The Green Hills of Earth by Robert Heinlein

November 4, 2007 – 12:57 pm

I have a confession to make. I love sci fi, especially pulp type sci
fi, and
the hey dey of the pulp era being the 40’s-60’s, it is perhaps no great
surprise that many of my favourite science fiction writers came out of
that
era. One such grandmaster of science fiction was Robert Heinlein. This
particular effort of his is a splendid collection of shorts including
the
title piece, The Green Hills of Earth. They are from his earlier years,
and
very much in the pulp sci fi mode, but with his trademark well rounded
characters and well developed plot that stood him out so far from the
crowd
present even here.

We get 1949’s “Delilah and the Space-Rigger” which is part of his
Future
History group of stories and novels, and like those, has a very
feminist
slant. It is about a woman who happens to be a very skilled radio
technician who comes to work with a crew building a new space station,
and
encounters some sadly typical sexist attitudes regarding women in
certain
professions and the old saw about them providing distractions. The
sexist
male at the root of it all is constantly being pulled up by the fact
that
she actually knows more than, or has even trained, the very men he
thins
should replace her, and gets his comeuppance in grand style.

“Space-Jockey” by contrast is a homely tale of a wife’s devotion to her
star tramping husband. He is a rocket pilot on an irregular route, and
always on call. It is a job that takes him away from his family, and
occasionally in danger, much like the transatlantic airline pilots of
the
recently past century, and one us wives of long haul truckers can still
relate to, with modern day hijackers, poorly maintained roads, and the
like.
The wife is not a weak woman at all, but a strong one, who never the
less
knows how much she misses her husband and is not ashamed to admit to
herself
that she could not be without him.

“The Long Watch” is a tale that is all about Johnny Dahlquist, a
commissioned officer in the Space Patrol, assigned to the moon. He is
married with a baby , but is nowhere as mature a young man as he thinks
he
is. The moon is a repository of nuclear weapons and as such is very
important (echoes of his later novel, A Moon is a Harsh mistress in the
setting is very much present). He gets embroiled in the middle of a
coup of
the base, and discovers that the safety of every human being on planet
earth
is in his hands, as he struggles to keep the weapons out of the wrong
hands.
he emerges having survived his trial by fire, and finally grasping what
manhood is truly all about. A great coming of age tale.

“Gentlemen Be Seated,” on the other hand, is not as patriotic in tone,
though also set on the moon. A reporter is being shown about by a
tunnel
worker and his supervisor when a breach occurs and their air begins
leaking
into space. By turns tense, and at others humorous, the title refers to
how
they solved their air leak issue until they could be rescued.

“The Black Pits of Luna,” like the Green Hills of Earth, was originally
published in the Saturday Evening Post and is therefore family type
fare. A
boy is on a trip to the moon when his brother manages to get himself
lost.he
uses skills he learned in Scouts and manages to save the day.

“It’s Great to Be Back” is a story about the MacCrae’s, who have
emigrated
to Luna city. They do nothing but moan about how unlike “back home” it
is,
and finally getting a chance to move “back home” they do, only to
discover
they had built up a rose tinted vision that has very little resemblance
to
reality, and how nice they actually had it. A classic case of the grass
is
greener syndrome and one that every person wishing to emigrate should
read!

“We Also Walk Dogs” is an entertaining piece about a company who takes
on
all sorts of jobs in the personal services sector. From being a
personal
shopper, to dog walking, if it needs doing, just ask! In this case, a
conference is to be held on earth, but a few of the alien races
scheduled to
attend have a problem. as Earth is a heavy world that could kill them
The
firm are set the task of reliving the gravity issue. To do so, they of
course need an antigravity device, but just how do they manage to
convince
the world’s leading physicist to do it for them so they can deliver?

In “Ordeal in Space,” we meet William Cole, former chief communications
officer and relief pilot of the Valkyrie. He is being interviewed by a
reporter named Miss Joyce, to whom he recounts his famous accident in
space,
in which he was adrift in space for several hours. Having way too much
time
to contemplate his situation, he then went on to develop a deep seated
phobia. This is the story of how it all happened, and how a kitten
trapped
on a window ledge cured him. I found this a very gripping read, and my
tea
actually went cold as I forgot to sip it whilst reading it.

The title story, “The Green Hills of Earth”, chronicles a blind poet
and
songster of the space ways. A Rudyard Kipling type figure, Rhysling
travels
the space ways, going from place to place, always writing his poems and
singing his songs. It features some of the best well known verse in sci
fi
fandom, with the song “”The Green Hills of Earth” having its missing
words
filled in by fans who actually sing it at conventions. The famous bit
of
verse is poignant, as befits the story, ending with “We pray for one
last
landing; On the globe that gave us birth; Let us rest our eyes on the
fleecy
skies; And the cool, green hills of Earth”. It’s a touching tale, and
one
that actually will leave a mark on your heart.

The final story of the collection is called “Logic of Empire.” Rather
than
being a mere short story, it is actually novella length. It is a timely
story about modern slavery, dealing with themes of indenture and the
extremes of capitalism. The main character is a well to do businessman
who
is shanghaied to Venus, where he must repay his passage by undertaking
work.
But he needs money to live as well as pay off his debt and so ensnared
in a
catch 22, as is the farmer who owns his debt, and the cycle goes on.
Sadly,
this is a tale we can also read about outside of sci fi, but this story
helps take it from the modern political reran and bring the issues to
where
we can comfortably mull over the situation people can find themselves
in,
and take a real world position.

I really enjoyed this book, and while in the 80’s and 90’s many thought
it
somewhat dated due its talk of rockets, today’s return to rockets for
future exploration and to launch extra orbital craft makes this even
more up
to date than Heinlein could ever have imagined. Get this book, and get
ready
for blast off. In 10, 9, 8…

by Shroud