Heinlein’s Juvenile Novels

Robert A. Heinlein’s early, juvenile science fiction novels appeared between 1947 and 1963, just as America was emerging from World War II and entering the space age, and are among his richest and most warmly remembered books. This comprehensive work defines the many names, terms and cultural references that appear in Heinlein’s juvenile novels, noting where they are found, explaining their sources and tracking their occurrences throughout the series. Of particular interest is the way in which Heinlein used science fiction to parallel the exploration of outer space with the settlement of the North American continent. Appendices provide a précis of the plot of each book, and speculate on some of the names and terms for which no specific reference could be found.

C.W. Sullivan III is Distinguished Professor of arts and sciences at East Carolina University and a full member of the Welsh Academy. He is the author of numerous books and the on-line journal Celtic Cultural Studies.

C.W. Sullivan III. Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 192
Bibliographic Info: appendices, bibliography
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4463-2
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8717-2
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Heinlein’s Juvenile Novels      1
Preface      3
Introduction      7

THE DICTIONARY      13

Appendix I: Plots of Heinlein’s Juvenile Novels      169
Appendix II: Some Speculations About Terms and Names Not Found      174
Works Cited      181

“insightful…libraries…will want to add this reference title to their shelves”—Reference Reviews; “definitions for character and place names, names of real-life figures, cultural references, Biblical references, sayings, quotations, and terms unique to the books, with notes on which book each entry is found in”—Reference & Research Book News.