Starship Troopers

File:Starship troopers2.jpg
Author	Robert A. Heinlein
Genre	Science-fiction
Publisher	G. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date	December, 1959
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	263 (Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0399202099 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Preceded by	Methuselah's Children
Followed by	Stranger in a Strange Land

Starship Troopers is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1959. It had earlier been published as a serial called Starship Soldier in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The story is about a young soldier named Juan Rico and his exploits in the Mobile infantry, a futuristic military unit equipped with powered armor. The book follows Rico as he progresses from civilian to recruit, to non-commissioned officer, and finally to officer, all against the backdrop of an intergalactic war between mankind and an insectoid race known as "The Bugs". Along the way, Rico learns about capital punishment, juvenile delinquency, civic virtue, and why wars are necessary.^[1]

Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960 and helped created a sub genre of literature known as military science fiction. It is on the reading lists of the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, and is the only science fiction novel on the reading list at all four United States military academies. Starship Troopers has also been adapted into several films and games, most famously the 1997 film by Paul Verhoeven. It has also attracted some controversy and criticism due to its social and political themes, which many critics believe are militaristic, and which some believe are sympathetic to fascism.

Background: The writing of Starship Troopers

In an aftermath to his essay "Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry?", Robert Heinlein said he wrote Starship Troopers to "glorif[y] the military ... specifically the P.B.I., the Poor Bloody Infantry, the mudfoot who places his frail body between his loved home and war's desolation--but is rarely appreciated... The H-Bomb did not abolish the infantryman; it made him essential... and he has the toughest job of all and should be honored.^[2] The book's dedication reads "To ... all sergeants anywhere who have labored to make men out of boys."^[3] According to Heinlein, his desire to write Starship Troopers dates back to April 5, 1958, when he and his wife read a newspaper advertisement placed by the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy calling for a unilateral suspension of nuclear weapon testing by the United States. In response, the Heinleins created the Patrick Henry League in an attempt to drum up support for the U.S. nuclear testing program. During the unsuccessful campaign, Heinlein found himself under attack both in and out of the science fiction community for his views.^[4]

Heinlein stopped work on the novel that would become Stranger in a Strange Land and wrote Starship Troopers sometime during 1958 and 1959. Starship Troopers was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October and November 1959 as a serial called Starship Soldier, and as a novel in December by G.P. Putnam's Sons.^[5] Although originally written as a juvenile novel for Scribners, it was rejected and was eventually published as an adult novel by G. P. Putnam's Sons.^[6] In many ways, Starship Troopers marked a turning point for Heinlein. Beforehand, he had mostly published juvenile novels for Scribner's. However, following their rejection of Starship Troopers, he ended his longstanding relationship with them, and began writing books with more adult themes.^[7]

The Story

Synopsis

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Starship Troopers takes place in the midst of an interstellar war between the Terran Federation of Earth and the Arachnids of Klendathu. It is narrated as a series of flashbacks by Juan Rico, and is one of the only Heinlein novels set out in this fashion. ^[8] The novel opens with Rico about to embark on a raid against the planet of the "Skinnies," who are allies of the Arachnids. We learn that he is a cap trooper in the Terran Federation's Mobile Infantry, a 22nd-century unit that is a combination of the Marine Corps, Airborne forces, and the French Foreign Legion. The raid itself, one of the only instances of actual combat in the novel, is relatively brief: the Mobile Infantry land on the planet, and destroy their targets, and retreat, suffering a single casualty in the process.

The story then flashes back to Rico's graduation from high school, and his decision to sign up for Federal Service over the objections of his father. This is the only chapter that describes Rico's civilian life, and most of it is spent on the monologues of two people: retired Lt. Col. Jean V. Dubois, Rico's school instructor in "History and Moral Philosophy," and Fleet Sergeant Ho, a recruiter for the armed forces of the Terran Federation.

Dubois serves as a stand-in for Heinlein throughout the novel, and delivers what is probably the book's most famous soliloquy on violence, and how "[it] has settled more issues in history than has any other factor."^[9] Fleet Sergeant Ho's monologues examine the nature of military service, and his anti-military tirades appear in the book primarily as a contrast with Dubois. (It is later revealed that his anti-military tirades are calculated to scare off the weaker applicants).

Interspersed throughout the book are similar flashbacks to his high school History and Moral Philosophy course, which describe how in the Terran Federation of Rico's day, the rights of a full Citizen (to vote, and hold public office) must be earned through some form of volunteer "military" service. Those residents who have not exercised their right to perform this Federal Service retain the other rights generally associated with a modern democracy (free speech, assembly, etc.), but they cannot vote or hold public office. This structure arose ad hoc after the collapse of the 20th century western democracies, brought on by both social failures at home and military defeat by the Chinese Hegemony overseas.^[10]

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In the next section of the novel, after aptitude testing and preliminary screening, Rico goes to boot camp at Camp Currie. Five chapters are spent exploring Rico's experience entering the service under the training of his instructor, Career Ship's Sergeant Charles Zim. Camp Currie is so rigorous that less than ten percent of the recruits finish basic training; the rest either resign, are expelled, or die in training. One of the chapters deals with Ten Hendrick, a fellow recruit and consistent complainer who is flogged and expelled for striking a superior officer. Another recruit, a deserter who committed a heinous crime while AWOL, is hanged by his battalion. Rico himself is flogged for poor handling of nuclear weapons during a drill; despite these experiences he eventually graduates and is assigned to a unit.

At this point, the Bug War begins and Rico finds himself taking part in combat operations. The war "officially" starts with an Arachnid attack that annihilates the city of Buenos Aires, although Rico makes it clear that prior to the attack there were plenty of 'incidents,' 'patrols,' or 'police actions.'"^[11] Rico briefly describes the Terran Federation's loss at the Battle of Klendathu where his unit is decimated and his ship destroyed. Following Klendathu, the Terran Federation is reduced to making hit-and-run raids similar to the one described at the beginning of the novel (Which, chronologically, happens between Chapters 10 and 11). Rico meanwhile finds himself posted to Rasczak's Roughnecks, named after Lieutenant Rasczak (his first name is never given). This part of the book focuses on the daily routine of military life, as well as the relationship between officers and non-commissioned officers, personified in this case by Rasczak and Sergeant Jelal.

Eventually, Rico decides to become a career soldier and attends Officer Candidate School, which turns out to be just like boot camp, only "squared and cubed with books added."^[12] Rico is eventually commissioned a Third Lieutenant, and commands his own unit during Operation Royalty.

Setting

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In the novel, most or all of humanity is united under a single federal government. Only those who have volunteered for federal service (in the military or otherwise) are permitted to vote, hold political office, and hold certain jobs, such as police work. (Heinlein later denied that military service was the only way to earn the franchise and claimed that the novel made this point explicitly, several times. However, this issue is still controversial among even the book's defenders, and some commentators have declared, based on a careful reading of the text, that Heinlein is simply wrong on this point.)^[13]

Volunteering is open to anyone who has reached his or her eighteenth birthday and is competent to understand the oath. The text states several times that "non-citizens" are neither oppressed nor shorted on rights, aside from those mentioned above. It should also be noted that a person does not gain the right to vote while in the federal service, only afterward — active-duty military members cannot vote, but veterans can.

The society portrayed uses corporal punishment in childrearing, school, civilian criminal matters, and enforcement of military discipline. Capital punishment applies to more crimes than in the United States at the book's period.

Characters

Major Characters

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• Juan "Johnnie" Rico - Son of a wealthy Filipino family who joined the Mobile Infantry almost on impulse and over his parents' objections. After achieving a rank of corporal and surviving several battles, he entered Officer Candidate School at his commander's urging. He eventually became a lieutenant, commanding a platoon on his original ship, with his father as a sergeant under him.^[14]

• Sergeant Charles Zim - Career ship's sergeant, Juan Rico's boot camp instructor and platoon leader at Camp Arthur Currie. He became the company commander at Camp Sergeant Spooky Smith. He was Johnnie's platoon sergeant during Operation Royalty, and was given a field commission of brevet captain with the permanent rank of first lieutenant.

• Lieutenant Colonel Jean V. Dubois - Rico's high school instructor in History and Moral Philosophy. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Mobile Infantry after he lost an arm.

• Sergeant Jelal - Career ship's sergeant, Juan Rico's platoon sergeant aboard the Rodger Young and de facto platoon leader after Lt. Rasczak's death. He eventually made captain, but lost his legs. Nicknamed "Jelly", and anyone who had made one combat drop could call him that to his face.

• Ted Hendrick - Mobile Infantry recruit who questioned the need to learn knife-throwing. Because of later offenses, he was court-martialed for disobeying orders and striking a superior, and was sentenced to ten lashes and a Misconduct Discharge.

• Lieutenant Rasczak - Juan Rico's platoon leader in the Rodger Young. His platoon always called him "the Lieutenant", in tones of awe. He died in a drop after rescuing two of his soldiers; he was the only one in that raid who didn't make the retrieval boat. His platoon kept the name Rasczak's Roughnecks after his death.

Minor Characters

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• N. L. Dillinger - Mobile Infantry recruit who deserted service. He was hanged for murdering a baby girl after kidnapping her for ransom. The trial was handled by the Infantry rather than the civil judiciary.

• Fleet Sergeant Ho - Federal Service recruiting officer who swore in Juan Rico and Carl. He was "on display" with legs and right arm missing. Johnnie met him after hours and learned that he wore prosthetics except when on duty, the missing limbs being intended to impress prospective recruits with the seriousness of their decision.

• Emilio Rico - Juan Rico's father, a wealthy Filipino businessman. He opposed Johnnie's plans to join the Mobile Infantry, but after the Bug War began and his wife died, he himself joined and eventually became a platoon sergeant.

• Major Reid - Juan Rico's History & Moral Philosophy teacher at Officer Candidate School.

• Carmencita Ibanez - Juan's classmate whom he has a crush on. She is perfect in mathematics and enlists as a pilot.

Themes

Geopolitics and culture

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Exposition of the characters' political philosophy plays a greater role in the story than does the scientific or technical aspect of the plot. "Johnnie" Rico argues political points in his narration and quotes his teachers (a military officer and a veteran), generally presenting a very favorable view of the purposefulness and order of military life, and disgust with the slack, individualistic, and purposeless life of "civilians". Many fans regard the book as one of the best literary descriptions of the positive aspects of military service (notably the strong bonds between soldiers).^{[citation needed]}

The point of this hypothetical form of Meritocracy is that only those who have bled or suffered for the right to vote should be allowed to vote. ("That which is earned through blood sweat and tears will always be cherished over that which is given")

View of communism

Heinlein also expresses his views on communism in the novel, written during one of the most frigid points in the Cold War. He blasts notable views of Karl Marx, such as the labor theory of value, through speeches by a "History and Moral Philosophy" teacher. (Heinlein's views are thought to be closest to what came to be known as libertarianism: people believe that he loathed communism and fascism in equal measure, and indeed considered them two sides of the same coin.) However, he does concede that communism fails only because of human nature. The Bugs are a purely communist society, and indeed for the insectoid drones, communism is the ideal way of life. Heinlein repeatedly makes the point in the book that (in the words of Rico): "correct morality can only be derived from what man is—not from what do-gooders and well-meaning Aunt Nellies would like him to be". Indeed, Johnnie's history teacher criticizes as unrealistic the famous passage of the U.S. Declaration of Independence about "unalienable rights".

Historical parallels

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The book describes the historical origins of the militaristic government as follows:

"With national governments in collapse at the end of the 20th century, something had to fill the vacuum, and in many cases it was the returned veterans. They had lost a war, most of them had no jobs, many were sore as could be over the terms of the Treaty of New Delhi, especially the P.O.W. foul-up - and they knew how to fight. But it wasn't revolution; it was more like what happened in Russia in 1917 - the system collapsed; somebody else moved in.

"The first known case, in Aberdeen, Scotland, was typical. Some veterans got together as vigilantes to stop rioting and looting, hanged a few people (including two veterans) and decided not to let anyone but veterans on their committee. Just arbitrary at first - they trusted each other a bit, they didn't trust anyone else. What started as an emergency measure became constitutional practice in a generation or two."^[15]

The situation and response described above has some parallels with the development of the Freikorps after World War I, which fought the Poles as portions of the former German Empire were handed over to the new Republic of Poland. Veterans of these military units later contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler. The fictional "Treaty of New Delhi" might be compared to the Treaty of Versailles. However, this situation also has parallels with the United States prior to the constitutional convention of 1787 (see also Shay's Rebellion and the Society of the Cincinnati).

Military innovations

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For science fiction fans, the novel popularized the concept of the powered armor exoskeleton in the form of the powered armor suits of the Mobile Infantry soldiers. These suits were manipulated by the wearer's own movements but also powered to augment the actions. The soldier could, for example, jump upwards, and the powered leg joints would launch him off the ground while rockets kicked in for further propulsion. Dropped from orbit in individual egg-shaped heat shields, the troopers would parachute into enemy territory for quick hit-and-run operations. Armed with a significant arsenal including high-explosive rocket launchers and flame throwers (and occasionally nuclear weapons), the Mobile Infantry soldier had an arsenal that made him a one-man tank, but skills comparable to a modern-day fighter pilot.

In many fans' opinion, the book's major creative feat is the rigorous and coherent invention and depiction of the use of heavy infantry delivered to planetary surfaces for operations designed not only to serve diplomatic purposes (i.e. terror operations) but also to take and hold positions for intelligence gathering. The concept of Mobile Infantry, whose basic element is the single trooper, highly trained, encased in an armored suit, and delivered to the area of operations in a disposable re-entry pod, is unprecedented in literature, both military and otherwise.

The weapons systems, tactics, training, and all other aspects of this futuristic elite force are completely envisioned, from the function of the armored suits to the training of personnel to the operational use of the suits in combat. Tactics are described in detail, and the weapons systems are tailored to the operational imperatives laid down by the plot.

Reception

To Heinlein's surprise,^[16] Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960. By 1980, twenty years after its release, it had been translated into eleven different languages and was still selling strong, yet Heinlein complained that almost all the mail he received about it was negative and he only heard about it "when someone wants to chew me out".^[17] Today, almost half a century after its publication, Starship Troopers is on the reading lists of the United States Army^[18] and the United States Marine Corps,^[19] and is the only science fiction novel on the reading list at all four United States military academies.^[20]

Criticism

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Militarism

Probably one of the most popular complaints about Starship Troopers is that it either is inherently militaristic or pro-military. Alexei Panshin, who served in the peacetime Army for several years, has compared Starship Troopers to a recruiting film and complained that the Terran Federation-Arachnid conflict exists simply because, "Starship troopers are not half so glorious sitting on their butts polishing their weapons for the tenth time for lack of anything else to do."^[21] While Heinlein has said that part of the reason he wrote Starship Troopers was to honor the infantry (See Background), he thoroughly disagreed that Starship Troopers was militaristic, arguing that the military personnel in the Terran Federation were not allowed to vote while on active duty -- since "the idiots might vote not to make a drop"^[22] -- and that the military was thoroughly despised by many civilians.^[23] Unlike the United States of 1959, military service was voluntary and there was no conscription, which Heinlein vehemently opposed.

Critics like Joe Haldeman (A Vietnam veteran and author of the antiwar novel The Forever War) have similarly complained that Starship Troopers unnecessarily glorifies war.^[24] There was even a two year debate over Starship Troopers in "The Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century Studies" (PITFCS) sparked by a comparison between a quote in the novel that "the noblest fate that a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and war's desolation"^[25] and the anti-war poem Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen.^[26] Others have pointed out that Heinlein never actually served in combat, having been an Annapolis graduate who was medically discharged from the Navy for a tuberculosis infection and spent World War II doing Research and Development at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

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Fascism

Other critics, such as author Michael Moorcock and filmmaker Paul Verhoeven,^[27] have compared the Terran Federation to fascist regimes and have even described the book as thinly disguised, expertly written, fascist propaganda. In this view, the populist rhetoric aspect of fascism has the alien enemy known as the Bugs serving as the subhuman 'other'. So many commentators on Starship Troopers have used the Nazi analogy that two of the corollaries of Godwin's Law sarcastically state that once Heinlein is brought up during online debates, it is inevitable that someone will compare the book's society to that of Nazi Germany.^[28] Moorcock went so far as to write an essay entitled "Starship Stormtroopers" in which he attacked Heinlein and other writers over similar "Utopian fiction."^[29]

However, although the franchise is limited, the government of the Terran Federation is democratically elected. Unlike practically all totalitarian states, there is freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of conscience. The political system described in the book is multiracial, multi-religious,^[30] and multi-ethnic — the protagonist Juan Rico is Filipino, while others in his training group are American, Armenian, Japanese, German, and Turkish or Arab, and one or two have recognizably Jewish last names.

Author Poul Anderson wrote, "the society of Starship Troopers is, on balance, more free than ours today. I did wonder how stable its order of things would be, and expressed my doubts in public print as well as in the occasional letters we exchanged. Heinlein took no offense. After a little argument back and forth, we both fell into reminiscences of Switzerland, where he got the notion in the first place."^[31]

Adaptations

Animated series

The first visual adaptation of Starship Troopers was a Japanese three-volume OVA series made in 1988 called Uchû no Senshi.^[32] There was also an accompanying manga. Despite the fact that many liberties were taken with characters and events -- Juan Rico was designed as a blonde in a manner similar to Char Aznable from Gundam -- plotwise, it is considered the most accurate adaptation of the novel.^[33]

Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers

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Paul Verhoeven's 1997 film Starship Troopers was not originally intended to be a Starship Troopers film at all but a film known as Bug Hunt. ^[34] A friend of Verhoeven pointed out the similarities between his script and the book however so the license was bought and the script edited to fit more in line with the book. The film takes up the political themes by satirizing the book's attitudes mercilessly, using references from propaganda films such as Triumph of the Will and wartime news broadcasts. However, this satire was embedded in slickly produced action sequences with clever special effects.^[35] Some wonder whether the satire went unnoticed by the audience who may have treated the movie as a simple gung-ho action movie.^[36]

The movie did not perform well at the box office: despite its lavish $95-million-plus production budget, it earned only $54 million in the United States on its theatrical release (with $65 million in takings from the non-US market), though its subsequent release on video helped to earn its costs back. Critical reaction to the film was largely negative, and the film was criticized for having characters who were mindless and one-dimensional.^[37] (Though it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects).

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A report in an American Cinematographer article contemporaneous with the film's release stated that the Heinlein novel was optioned well into the pre-production period of the film, which had a working title of Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine; most of the writing team reportedly were unaware of the novel at the time. According to the Internet Movie Database, Paul Verhoeven has admitted to never even finishing the novel, claiming he read through the first few chapters and became both bored and depressed.^[38] This explains both the vast divergence between the two, and the volume of the uproar amongst Heinlein's fans (on Usenet and in other places) when the movie was released.^[39]

In 2004 a sequel to the first movie, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, directed by Phil Tippett was released — straight to DVD. It had a $7 million dollar budget as opposed to the $95 million of the original. None of the characters from the first movie appear in the second, although actress Brenda Strong portrayed unrelated characters in each. Verhoeven has unofficially expressed interest in making a "true sequel" to Starship Troopers, although he has not made any announcement or concrete commitment to doing so.^[40]

Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles

The animated series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles (released in 2000) was closer to the events of the book, such as including the war with the Skinnies, and included more of the characters. However, it focused mostly on combat, and didn't address the political aspects at all. Verhoeven was also a producer for the series, and it used the creature designs from the 1997 movie.

Games

Starship Troopers was first made into a strategy/simulation board game by Avalon Hill in 1976. The design was a straight-forward attempt to bring to life the political-military system described in the book.^[41] In 2005, Mongoose Publishing released a roleplaying game with a corresponding miniatures wargame, based on the "universe" of Starship Troopers (including the novel, movies, and television show).^[42]

Editions

• June 1, 1960, Putnam Publishing Group, hardcover, ISBN 0-399-20209-9
• May, 1968, Berkley Medallion Edition, paperback, ISBN 425-02945-X
• January 1984, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-07158-8
• November 1985, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-09144-9
• November 1986, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-09926-1
• May 1, 1987, Ace Books, paperback, 263 pages, ISBN 0-441-78358-9
• October 1, 1995, Buccaneer Books, hardcover, ISBN 1-56849-287-1
• December 1, 1997, Blackstone Audiobooks, cassette audiobook, ISBN 0-7861-1231-X
• July 1, 1998, G. K. Hall & Company, large print hardcover, 362 pages, ISBN 0-7838-0118-1
• October 1, 1999, Sagebrush, library binding, ISBN 0-7857-8728-3
• January 1, 2000, Blackstone Audiobooks, CD audiobook, ISBN 0-7861-9946-6

Notes

References

• Angelo, Carlos. Robert A. Heinlein, Dean of Science Fiction Writers.

• Template:News reference

• Starship Troopers: The PITFCS Debate: A two year debate about the novel in a Science Fiction publication occuring immediately after its publication.

• http://www.nitrosyncretic.com/rah/ftp/fedrlsvc.pdf. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |PublishYear= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Title= ignored (|title= suggested) (help)

• . ISBN 0-7434-7159-8. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Title= ignored (|title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help) Contains Heinlein's comments on the writing and the politics of Starship Troopers, as well as the polemical speech "The Pragmatics of Patriotism" on the moral basis of the military.

• "The Heinlein Society". Official Robert Anson Heinlein Estate Endorsed Website. December. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)

• Moorcock, Michael. Starship Stormtroopers, Cienfuegos Press Anarchist Review, 1978.

• . ISBN 0911682120. {{cite book}}: External link in |Title= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Title= ignored (|title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)

• http://www.enter.net/~torve/critics/HeinleinRoP/ropcontents.html. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |PublishYear= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Title= ignored (|title= suggested) (help) Describes a correspondence with Heinlein over "Starship Troopers" in 1959.

• Template:Journal reference

• Weuve, Christopher. Thoughts on Starship Troopers. Examines some of the issues surrounding Heinlein's version and Verhoeven's version.

See also

• The Ballad of Rodger Young
• Books, films, and games influenced by Starship Troopers

External links

• Starship Troopers title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Starry-Eyed Internationalists" versus the Social Darwinists by Rafeeq O. McGiveron. Examines Heinlein's transnational governments, including the Terran Federation.
• Militarism and Utopia in 'Starship Troopers' by Robert Peterson. Argues that Heinlein's Federation is a fascist government.
• Citizenship at War by Roberto de Sousa Causo. Review from a Brazilian newspaper.
• SciFi.Com book review by Craig E. Engler.
• Gotterdammerung.Org book review by Branislav L. Slantchev.
• SFReviews.Net book review by T. M. Wagner.
• "STARSHIP TROOPERS" by Robert A. Heinlein. An opinion by Richard Geib.