I am back from vacation, nothing has exploded, the Earth still proceeds along its orbit, and, frabjous joy, Transcontinental has not exploded at the hands of alien aggressors.
Which is to say, Transcontinental is still on track to deliver books as of August 15th. They're a professional company with plenty of experience in these matters, but, nonetheless, we want to hear back as to how they perform. If books are delivered in poor form or the like, please let us know as soon as possible.
We have decided to grant archives access to all Virginia Edition subscribers. Those people who already have accounts will get access as soon as we set it up, those who don't will receive access when the letters volumes print and ship next year.
I have been reading through the printer text of Stranger in a Strange Land for the first time since middle school and it's a strange experience. First, I'm amazed I missed how directly Heinlein was poking fun at the Scientologists--I plead youthful ignorance, I won't let it happen again--but, more than that, I hadn't realized how influential the book had been on my own development until rereading it and finding rational arguments and methods that I've used time and again.
What about the rest of you? Any examples of Heinlein's influence in your life?
1 comment:
There are *lots* of examples of Heinlein influence on my life. I became an enthusiastic reader at age 8 because of Have Space Suit, Will Travel. I joined the fencing team in college because of Glory Road. I've pursued every opportunity I could find to get closer to the space program, including four (rejected) applications to the astronaut program. I took all the undergraduate Space Science courses I could (there was no major available at the undergrad level). I've embraced polyamory. I've had two cats I've named Pixel (couldn't quite bring myself to name one Petronius the Arbiter). Lazarus Long was my first role model, joined later by Richard Feynman. In order to get the closest experiences to space travel that were available to me, I've done a lot of skydiving, earned a commercial pilot's license, and scuba dived all over the world. I studied cultural anthropology alongside my Physics major in undergraduate school, largely because of Heinlein's influence. (I got my BA in 1972 just a few miles from you, at Rice.) Of course, there are the deeper, more pervasive influences of personal philosophy, sense of values, and humor that are harder to articulate. I'd say that, overall, the influence of Heinlein in my life rivals that of my parents. I just wish I had encountered at least one Heinlein Woman along the way.
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