Where to start with Robert A. Heinlein: 7 award-recognized books
Robert A. Heinlein won more Hugo Awards for Best Novel than any other writer. His books are full of ideas and arguments, and some of their attitudes have dated badly, so each note says what to expect.
If you read just one: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein, because it is his most entertaining novel and still holds up.
Start here
1. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
Won the Hugo Award; finalist for the Nebula Award (1966–1967) ·
A lunar colony plots revolution with the help of a computer that has become self-aware.
2. Double Star
Won the Hugo Award (1956) ·
An out-of-work actor is hired to impersonate a kidnapped politician. Short and fun.
3. Have Space Suit -- Will Travel
Finalist for the Hugo Award (1959) ·
A teenager wins a used spacesuit and ends up on an adventure across the galaxy.
Good to know: Written for younger readers.
His best-known novels
4. Starship Troopers
Won the Hugo Award (1960) ·
A recruit in the Mobile Infantry, and an argument about duty and citizenship.
Good to know: Its politics are still debated.
5. Stranger in a Strange Land
Won the Hugo Award (1962) ·
A man raised by Martians comes to Earth and questions everything.
Good to know: Its views on sex and gender have aged badly.
Late Heinlein
6. Time Enough for Love
Finalist for the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (1974) ·
The memoirs of Lazarus Long, a man more than two thousand years old.
Good to know: Contains material many readers find troubling.
7. Friday
Finalist for the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (1983) ·
A genetically engineered courier navigates a fractured North America.
Good to know: Opens with a scene of sexual violence.
How we chose
Every book in this guide won or was a finalist for at least one of the Hugo, Nebula, Locus or Arthur C. Clarke awards. Each book page lists its full award history with sources. Page counts come from English print editions and vary by edition. 7 books in all.