Rating: 
Summary: A gauntlet thrown down
Review: 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
Rating:
Summary: Reviews are literary Rorschach tests...
Review: While ignoring the comments like, "Nazi," "Fascist," "socialcommentary," and "not enough explosions and virtual reality," some ofthe reviews for Starship Troopers are insightful and interesting. However, even with all the commentaries, there are STILL factual mistakes and misconceptions:
Suffrage is granted only to those who complete civil service.
...Not military service, not medical experiments. The idea was that only those who could prove the ability to work towards a common goal should be allowed to vote for the common good. It's a simple concept. Since military service required risk of life and limb, parity was acheived by making all forms of civil service equally trying.
This book was written in 1959, folks. Consider that the hero comes from a rich non-white family; at the time, even THAT was daring. Juan Rico starts as a snotty know-nothing kid and learns all sorts of unpleasant facts as the book progresses. And the technology goodies in the book aren't outdated yet: female pilots have faster reaction times, drop-chutes fail sometimes, and "this is a thirty second bomb..."
Finally, this is one of Heinlein's "adolescent" books. It was supposed to be a fun, slam-bang, action book. Within that context, there's lots of hidden meat -mostly pointing out that war hurts and that most people don't take responsibility for their own actions, let alone for a group.
It's a fun read for anyone over ten years old. Anything beyond that is icing. For such a simple book, it sure does generate a lot of heat.
Wish I'd had a Comparative Morals class in high school. I wish you did, too.
Rating:
Summary: Universal truths about the military
Review: "Violence, naked force, has solved more issues in history than any other factor, and the contrary thinking is wishful thinking at its worse. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms." I am not a big fan of science fiction, but I heard this novel was excellent. This novel is still applicable today. The Cold War is not the End of History. Human nature being what it is, we will always have war and strife. Heinlein explains the role of the military in defense and support of civilization. The story follows the metamorphosis of a "civilian" into a "citizen", a boy who joins the military to impress a girl and becomes a man in the mobile infantry. Society is divided into civilians, citizens, and the military. Civilians volunteer for the military, which is the only route to becoming a citizen. The citizens, the only voting class, run the government. "Since sovereign franchise is the ultimate in human authority, we insure that all who wield it accept the ultimate in social responsibility-we require each person who wishes to exert control over the state to wager his own life-and lose it, if need be-to save the life of the state." Don't expect a plot-driven novel. There are few action scenes. This is more of a character-driven story with Heinlein outlining his views. Heinlein interweaves strong viewpoints on politics and the military into an excellent story without too much technical explanation. The story skips around a bit, making the plot hard to follow at times, but I highly recommend it for its interesting theories.
Rating:
Summary: Labeled fascist by some, I would call is rational instead
Review: Forget the movie, Starship Troopers is not an action, adventure story, but is a sociopolitical study of war and society in a somewhat distant future. Labeled fascist by some, I would call is realistic and rational instead. After the failure of democracy and various and sundry world-wars, the human race decides that political power falls in the wrong hand and henceforth only "citizens" can vote or hold political office. The only way to become a citizen is to serve as a soldier, which is generally peacetime duty. The reason for this is simple, only those people who actually care about their fellow man, as demonstrated by a willingness to die for them, have adequately demonstrated that they are fit to serve society (rather than just serve themselves...). We follow the initiation of one Juan Rico as he makes the transition from civilian to soldier and citizen. The terrifying war with the bugs is just an interesting backdrop to make the soldiers sacrifice more meaningful and actually plays a fairly small part in the book . It's worth noting that Starship Troopers was written in 1959, where a new generation of America's leaders were emerging from our pool of WWII heroes. I think Heinlein's vision was that of a better future where former soldiers would guide our society to a new morality and responsibility.
Rating:
Summary: The novel helped get me through a very long and scary night.
Review: I was very young and very frightened when I first read this book along with Glory road . I cannot recall how I appropriated both volumes , but I have never regretted the moment I reached over and began to read them . Heinlein's novel is NOT a story about the so called crypto facists ideal society as one moronic reviewer reported. I would recommend said people to read this book in context with other books he wrote during his life time . Heinlein believed that the sexs were equal while simulataneously he believed that those who need the aide of those of us who have testosterone should expect aide or counsel without care about reciprocity. Read the tale about the nameless hobo who gave his life without hesitation in the futile attempt to save the wife of total stranger . To you have never had the experiece when death looks you square in the eye and you survive.... I can never explain to you what it means to live past that moment and the life lived beyound it . Johnny Rico filipino-american and starship trooper would understand even you of the PC crowd might understand a bit but I doubt it . To the ever lasting honor to those who believe in their souls 'to free the opressed' and those willing to spend their lifes blood in the attempt. Yours Al Padavano
Rating:
Summary: An incredible book destroyed by a horrible movie
Review: I first read Starship Troopers when I was 16, and since then I have always come back to it. It is full of quotes and relevant philosophy for our modern age. The average reader takes only the seemingly fascist overtones that are present in the book, but they do not see the deep analysis of why the current system of rule works. There is a specific passage where an instructor in Juan's O.C.S. informs the class that during peacetime, most of the veterans that come from the Federal Service (and have the right to vote in Heinlein's world) are not soldiers, but rather come form the non-combatant auxiliary services. This key point is often overlooked in reviews that paint the novel as a fascist war utopia. Heinlein uses the science fiction genre to explore pressing philosophical questions with his novels, and Starship Troopers is no different. This novel asks the reader to do a lot of thinking about their beliefs and philosophy, especially about the concepts of humanity and citizenship. I think that everybody should read this novel, especially those who consider themselves "liberal." Often times I have found that many people take being a citizen of the United States for granted (especially liberals, but some conservatives as well). There is not a glorification of conservative values here, just an examination of what it means to be a citizen of a government and to serve your government. That's the reason the U.S. Marine Corps has this book on its required reading list for O.C.S. students. I personally really dislike the movie. Verhoeven destroyed a great novel with his arrogance and lust for sex and violence. The only redeeming value in the movie is the special effects. Hopefully in the future a director will want to tackle the challenge of bringing powered armor to the silver screen.
Rating: 
Summary: Forget the movie!
Review: If you thought you knew what Starship Troopers was about because you saw Verhoven's horrible abomination of a movie, forget everything you think you know. Starship Troopers is a thoughtful exposition of Heinlein's views regarding freedom, natural rights, social responsibility, and the necessity of violence in defense of civilization. Whether you agree with his positions or not, this book forces you to at least confront them. Thinking about them is your responsibility. In addition to the exposition, Starship Troopers is a slam-bang action novel that hovers on the more realistic fringe of space opera, and is responsible for introducing some of the things we now consider standard concepts, like personal battlesuits. If you're into military SF action, you'll enjoy this book. If you're into political exposition, you'll enjoy this book. If you like both, you'll be ecstatic.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Just plain great. The commentary on society is much better than the actual war story.
Rating:
Summary: Just scratches the surface...
Review: I thought this book was a little superficial in its treatment of the "Hero" archetype. Contrary to the first reviewer I would say that this book is anything but rational. The archetypes and myths employed in this book have been examined much more closely by non-fiction authors such as Joseph Campbell, Jung and Freud. Heinlein has just taken an old myth and covered it with a sci-fi veneer. Nevertheless, it is entertaining. For those of you with honorable tendencies I recommend "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius recorded the thoughts collected in this book while on campaign with the Roman legions. He was also emperor at the time. His ideas are morally courageous, well thought and grounded in practical experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting book...-but I liked the film better
Review: I did see the film first, and I enjoyed it. I expected that in reading the book, that I would gain much more background on the film. Such was definitely not the case! The film can stand on its own, but it should not be taken to truly reflect the contents of the book. The book is much more philosophical and character-driven. The film surely depicts the Heinlein Citizen-State as fascist. The book does not depict this as strongly, and I would argue that, without having read more of Heinlein's other work and gaining background information on his core beliefs (i. e. a biography), it is difficult to determine from this work alone what he is trying to tell us. I suspect that it is critical in interpreting this work to understand the 1950s context in which it was conceived. In any case, this work should NOT be taken as simply a recreational sci-fi novel for beach reading. It seems the author intended rather more than that in composing it.
| 
