The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein
Encyclopedia
The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein is a collection of science fiction
short stories
by Robert A. Heinlein
published in 1966.
It includes an introduction entitled "Pandora's Box" that describes some of the difficulties in making predictions about the near future. Heinlein outlines some of his predictions that he made in 1949 (published 1952) and examines how well they stood up to some 15 years of progress in 1965. The prediction was originally published in Galaxy magazine, Feb 1952, Vol. 3, No. 5, under the title "Where to?" (pp. 13-22).
Following the introduction are five short stories:
In 1980, the entire contents of this collection, including "Pandora's Box" (further updated), were engulfed in Heinlein's collection, Expanded Universe.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
published in 1966.
It includes an introduction entitled "Pandora's Box" that describes some of the difficulties in making predictions about the near future. Heinlein outlines some of his predictions that he made in 1949 (published 1952) and examines how well they stood up to some 15 years of progress in 1965. The prediction was originally published in Galaxy magazine, Feb 1952, Vol. 3, No. 5, under the title "Where to?" (pp. 13-22).
Following the introduction are five short stories:
- "Free MenFree Men"Free Men" is a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein, which originally appeared in the Heinlein collection, The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein and later collected in Expanded Universe...
" (written c. 1947, but first published in this collection, 1966) - "Blowups HappenBlowups Happen"Blowups Happen" is a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein. It is one of two stories in which Heinlein, using only public knowledge of nuclear fission, anticipated the actual development of nuclear technology a few years later...
" (1940) - "SearchlightSearchlight (short story)"Searchlight" is a very short science fiction story by Robert A. Heinlein about a little blind girl whose spaceship crashes on the Moon. The search for her takes advantage of her prodigious musical ability to locate her....
" (1962) - "Life-LineLife-Line"Life-Line" is a short story by American author Robert A. Heinlein. Published in 1939, it was Heinlein's first published short story.The protagonist, Professor Pinero, builds a machine that will predict how long a person will live. It does this by sending a signal along the world line of a...
" (1939) - "Solution UnsatisfactorySolution Unsatisfactory"Solution Unsatisfactory" is a 1940 science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein. It describes the US effort to build a nuclear weapon in order to end the ongoing World War II, and its dystopian consequences to the nation and the world....
" (1940)
In 1980, the entire contents of this collection, including "Pandora's Box" (further updated), were engulfed in Heinlein's collection, Expanded Universe.