlen’s writing style. The progression of time from the 1900’s to the the future allows for the author to cover a wide variety of topics and it was really interesting to see how everything tied together. Plus there was a wide range of characters to explore and be a part of (although it is clear that Heinlen doesn’t write women very well).
It did take me a bit to finish this though. Partly because I am doing my masters degree and partly because some of the stories lull out at times. However, when they get good they get really good. I especially liked seeing how Heinlen’s interpretation of future looked like without know what we know now.
It did take me a bit to finish this though. Partly because I am doing my masters degree and partly because some of the stories lull out at times. However, when they get good they get really good. I especially liked seeing how Heinlen’s interpretation of future looked like without know what we know now.
nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2910459.html
Heinlein's mammoth future history: 21 stories published as a collection in 1967, though in fact all but two originally came out between 1939 and 1949, outlining the future development of humanity through the coming centuries.
Heinlein misses a lot of things - notably the rise of information technology; his 23rd century spaceships are still running with slide rules. Some of these are a bit too sentimental, some based on concepts that don't really resonate today, and the last, "Methuselah's Children", is pretty weak - 100,000 people surviving on a spaceship built for a much smaller number??? But the idea of framing a future history based on technological advance rather than, say, the mysticism of Olaf Stapedon remains engaging. In particular, the theocratic America of If This Goes On- is rather closer to the bone now than it was in the 1940s. The whole collection is one of those taproot texts of the genre that remains well worth reading.
Heinlein's mammoth future history: 21 stories published as a collection in 1967, though in fact all but two originally came out between 1939 and 1949, outlining the future development of humanity through the coming centuries.
Heinlein misses a lot of things - notably the rise of information technology; his 23rd century spaceships are still running with slide rules. Some of these are a bit too sentimental, some based on concepts that don't really resonate today, and the last, "Methuselah's Children", is pretty weak - 100,000 people surviving on a spaceship built for a much smaller number??? But the idea of framing a future history based on technological advance rather than, say, the mysticism of Olaf Stapedon remains engaging. In particular, the theocratic America of If This Goes On- is rather closer to the bone now than it was in the 1940s. The whole collection is one of those taproot texts of the genre that remains well worth reading.
tome15's review against another edition
4.0
Heinlein, Robert A. The Past Through Tomorrow. Introd. Damon Knight. 1967. Ace, 1987.
If you are a Heinlein fan, you have probably read most of these short stories and novels in this 800-page volume, but it is interesting to see if a case can be made for a consistent future history in Heinlein’s work. I am not sure that it can. Certainly, he did not set out to create such a thing, even if we may find it after the fact. In any case, rereading Heinlein is always fun.
If you are a Heinlein fan, you have probably read most of these short stories and novels in this 800-page volume, but it is interesting to see if a case can be made for a consistent future history in Heinlein’s work. I am not sure that it can. Certainly, he did not set out to create such a thing, even if we may find it after the fact. In any case, rereading Heinlein is always fun.
huerca_armada's review against another edition
3.0
More misses than stand-outs for me, Heinlein's collection of short stories and novels (including Methuselah's Children and If This Goes On-) still remains a classic in the genre of hard science-fiction. While I didn't care much for the detailed descriptions of the physics going into the machinery involved in many of these stories, Heinlein did know how to write some compelling narratives... up to a point. Others will likely disagree given Heinlein's position as a long-standing beacon in the hard science-fiction literature scene, but standouts like "The Man Who Sold the Moon," "The Long Watch," "The Roads Must Roll," are juxtaposed against some tedious works like "Coventry," "The Green Hills of Earth," and "Blowups Happen" in a way that often slowed my reading of this collection to an absolute crawl.
peregrineace's review against another edition
4.0
A worthy read for Heinlein's fans. The quality of the stories varies a bit, as they were written at different times, but having them in this collection and chronologically ordered helps keep the "future history" timeline straight.
The stories suffer from Heinlein's usual flaws (i.e. female characters) but also showcase his strengths (e.g. pushing new social and political ideas, a love and veneration of science). This collection is a good example of why Heinlein is considered one of the big three (even if I did forget whether I was reading Future History or Robot and Empire occasionally).
The stories suffer from Heinlein's usual flaws (i.e. female characters) but also showcase his strengths (e.g. pushing new social and political ideas, a love and veneration of science). This collection is a good example of why Heinlein is considered one of the big three (even if I did forget whether I was reading Future History or Robot and Empire occasionally).