Rating: 
Summary: Controversial, but not a treatise for fascism
Review: Contrary to much of the criticism of this novel, including some of the reviews on this page, Heinlein, more of a libertarian than anything, was not espousing some kind of fascist utopia (which is what tends to come out of the atrocious movie based on this novel). The author explicitly notes at several points in the novel that his future society is not run by the military but by those who have served in the military. Active soldiers, like "civilians," are not allowed to vote or partake in politics either. However, as grimly realistic as Heinlein was trying to be, his vision of a future society run by veterans with a sense of public duty is nonetheless utopian. There is no guarantee that military or other public service, or even selfless military activity during a war, will nurture the necessary sense of public duty to create good citizens - which seems to be implied in this novel. Indeed, even though Heinlein's future society was supposed to stand as a counterpoint not only the imperfect liberal democracies of the West but also to the communist bloc (an issue quite relevant at the time of first publication, 1959), some of the aspects of his idealized societies were already then apparent in obstensibly socialist countries like the USSR and especially the former Yugoslavia: war veterans were untouchable social and political icons. They were the de facto leaders of their countries, not the "party vanguard," "proletariat" or anything else. I'm not sure if Heinlein had considered this aspect, but at one point in the book he is forced to admit, through one of his characters, that the reason his future society is the "best" is simply because it works. Nonetheless, Heinlein presents his provocative arguments well, and they are intriguing, so readers who don't necessarily share his views have something intelligent to disagree with. Also interesting is that many of Heinlein's criticisms of 20th century society (and there is no doubt that America bears the brunt of his ire) are quite valid, much more so today then when this book was first written. Other than these political aspects, though, Starship Troopers" is a bit flat and simplistic, even if it is easy to read -- it has the advantage of coming from Heinlein's finest writing period (mid-1950s to mid-1960s) when he skillfully combined his ideas with an engaging story-telling style.
Rating: 
Summary: Dry for Heinlein
Review: I am a Heinlein fan. Stranger in a Strange Land, Friday, and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress I have all loved and read more than once. Actually, Stranger is my favorite book of all time. Be that as it may, I was shocked at how dry and shallow I found this book. No real characters, only names. No depth to the story, just an interstellar space war. It would have made a great comic book, I guess. 2 stars instead of one because I've read worse (it could have been boring and not just flat and lost.) Please, read everything else you can by Heinlein, but let this one go.
Rating:
Summary: No <INSERT HERE> without representation
Review: First off: ripping yarn, interesting thinking, and a great skiffy exposure to [what I feel should be] an alien way of thinking.In the face of what looks like (here) near-universal approval of the book's "service for citizenship" model, remember the basis of our current system of government: the right to alter the government belongs to all those who will be <b>subject</b> to it. If citizenship and the franchise were simply a matter of public honour and the right to make decisions affecting only a private club of a few members, this would be acceptable; as things are, decisions made by the government end up affecting where everyone's world, and some of our money, go. In addition, any select group of people (ex-service members, college professors, T.V. preachers) will have interests that in some way diverge from those of people in general. Associating more with each other, the information which will be acceptable to the group will be preferentially provided, until eventually the feedback loop known as "dealing with reality" will be broken...perhaps this is what happened before the book began, since you will notice that Earth is subjected to the Bug sneak-attack even though this wonderful system has been in place for centuries. In addition, I've two bones to pick with the often-mentioned minor aspects of the book: 1.) Non-military service is acceptable for gaining the franchise: this is very easy to miss, and not well explained...who gets to decide what counts as acceptable non-military service? If it's military men and women (see below), something makes me think that defence contractors might count, but maybe not public gardeners.... 2.) I appreciated and enjoyed that Heinlein was well ahead of his time (and of John Campbell) in having strong female and non-Anglo characters...however, one wonders how "diverse" this is when they sound EXACTLY LIKE EVERYONE ELSE ...this last would grow to be a big problem in R.A.H.'s later books, of whose seduction scenes one must remember Svengali's self-disgusted retort after hypnotising Trilby into loving him: "It is only Svengali, talking to himself."
Rating: 
Summary: Typical Heinlein Political Messages but a Bit Juvenile
Review: I read this book twice in my life. This book was typical in the Heinlein political and social messages. It was fairly two dimensional. It is certainly not Heinlein's best work. It is a short story that lasted a bit too long. But it is a classic for its kind.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting Account of Futuristic War
Review: As horrible as the film adaptation of Starship Troopers was, I was not expecting much from the book. I was just going to read the book, say "Isn't that nice" and move on with my life. No such thing happened. I was glued to this book from start to finish. The first person point of view makes this startling account of war very personal. Although there are many disjointed events in the plot that make it rocky, and sometimes hard to comprehend, the deep moral philosophies compensate. The ideas presented seriously made me consider the present state of OUR government and what it might lead to in OUR future. Being fairly conservative myself, I feel this book presented many good points in a strong, conservative manner. This book is so much more than science fiction. It's an interesting look into the morality of politics and our government. It's a must-read not only for sf fans, but for anyone, really.
Rating:
Summary: Best understood in historical framework
Review: Starship Troopers had quite an audience with those of us who grew up in the 1950s, in the shadow of WWII. The importance of the "citizen soldier" was an important concept to the military of that time. RAH expanded that to require military/government service as a requirement for "full citizenship": suffrage and the right to hold public office. All citizens in his society had full rights except as above. This book also gave some of the dark side to combat; those of us who read the books written right after WWI remember that the "blood and guts" of war were carefully omitted; RAH gave some more humantity and terror of battle. I believe that "Starship Troopers" still holds as one of RAH's best novels, although a little dated after our experience in Viet Nam. It reveals early some of Heinlein's philosophy, which was expanded and refine in later books. Still an excellent read, but an absolute abysmal movie!
Rating: 
Summary: A Devastatingly Lucid Vision of the Future
Review: It has been said that Heinlein visualizes our future and then we live in it. Starship Troopers remains remarkably unscathed in that respect even four decades later. A previous reviewer said that he found this book extremely dull. He was looking for the type of action shown in the 1997 movie. Hey, the action is not bad, but that was not why I couldn't put this book down. Now I've read it twice. It is plain to me that this book is not about action. There is a little at the beginning and the end, but the sublime notions behind this mini-masterpiece lie in young Juanito's bewildering experiences in his History and Moral Philosophy classes. When it dawns on you that their class system forfeits the lives of some for the sake of the common good, that alone ought to be reason to read on. Because there are always more answers to the mystery on the tip of Juanito's tongue. His casual, articulate descriptions of history allude to something more.. the reader's appetite is always being whetted with the foreshadowing of more answers. How has this society created such a sociogovernmental monster? How does it work? Why corporal punishment? Why send men to die. Why really send men to die? But why really really? Does Johnny even know? A large portion of the story deals with life as a cadet, under extremely harsh living conditions. The military atmosphere is highly realistic, especially when it comes to relating to sergeants. All of the military-related chatter sounds highly credible to me, a civilian -- partly because Heinlein drew on his experiences serving in the US Navy. I can't say this book's philosophy formulates a logical whole, but it fills most of the gaps, leaving the reader to contemplate a very large social/political system. Hey, democracy doesn't make a logical whole either, so I'm not complaining. This book might be more offensive to liberals, as it implies that corporal punishment is great for establishing and maintaining social order -- making use of the perfectly evolved survival tool, "pain". Furthermore it glorifies military life, discipline, and unity, and pays no great amount of attention to individualism. If you think this might bother you, read this book anyway. It's not long, it's not expensive, and you need a reality check anyway.
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Summary: No one today would have the cojones to write this book
Review: This book is barely similar to the movie of the same name. This is Heinlein's examination of a future Earth society in which full citizenship (voting rights) must be earned through government (not just military) service. As someone who's been through Marine Corps Recruit Training on Parris Island, this book's harsh look at boot camp in the Corps of the future shocked even me. The action sequences are well done, but not at the heart of this book. At its core, "Starship Troopers" is a political manifesto. Those who have described it as "pulp fiction" fear what it has to say; Society is better off when those who have sacrificed for it (mostly, but not entirely, military veterans) make the decisions. This is especially important to current American society, since more than half of our current elected "leaders" on the federal level are lawyers who haven't served in the military, and only a small fraction more have served in any other captacity (Peace Corps, police departments, etc.) This does not bode well for our nation. So anything that challenges the status quo as fiercely as Heinlein's book does (never mind that it was written in the '50s, it's MORE applicable now than it was then,) must be shot down by those in power. If you like to think, and are interested in political philosophy, buy this book now. You don't have to agree with Heinlein's premise (I don't think even he agreed entirely,) but you must be willing to open your mind to new ideas. If you are a veteran, this book is a must buy. It makes you ask yourself some tough questions about the military's relationship to society and government.
Rating:
Summary: Second only to THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS
Review: This Hugo-winning novel is one of Heinlein's best, and it's been quite unfairly attacked by people who don't seem to know how to read. Does Heinlein glorify the military in this book? In a sense, yes - he clearly has a high regard (and quite justifiably!) for people who ~serve~ in the military. (He himself did a brief stint in the Navy but had to abandon his planned naval career owing to medical problems.) But in no way does he condone the usual misuse of the military by the Powers That Be. Anyone familiar with his other works - e.g. "Logic of Empire" and THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS - ought to know that he's no fan of governments and empires. Is Heinlein as fascist? See above (and look up "fascism" in a good dictionary). On the contrary, he's about as anti-fascist as you can get. In this novel, does Heinlein limit the franchise to soldiers? No; he limits it to citizens who have performed public service in ~some~ capacity and thereby demonstrated their personal devotion to the body politic; as he expressly states, the form of service doesn't have to be military. ~This~ story is about the military, though; it wouldn't have been as interesting if Heinlein had written about a highway cleaning crew. In fact this is not only a terrific action/adventure story but a highly informative look at military service through the eyes of a young infantryman coming of age. It's not hard to see why servicemen/women enjoy this one so much. Nevertheless this book seems to stick in the craw of some people. Maybe if you read it you'll see why. As for me, I've written a number of reviews bashing the heck out of Heinlein's later works (the ones where everybody has sex with everybody else and his mom too), and I am emphatically NOT a fan of most of his stuff. But this particular novel is his second best, and it's darn fine. If you've read MOON and this novel, as well as DOUBLE STAR and THE DOOR INTO SUMMER, you've read the best Heinlein has to offer. You can feel safe in skipping the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Questionable philosophy
Review: I hope this book makes you think. Heinlein is very persuasive in his philosophy but you must question his assumptions. In all this was a fairly good book. The story and charecter are easily forgetable, but the environments are not. The training and feild situations are incredible. Ever wonder why the military makes people tough, confident and capable even if they aren't to bright. Starship Troopers explains the phenomenon that had led soldiers to victory for centuries. I beg you to not assume along with heinlein that military training would do the rest of society good. It would not. Still, i recomend this book for its insights into the military mind.
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