Requiem was published by TOR in 1993, but somehow I missed it. Talk about forgotten books, how about the books you don’t even know exist! I found a copy of Requiem while rummaging around in a Good Will thrift store last week. Of course, I bought it and ran home to read it. Yes, Requiem is a bit of a mishmash. But, there’s plenty of good reading here. Check out the Table of Contents. For my money, Robert Silverberg’s essay on Heinlein sums up Heinlein’s writing career and takes a careful measure of the man. If you’re a Heinlein fan and haven’t read Requiem you need to.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface — Virginia Heinlein
Editor’s Forward — Yoji Kondo
Part I — Works of Robert A. Heinlein
Requiem
Tenderfoot in Space
Destination Moon
Shooting Destination Moon
The Witch’s Daughters
The Bulletin Board
Poor Daddy
Guest of Honor Speech at the Third World Science Fiction Convention — Denver, 1941
Guest of Honor Speech at the XIXth World Science Fiction Convention — Seattle, 1961
Guest of Honor Speech — Rio de Janeiro Movie Festival, 1969
Guest of Honor Speech at the XXXIVth World Science Fiction Convention — Kansas City, 1976
Part II — National Air and Space Museum Heinlein Retrospective — 6 October 1988
NASA Medal for Distinguished Public Service for Robert A. Heinlein
This I Believe — read by Virginia Heinlein
Speeches by the Panelists:
Tom Clancy
L. Sprague de Camp
Jerry Pournelle
Charles Sheffield
Jon McBride
Speeches by the Special Guests:
Catherine Cook de Camp
Tetsu Yano
Part III — Tributes to Robert A. Heinlein
Poul Anderson — RAH: A Memoir
Jim Baen — Jim Baen’s RAH Story
Greg Bear — Remembering Robert Heinlein
J. Hartley Bowen, Jr. — Recalling Robert Anson Heinlein
Arthur C. Clarke — Robert Heinlein
Gordon R. Dickson — Robert Heinlein
Joe Haldeman — Robert A. Heinlein and Us
Larry Niven — The Return of William Proxmire
Spider Robinson — Rah Rah R.A.H.!
Spider Robinson — Robert
Robert Silverberg — Heinlein
Harry Turtledove — Thank You
Jack Williamson — Who Was Robert Heinlein?
Yoji Kondo and Charles Sheffield — Farewell to the Master
I never heard of it either. Sometimes you can really find gems in the oddest places.
Somehow, REQUIEM slipped under my book radar, Jeff. I had no idea this collection existed until I picked it up in that thrift store.
Even the most obsequious things Spider Robinson might write about RAH, and he could get Very obsequious and insightful in turn, is usually better reading than entirely too much of Heinlein at his frequent most self-indulgent. But Heinlein on all cylinders is hard to top in several important ways…you have to be H. G. Wells or so to beat him in influence…
Exactly, Todd! I’m not a fan of Heinlein’s politics, but his influence in the SF genre is immense.
I’ve had this book for years. Politics aside, I’ve always admired his work. Heinlein was my introduction to SF(TUNNEL I THE SKY) at the ripe old age of eleven, twelve. Beofre then, like most young males of the time, The Hardy Boys were a main staple.
Like you, Randy, I devoured Heinlein’s juvenile SF novels when I was a kid. My favorite was CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY.
I think I may have checked this out from the library back in the day, although I don’t recall actually reading it. Not surprised the Silverberg essay stands out.
The quality of RAH’s writing was all over the place, from dross to gold. Love those YA novels from the 50’s.
I enjoyed Heinlein’s work early in his career, Drongo. He’s an underrated short story writer. But, in his later years, I found his novels long, windy, and preachy.
I have this one and have read parts of it. I’m a fan.
Somehow, REQUIEM slipped by me, Bill. I really liked Silverberg’s essay on Heinlein.
New to me also, but if I’d come across it, I probably wouldn’t have gotten it, as I prefer to read his fiction to essays and text of speeches by/about him.
REQUIEM is an uneven collection, Rick. But it does include some unpublished work by Heinlein. Worth a look. Especially the Silverberg essay.