Rating: 
Summary: Buy it for "Gulf"
Review: "Gulf" is a short novel gem, and a slightly sideways-in-time prequel to "Friday." Witten during the period when Heinlein was writing books like "The Puppet Masters" (which it has similarities to), and "The Door Into Summer", it's a good story, well told."Jerry Was a Man" is a lesser work, but interesting in that it argues that humanity will constantly have to revisit the slavery thing as our abilities to create non-human servants will outstrip our wisdom in their use. Maybe old hat now, but it wasn't in the 1940's. I'd be willing to be large sums that whoever wrote the Star Trek:TNG story about Data being, leagally, a Man, had read this once apon a time. Very similar viewpoints. The other two stories are among Heinlein's poorest and keep this from being a 5.
Rating: 
Summary: Great
Review: Aside from the supremely corny cover art (almost enough to keep one from buying it) that pervades this particular series of Heinlein novels, this is a truly great book. Of the four included stories, the best of them is the leadoff, Gulf. It is a short, thought-provoking story that was entertaining and kept me reading. However, I think if it was expanded a bit more it could have been on of RAH's all-time great short novels. The ending of the story, in particular, was a little too abrupt. Of the remaining stories, Elsewhen is an entertaining "What if?" romp. Lost Legacy, the other short novel, is a very nice story as well. Despite it's greatness, I read the story with some disdain, as it focuses on a theme (what would happen if we found out how to use the remaining parts of our brain that we don't currently use) that I thought I had come up with on my own. Seems RAH already thought of it, small wonder. But I disgress... Jerry Was A Man is the only story in the collection that I don't think is particularly interesting, but it still has it's merits and doesn't hold down the rest of the book. Like Heinlein always did at his best, this book is extremely thought-provoking and may make you re-examine what you thought was possible in the world around you. Often the book leans more toward fantasy than science fiction, which may turn off some, but this is definite reccommended reading for Heinlein fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to believe Heinlein wrote this! Mostly a bad book.
Review: First, before I begin, I must say that Heinlein is one of my favorite authors. He is a science fiction grandmaster, and deserves the honor. He wrote excellent works such as Starship Troopers, The puppet masters, and my personal favorite: Jobe, a comedy of justice. However, this book is simply bad! The first story, Gulf, tells about a person (a spy) who discovers he is a part of an advance subrace of human. The story has some interesting ideas, and is actually quite good. The second story, Elsewhen, tells about a group of people that can travel between various realities. It has interesting ideas, however it is written *SO* badly, *SO* badly, the level of writing is like a 7th grader. The characters aren't even two dimensional... Maybe one dimensional, barely. The third story, Legacy, tells about a scientists which try to develop uncharted parts of the brain, because they believe it holds the key to superhuman abilities. Again, this is horribly written, after reading half the story I realized I feel as if I'm watching "Mystery Science Theatre 3000". It was just so similar. I couldn't finish the story, it was that stupid. The fourth and last story, Jerry was a man, tells about a future where it's possible to create (almost) any kind of creature, with genetic engineering. I liked this story, it had good ideas, and was short - and good. Overall, I think this book is not worth it. I saw that all of these stories were written in the 40s-50s, so they might actually be some of Heinlein's earliest work.. maybe that's why he doesn't shine in them. If you're really a fan, you can get this book, but as a collection of stories it's simply bad. The 2 good stories just aren't worth buying the entire book. One last thing, if you never read any other Heinlein book - go get one! He is one of the finest science fiction writers, and one lousy book can't change that.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to believe Heinlein wrote this! Mostly a bad book.
Review: First, before I begin, I must say that Heinlein is one of my favorite authors. He is a science fiction grandmaster, and deserves the honor. He wrote excellent works such as Starship Troopers, The puppet masters, and my personal favorite: Jobe, a comedy of justice. However, this book is simply bad! The first story, Gulf, tells about a person (a spy) who discovers he is a part of an advance subrace of human. The story has some interesting ideas, and is actually quite good. The second story, Elsewhen, tells about a group of people that can travel between various realities. It has interesting ideas, however it is written *SO* badly, *SO* badly, the level of writing is like a 7th grader. The characters aren't even two dimensional... Maybe one dimensional, barely. The third story, Legacy, tells about a scientists which try to develop uncharted parts of the brain, because they believe it holds the key to superhuman abilities. Again, this is horribly written, after reading half the story I realized I feel as if I'm watching "Mystery Science Theatre 3000". It was just so similar. I couldn't finish the story, it was that stupid. The fourth and last story, Jerry was a man, tells about a future where it's possible to create (almost) any kind of creature, with genetic engineering. I liked this story, it had good ideas, and was short - and good. Overall, I think this book is not worth it. I saw that all of these stories were written in the 40s-50s, so they might actually be some of Heinlein's earliest work.. maybe that's why he doesn't shine in them. If you're really a fan, you can get this book, but as a collection of stories it's simply bad. The 2 good stories just aren't worth buying the entire book. One last thing, if you never read any other Heinlein book - go get one! He is one of the finest science fiction writers, and one lousy book can't change that.
Rating:
Summary: Some of my favorite Heinlein stories . . .
Review: Heinlein at his best. It is amazing to think that everybody could be a "superman" or that time travel was something you could do in your spare time as easily as you might daydream. Four wonderful stories that make you think about the world around you, and are also entertaining and interesting. I recomend this book to anyone who is willing to make the time to read it. It's worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly for fans...
Review: Heinlein is one of my all time favorite, with F. Herbert, J. Vance, P.J. Farmer, and a few others. I trully love 'Stranger in a Strange Land', 'Friday', 'Time Enough for Love', and 'Starship Troopers'. This book doesn't get even close to those. As far as I'm concerned, the merit of a book can be most safely assessed by asking oneself the question "Had this book been written by a total stranger rather than the Grand Master himself, would it (1) still be in print, and (2) sell as much?" In this case, I think that the answer would be a clear no. The stories are very dated, both in their vision of science and in cultural references (blacks are "negroes", women are treated in a superbly paternalistic way...) The story-telling itself is not up to Heinlein's standard: most of them are half finished at best. Finally, the stories totally lack the humor and wittiness that makes Heinlein such a great author. I'll grant that this book looks into some serious themes, and fosters reflexion. However, some of the themes are just silly. 'Friday', 'Stranger...', and 'Starship...' are as much if not more thought provoking, and the storytelling is light years better than 'Assignment...' Overall, I would recommend this book to Heinlein's fans - not to people who do not know his work or enjoy it more casually.
Rating:
Summary: Mostly for fans...
Review: Heinlein is one of my all time favorite, with F. Herbert, J. Vance, P.J. Farmer, and a few others. I trully love 'Stranger in a Strange Land', 'Friday', 'Time Enough for Love', and 'Starship Troopers'. This book doesn't get even close to those. As far as I'm concerned, the merit of a book can be most safely assessed by asking oneself the question "Had this book been written by a total stranger rather than the Grand Master himself, would it (1) still be in print, and (2) sell as much?" In this case, I think that the answer would be a clear no. The stories are very dated, both in their vision of science and in cultural references (blacks are "negroes", women are treated in a superbly paternalistic way...) The story-telling itself is not up to Heinlein's standard: most of them are half finished at best. Finally, the stories totally lack the humor and wittiness that makes Heinlein such a great author. I'll grant that this book looks into some serious themes, and fosters reflexion. However, some of the themes are just silly. 'Friday', 'Stranger...', and 'Starship...' are as much if not more thought provoking, and the storytelling is light years better than 'Assignment...' Overall, I would recommend this book to Heinlein's fans - not to people who do not know his work or enjoy it more casually.
Rating:
Summary: One of Heinlein's most fascinating hidden treasures.
Review: The short story, "Lost Legacy" was written far ahead of it's time, and reveals an insight and a foresight that is extraordinary!
Rating:
Summary: One of Heinlein's most fascinating hidden treasures.
Review: The short story, "Lost Legacy" was written far ahead of it's time, and reveals an insight and a foresight that is extraordinary!
Rating:
Summary: Raises good questions, but ducks any real conclusions
Review: The stories in this collection blur the often fuzzy line between science fiction and fantasy, and as is often the case with such stories, the results are not entirely satisfactory. By its very nature, a science fiction story should attempt to give a rational explanation of how things are possible, while in the realm of fantasy, such explanations are dispensed with in order to pursue goals other than credibility (ie., a moral lesson, or at the very least, an exciting entertainment). The common theme of the collection is the untapped potential of the human animal, and exactly what it means to be human, but Heinlein doesn't have any specific answers or agenda, leaving the readers to decide for themselves. "Gulf" is the most exciting and realistic of the offerings, a spy thriller replete with secret organizations, evil geniuses, and doomsday weapons. The hero finds himself recruited by an organization of self-proclaimed "supermen" who set about trying to contain the evil forces loose in their not-too-futuristic society. Rather disappointingly, Heinlein chooses not to discuss the serious moral implications of this group, focusing instead on their training, methods, and ideals. Ultimately however, the reader may be repelled by the fascist notion that a group can consider itself so superior to the run of humanity that it can act outside the law, even though they claim to be acting for the greater good. Moral qualms aside, this is a fast-paced and exciting adventure, although the ending is rather too abrupt. "Elsewhen" is a wild fantasy wherein a college professor teaches some students how to use hypnosis to travel to different "realities". The students' adventures aren't all that exceptional, but the story is at least fairly well constructed. In "Lost Legacy", three academians unlock the hidden potentials of the human mind, but have to fight to get the world to listen. Unlike the supermen of "Gulf" and the ivory-tower theoreticians of "Elsewhen", these heroes want to spread their knowledge in order to benefit mankind. Unfortunately they find themselves stymied by widespread skepticism. (In Heinlein's Engineer's philosophy, unwillingness to believe the evidence of one's senses is a cardinal sin). More portentously, certain sinister forces have their own reasons for wanting these discoveries kept secret. This story could have moved a bit faster, but it's not a bad effort. The final offering, "Jerry Was a Man", tells the story of a genetically modified primate and the wealthy socialite who wants to secure him his rights as a "man". The fact that Jerry is really just an overly intelligent chimp makes this difficult, but not impossible, and allows Heinlein to indulge in his predilections for courtroom drama, legal shystering, and back room political maneuvering. Unfortunately, this upstages the perhaps more interesting technical aspects of genetic engineering, (which in all fairness to Heinlein was in its infancy when the story was written), and more importantly, the moral ramifications and sociological consequences of giving "human rights" to species other than homo sapiens. Overall, Heinlein raises some interesting questions with this collection, but takes the easy way out by ducking any conclusions. Fantasy fans who aren't looking for great revelations will probably enjoy this book, but the average science fiction reader will likely be disappointed.
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