Raw RAH

I bought the first volume of Willam H. Patterson, Jr.'s authorized biography of Robert Heinlein when it came out last year, but only just now got around to reading it.  With notes and index it's over 600 pages, and it only takes us up to 1948 (when he married his third and final wife, Virginia).  Heinlein still had almost all his great novels ahead.

There's plenty available on Heinlein's life, including writing from Heinlein himself, but nothing quite so comprehensive.  In particular, his early years, before he became a professional writer, aren't that well known.

He was born in 1907 in Kansas City, and, raised in relative poverty, didn't travel much as a youth.  A heavy reader and hard worker, he managed to get accepted to Annapolis, graduating with the class of 1929.  He expected to have a career in the Navy, but was forced out by tuberculosis. (He had much illness in his life, even in his early years.) He married his second wife, Leslyn, drifted out to Los Angeles, and got involved in politics--for the most part unsuccessfully.

Finally, needing money when other sources didn't pan out, he took to writing science fiction and discovered he had a knack for it.  While many sf writers of the day, like Isaac Asimov, started writing in their teens, Heinlein didn't start till his early 30s.  Almost immediately, though, he was turning out some of the greatest short stories of the Golden Age.  When he got his first check he wondered why it had taken so long to discover this racket.

The bio never quite explains how he was so good, so soon.  But then, there probably is no explanation.  He had a background that led him to where he was, but he must have been born with the talent.

His sold his first story in 1939, and wrote regularly until America entered WWII.  He spent the next several years working for the war effort.  He tried to serve directly but was not accepted, and ended up working at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with other sf greats L. Sprague de Camp and Isaac Asimov. When the war was over, he had to reestablish himself.  In those days, sf was not a respected genre. (Not that that last fact has changed much.) Heinlein, great as he was, was merely seen as a top pulp writer.  But he was really too good for that.  He got an agent and soon was published in the slicks, like the Saturday Evening Post.  He helped gain respect not just for himself, but for his genre.

Around this time, he started a series of juvenile novels which sell well to this day.  Part of the trick was he didn't write down to his audience.  Almost all his sf writing is still in print--a fact I'm guessing would have shocked Heinlein back then.

Also around this time it became clear his wife Leslyn, whom he did love, was an alcoholic. Her behavior was erratic and, painfully, he decided they had to divorce.  He soon took up with Virginia, a younger friend both he and Leslyn had known for years.  They shacked up which in those days was taking a chance.  If it were discovered they were living in sin, not only could it have destroyed his writing career, it could have put them both in jail. (One of the reasons I find it hard to get sentimental over much old-style morality.)

Politics played a major role in Heinlein's life, and it's interesting to see how he developed.  As a young man reading H.G. Wells and other far-sighted thinkers, socialism seemed the path to the future.  Heinlein should probably be seen as of the far left in those days, except he was never easily categorized. He believed that government could take care of certain things, but just as strongly believed in liberty--which is one reason he wanted nothing to do with communism, or red fascism, as he saw it.  He also opposed straightforward fascism (as well as related anti-Semitism) but also felt when Germany first attacked in 1939, they had been driven to it by conditions forced upon them after WWI. (He also foresaw, along with others of his naval group, Japan attacking the U.S. years before it happened.)

Once WWII was over, he hoped for some international police force to deal with the nuclear threat, but that hope soon evaporated as the Cold War solidified.  In later years--beyond the book's timeline--he became a well-known libertarian (and was often called a militarist and, mindlessly, a fascist).  Some of this may be due to getting older (and richer?) and more conservative, but some of it goes back to his original concern for personal freedom.  Many leftists thought their politics would create more freedom, which caused some to turn away when they saw the results.

The book does have its weaknesses.  It doesn't critically discuss his writing.  It lists titles, and when and where they sold, but barely gets into plot much less quality.  This is a choice, I assume.  Also, the style is sometimes a bit too chatty.  Worst of all, Patterson, unlike his subject, is not a great storyteller, and sometimes it seems we're getting facts rather than a narrative. (Also, there's a whole chapter on Upton Sinclair's unsuccessful run for California governor in the 30s where Heinlein only makes a guest appearance.  Patterson obviously finds the story fascinating, but if he wants to go into detail, he should write a separate book.)

Still, for all its flaws, we needed a book like this. I'm looking forward to the second volume.