Starship Troopers

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Summary: It Must be read multiple times to truly be understood
Review: I read this book about 7 times and each time I get something new out of it. It is about a lot of things. The transformation of a boy into a man through military service (a common thing prior to 1973 in the US). The organization of society for war. The training of soldiers and the threshhold of brutality that must be crossed occassionally to prepare them for the horror of combat. The contrast of rights of the individual and the individual's responsibility to his fellow man. Leadership from the front. The ultimate dehumanization of our enemies (a sentient, intelligent race of arachnids with weapons and the ability to travel the stars are referred to as Bugs, and don't forget the Skinnies) which we commonly do in war. A previous reviewer commented on Haldeman's The Forever War. That book was written in response to Vietnam and Starship Troopers. Heinlein has also commented that if he wrote ST again in the 80's, he would have made the MI open to women. So in one case, the movie got it better than Heinlein. The movie is about Bugs. To do the book right, it would take a week-long mini-series.

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Summary: SST: Heinlein writes another lightning rod
Review: Robert Heinlein and I are miles apart politically. Still, he's my favorite SF writer. This is partly because he was my >first<. My father gave me his classics "Rocket Ship Galileo" and "Have Spacesuit Will Travel" as alternatives to the pulp fiction Tom Swift Jr. titles (Does anyone remember these?) The book Starship Troopers has always been criticized for its pro-war, "fascist" outlook on life. The criticism makes some crucial mistakes; for instance, Heinlein never says that you have to serve in the Mobile Infantry or even the military to become a citizen. What you >do< have to do is serve your country. You get citizenship if you put the needs of your country ahead of your own needs. That's a common political/philosophical view that's embraced both by communism and fascism, but Heinlein was simply interested in the relationship between people and their government. Later on, he became a lot more individualistic. So much for the ideas of fascism. SST is also very autobiographical. Heinlein was a Naval Academy grad and served in the Navy until he was invalided by tuberculosis. He knows his stuff. He certainly knows what it was like to be a soldier and an officer. A lot has been made of the fact that SST came out in 1959 during the heart of the Cold War. Heinlein might have used this as motivation for the book, but his view of the reluctant necessity of war goes way beyond that. PS - The movie Starship Troopers manages to faithfully follow the story line while at the same time completely massacring the whole idea of the book. I was more than disappointed, I was disgusted. The movie makes fun of Heinlein and he deserves much more. The director deliberately makes the Mobile Infantry look like fascists or worse, an apocalyptic view of the future. That wasn't Heinlein's intent. The movie becomes the ultimate in artistic dishonesty. SST is well-written thought-provoking literature. Read it, then read Joe Haldeman's "Forever War", and the! n you'll have a >lot< to think about.

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Summary: Starship Troopers: Inside the Mind of the Master
Review: Starship Troopers is Robert Heinlein at his absolute best and most personal. Acknowledged as one of the great sci-fi writers of the 20th century, Heinlein's books remain classics. With a humorous, intelligent, brisk style, plenty of action, and loads of great ideas, Heinlein mixes entertainment, literature, and thought in a seductive brew. The book itself takes place against the backdrop of war, but it's really not about that particular war. It's a discussion of war, humanity, and politics that has its roots in Plato but its eyes towards the stars. If you like space opera shoot-em-ups, this is your book. If you want to know "why we fight" this is your book. If you want to know what being a marine or a paratrooper was really like, THIS IS YOUR BOOK. Keep in mind that Heinlein was a career Naval officer and Annapolis graduate. This is his most autobiographical book. And remember to read Joe Haldeman's book "The Forever War" to get both sides of the story.

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Summary: Awesome, and close to the movie
Review: I don't know what is with people but I thought the movie was incredibly similar to the book. I read the book first and then saw the movie. There were a few differences I didn't really understand, such as Lieutenant Raczak being his teacher in High School. As for the armor, there were power suits in the movie!!!! Just look at it. I mean, take a real good look. See? Armored vests, helmets, gauntlets, and groin protectors. Then there were leadlined Kevlar sleeves and leggings. Plus jump jet boots. Those were command suits. Scout suits were lightly armored, with no sleeves, and marauder suits had metallic sleeves and leggings. Of course, the helmets were a little different. The comlink speakers were on the sides of their head, and the gas masks were removed. For all of you that don't believe me, watch the movie again and see for yourself. C'mon, one more veiwing of the movie can't possibly hurt Anyway, read the book, then watch the movie. You can't enjoy the book if you watch the movie first, even though it's awesome.

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Summary: R.A.H. WAS ABOUT "FUTURE HISTORY" SO YOU APES BETTER LISTEN
Review: Starship Troopers was the first "science fiction" book that I read. It was 1966...Five years later it amused me. 15 years passed and it made me think. 25 years later it awed me. Now, 31 years after having read the book for the first time, and having listened to my six children all tell me how they will fix the planet, I know that R.A.H. was right. Us Apes aint gonna live forever but our chances of being victimized by street crime that is enabled by the weak sister, watered down republic that we have fostered, is much greater than any external threat that we face...I think R.A.H. was telling us that if we don't get tough on ourselves, the American Peace would last about 300 years or until about 2076. What do you think? The movie was just the shell of the book. The cream filling got left at the word processor or on the cutting room floor. Book 10 - Movie 5.

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Summary: It was pretty good
Review: I have read the book twice and along other Heinlein books I have read. This one is the really great to the other books he has wrote. When my best freind and I saw the movie we were like this is the best movie we saw this year. I loved the book for the features they did not have in the movie. Mostly the powered armor and the Neo dogs.

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Summary: Best SF book on my shelf
Review: Love it? Hate it? Which ever, this book makes you think about the values and responsibilities that hold us together as a nation, as a society, and as a world. I first read this book when I was 13 and it has remained the best SF book I have ever read. In the 18 years since that time, I have reread it about 8 times, each time finding a new perspective. The movie failed miserably. The book is much deeper.

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Summary: The Best work of military sci-fi ever written!
Review: Reading this book did more to influence my outlook on society and the world than almost anything else I have seen, read, or heard. I read it for the first time when I was 17 and have read it many times since then. (I am now 21) Recommended it to my sci-fi hating father and he loved it! Its views coincided with many of his own, he being a veteran of the Marine Corps. The movie was a letdown, but philosophy does not do well on the big screen. Everyone should read this book, it will make you think. Maybe Heinlein's proposed society was an extreme, but it did have much to offer. You can see aspects of this book in the movie Aliens, the game BattleTech, and in current science ficton. "Do you apes want to live forever?!"

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Summary: THis book was cool!!!
Review: I just finished Starship Troopers for the third time. Just to let you know, STarship Troopers does not preach fascism, sexism, or racism. Yes, there are no black people mentioned, but this is a society where no one has to mention that their black. Yes, women are not allowed in the M.I., but that's probably because they'd had a lot of sexual problems there. JUst look at the captain! She's the highest ranking officer on the Rodger YOung, and she's a woman! That dosen't sound sexist to me. And that thing about STarship Troopers not being a "shoot-em-up" action story? Coulda fooled me! THis book has non-stop action and even the talking parts weren't boring. I for one, enjoyed the boot camp seqeuences. And there aren't any phylosophy type stuff either. ST is just a book!

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Summary: A great, scary book, closer to the movie than many think
Review: Many of the other positive reviews have stressed that this book is nothing like the movie. Aesthetically, they're right. However, it should be noted that the ideas behind the movie and book are quite similar.
In his book, Heinlein writes of a facistic society of the future. On the surface, the world seems to function quite well. The scary part, though, is the radical political theory behind the ruling government. Even more frightening, many of the points that Heinlein brings up seem quite logical, while being facistic in nature.
The movie, on the other hand, seemed to be pure eye-candy. However, the "news-reel" sections, as well as a few Nazi-esque costumes, put the film in a greater perspective. It is purposely disturbing that the heros we are rooting for are part of a facist rulership. Unfortunately, most people who saw the film either did not read into it enough, or thought that the movie glorified Nazis. Actually, the movie is thematically very similar to Das Boot.
Getting back to the book, Starship Troopers is a superb piece of fiction, as well as the obvious inspiration for RobotJox, BattleTech, Mechwarrior, etc. It was one of the most enjoyable sci-fi novels I've read, no sci-fi fan should miss this one.