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Starship Troopers (film)

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Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers - movie poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Paul Verhoeven
Produced by
Jon Davison
Alan Marshall
Screenplay by
Edward Neumeier
Based on
Starship Troopers
 by Robert A. Heinlein
Starring
Casper Van Dien
Dina Meyer
Denise Richards
Jake Busey
Neil Patrick Harris
Patrick Muldoon
Clancy Brown
Michael Ironside
Music by
Basil Poledouris
Cinematography
Jost Vacano
Editing by
Mark Goldblatt
 Caroline Ross
Studio
TriStar Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Distributed by
Sony Pictures Releasing
 (North America)
Buena Vista International
 (International)
Release date(s)
November 7, 1997

Running time
129 minutes[1]
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$105 million
Box office
$121,214,377
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier, originally from an unrelated script called Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine,[2] but eventually licensing the name Starship Troopers, from a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise. The film had a budget estimated around $105 million and grossed over $121 million worldwide.
The story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military unit. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an insectoid species known as "Arachnids".
Starship Troopers was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 70th Academy Awards in 1998. Director Verhoeven says his satirical use of irony and hyperbole is "playing with fascism or fascist imagery to point out certain aspects of American society... of course, the movie is about 'Let's all go to war and let's all die.'"[3]
In 2012, Slant Magazine ranked the film #20 on its list of the 100 Best Films of the 1990s.[4]

Contents
  [hide] 1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 Comparison with the novel
4 Themes
5 Release 5.1 Critical reception
6 Legacy 6.1 Sequels
6.2 Remake
6.3 Merchandise
7 References
8 External links
Plot[edit]
In the future, Earth has become a spacefaring Federation. While colonizing new planets, humans have crossed paths with an insectoid race known as the Arachnids or "Bugs", with their home being the distant world Klendathu. The bugs appear to be little more than killing machines, though there are suggestions that they were provoked by the intrusion of humans into their habitats.
In the Federation, citizenship is a privilege earned by serving through such activities as military service; citizens are granted opportunities prohibited to others. John "Johnny" Rico, his girlfriend Carmen Ibanez, and best friend Carl Jenkins attend high school in Buenos Aires. Fellow student Dizzy Flores is in love with Rico, but he does not reciprocate. They enlist in Federation service after graduation. Carmen becomes a spaceship pilot while psychically gifted Carl joins Military Intelligence. Rico enlists in the Mobile Infantry expecting to be with Carmen, but is surprised to find Dizzy, who wanted to be near him.
At Mobile Infantry training, brutal Career Sergeant Zim leads the recruits. Rico is promoted to squad leader and befriends Ace Levy. He later receives a Dear John letter from Carmen, as she desires a career with the fleet and serves under Rico's high school sports rival, Zander Barcalow. After a live-fire training incident that kills one of Rico's squad, he is demoted and flogged. Rico resigns and calls his parents, but the call is cut off when an asteroid, launched by the Arachnids, obliterates Buenos Aires, killing his family and millions more. Rico rescinds his resignation and remains with the Infantry as an invasion force is deployed to Klendathu.
The first strike on Klendathu is a disaster, with heavy casualties. Rico is wounded and mistakenly classified KIA, causing Carmen to believe he is dead. Rico, Ace and Dizzy are reassigned to the Roughnecks, commanded by Lieutenant Jean Rasczak, Rico's former high school teacher. The Roughnecks respond to a distress call from Planet "P", where they discover an outpost that has been decimated by Bugs. The distress call ends up being a trap and the Arachnids swarm the outpost. Rico euthanizes a mortally wounded Rasczak and Dizzy dies in Rico's arms as they are rescued by Carmen and Zander. Rico and Carmen reconnect and encounter Carl at Dizzy's funeral, now a high-ranking Intelligence officer. Carl reveals that there is reason to believe an intelligent "brain bug" is directing the other Bugs and can learn about the humans. He field-promotes Rico to Lieutenant and gives him command of the Roughnecks, ordering the infantry to capture the brain bug.
As Rico's Roughnecks join the mission, the Fleet encounters fire from the Bugs and Carmen's ship is destroyed. The escape pod carrying Carmen and Zander crashes into the Bug tunnel system near Rico. Unknowingly guided by a psychic suggestion from Carl, Rico takes soldiers Ace and Sugar Watkins into the tunnels to rescue both. They find Carmen and Zander surrounded by several types of Arachnids including the brain bug, which places its proboscis into Zander's skull and drains its contents. Before it can take Carmen's brain she cuts off the proboscis with a knife. Rico threatens the Bugs with a small nuclear bomb, so the brain bug allows them to leave. Arachnids pursue them and Watkins is mortally wounded, sacrificing himself by detonating the nuke to kill them while the others escape. After returning to the surface, they find that former Sergeant Zim, who had demoted himself to private so that he could serve, has captured the brain bug. Carl congratulates Rico and tells him and Carmen that the humans will soon be victorious, now that Intelligence can study the brain bug, which is found to be afraid. A propaganda clip is shown starring Carmen, Ace and Rico as model servicemen, encouraging the viewer to enlist.
Cast[edit]
Casper Van Dien as Pvt./Cpl./Sgt./Lt. John "Johnny" Rico
Dina Meyer as Pvt. Dizzy Flores
Denise Richards as Lt./Capt. Carmen Ibanez
Jake Busey as Pvt. Ace Levy
Neil Patrick Harris as Col. Carl Jenkins
Patrick Muldoon as Lt. Zander Barcalow
Clancy Brown as Career Sgt./Pvt. Zim
Michael Ironside as Lt. Jean Rasczak
Seth Gilliam as Sugar Watkins
Bruce Gray as Sky Marshal Dienes
Marshall Bell as Gen. Owen
Eric Bruskotter as Pvt. Breckinridge
Brenda Strong as Capt. Deladier
Christopher Curry as Bill Rico
Lenore Kasdorf as Mrs. Rico
Denise Dowse as Sky Marshal Meru
Amy Smart as Pilot Cadet/Lt. Lumbreiser
Dean Norris as Commanding officer
Rue McClanahan as Biology teacher
Dale Dye as Unnamed general
Anthony Ruivivar as Shujumi
Robert David Hall as Recruiter
Production[edit]



 Badlands of Hell's Half Acre, Natrona County, Wyoming, where parts of Starship Troopers were filmed.
The "bug planet" scenes were filmed in the badlands of Hell's Half Acre in Natrona County, Wyoming.[5] Several cameos in the film include producer Jon Davison as the angry Buenos Aires resident who says to the FedNet camera "The only good Bug is a dead Bug!" and screenwriter Ed Neumeier as the quickly captured, convicted, and condemned murderer in another FedNet clip. Former U.S. Marine Dale Dye, whose company Warriors, Inc. provided technical military advice on the film, appeared as a high-ranking officer following the capture of the Brain Bug ("What's it thinking, Colonel?"). Mark Wahlberg and James Marsden turned down the role of Johnny Rico, where it ultimately went to Casper Van Dien.
Two nude scenes were kept in the original version (coed shower and bedroom romp between Rico and Dizzy), although these were modified in the broadcast version.[6][7] The cast agreed to do the co-ed shower scene only if Verhoeven agreed to direct the scene naked, which he did.[5]
Director Verhoeven, producer Davison, writer Neumeier, creature effects designers Phil Tippett and Craig Hayes, and composer Basil Poledouris were all involved with the original RoboCop film. Actor Michael Ironside was also considered for the role of Murphy/RoboCop. Ironside appeared in Verhoeven's Total Recall.
In the commentary track on the DVD or Blu-ray release, Verhoeven remarks that he had hoped to cast actors whose age more closely matched that of the characters—and indeed of real-world soldiers—but that the producers felt such actors would look too young. The teacher and leader of the "Roughnecks" in the novel are combined into one role played by Ironside.[5]
Test audience reactions led to several minor changes before the film was released. Originally, it was clear that Carmen was torn between Rico and Zander. Test audiences, regardless of gender, strongly felt that a woman could not love two men at once so scenes which portrayed this were cut. These audiences also felt it was immoral for Carmen to choose a career ahead of being loyal to Rico to the extent that many commented that, in so doing, Carmen should have been the one to die, instead of Dizzy. While admitting it may have been a bad commercial decision not to change the film to accommodate this, the directors did cut a scene from after Zander's death where Carmen and Rico kiss, which the audience believed made the previous betrayal even more immoral.[5]
Comparison with the novel[edit]
There are many differences between the original book and film. While the original novel has been accused of promoting militarism, fascism and military rule;[8][9][10] the film satirizes these concepts by featuring news reports that are intensely fascist, xenophobic and propagandistic. Verhoeven stated in 1997 that the first scene of the film (an advertisement for the mobile infantry) was adapted shot-for-shot from a scene from Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will, specifically an outdoor rally for the Reichsarbeitsdienst. Other references to Nazism in the movie include the Gestapo-like uniforms of commanding officers, Albert Speer-style architecture and the propagandistic dialogue. (Violence is the supreme authority!)[11]
A report in an American Cinematographer article states that the Heinlein novel was optioned well into the pre-production period of the film, which had a working title of Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine; most of the writing team reportedly were unaware of the novel at the time. According to the DVD commentary, Paul Verhoeven never finished reading the novel, claiming he read through the first few chapters and became both "bored and depressed."[2]
Themes[edit]
The film included visual allusions to propaganda films such as Why We Fight, Triumph of the Will, and wartime newsreels. The symbols, and certain clothing styles, of the Federation are modeled on those of the Nazis (e.g., windbreaker, suits, cap, etc.; moreover, the military intelligence officers' uniforms bear a striking similarity to those of the Allgemeine-SS). The satire was embedded in action sequences with special effects.[12][13]
In the DVD commentary, Verhoeven states the film's message: "War makes fascists of us all." He evokes Nazi Germany—particularly through its use of fashion, iconography and propaganda—which he sees as a natural evolution of the post-World War II United States. "I've heard this film nicknamed All Quiet on the Final Frontier," he says, "which is actually not far from the truth." Edward Neumeier (who had previously worked with Verhoeven on RoboCop) broadly concurs, although he sees a satire on human history, rather than solely the United States. Since the filmmakers did not make these statements at the time of the film's release, viewers have interpreted it variously: as a satire, as a celebration of fascism or as a simple action film.[5]
Release[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
Starship Troopers polarized audiences and critics alike. This is reflected in a slightly positive critical response with a 63% on Rotten Tomatoes,[14] and 51% on Metacritic, indicating mixed or average reviews based on 20 critics.[15] Starship Troopers was nominated for a number of awards in 1998, including the Academy Award for Visual Effects; the film won Saturn Awards for Best Costumes and Best Special Effects at the 1998 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA Awards.[16]
On August 15, 2013, Fathom hosted a RiffTrax Live event featuring Starship Troopers.[17]
Legacy[edit]
Sequels[edit]
Hero of the Federation was a sequel to the theatrical film released direct-to-video in 2004, directed by Phil Tippett. In May 2006, MovieHole.net reported that Ed Neumeier would be writing and directing a second sequel, Marauder, and also stated that original cast members would be returning.[18] This movie was released directly to DVD in August 2008. Starship Troopers 3: Marauder was considered an improvement over the second film and the return of Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico was well received by fans. However, the third installment was criticized for its poor storyline, special effects and wooden acting. Starshiptroopersfans.net has reported that a fourth Starship Troopers film has been given the green light and will be a full-length CG feature.[19] A trailer video was released in March 2012.[20] Starship Troopers: Invasion was released in Japan on July 21, 2012 and it was released in North America on August 28, 2012 as a direct-to-DVD title.
Remake[edit]
In December 2011, film producer Neal Moritz announced plans to remake the film.[21]
Merchandise[edit]
Main article: Starship Troopers, cultural influence
In 1997, Avalon Hill released Starship Troopers: Prepare For Battle!, a board game based on the film version rather than Heinlein's book. Its gameplay focused on limited skirmishes rather than larger battles. The "Skinnies" do not appear, nor is there a political element.[22] Avalon Hill had previously released a game called Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers in 1976.[23] A real-time tactics video game titled Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy was released in 2000. This game also incorporated the powered suits in Heinlein's novel into the Verhoeven version of the Mobile Infantry. It was developed by Australian software company Blue Tongue Entertainment. A first-person shooter game also titled Starship Troopers was released November 15, 2005. This version was developed by Strangelite Studios and published by Empire Interactive. Set five years after the events of the film, the game also featured van Dien voicing the in-game version of Johnny Rico. Sega Pinball released a pinball machine based on this movie.[24]
The film was released simultaneously with a graphic novelization, which retold events from the film. There were also additional series that were released based in the Verhoeven universe, though not directly related to the film. Further series were published by Dark Horse Comics and Markosia. The film was followed by the CGI animated television series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, which is loosely set inside the events of the film just after Rico and Diz join the Roughnecks but before Rico gets promoted (though the events and tone of the show differ from those of the film).
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "STARSHIP TROOPERS (15)". Buena Vista International. British Board of Film Classification. November 18, 1997. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Robley, Les Paul (November 1997). "Interstellar Exterminators. Ornery insects threaten the galaxy in Starship Troopers". American Cinematographer (California, United States of America: American Society of Cinematographers) 78 (11): 56–66.
3.Jump up ^ ""Interview: Paul Verhoeven", by Scott Tobias". The A.V. Club. April 3, 2007. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
4.Jump up ^ "The 100 Best Films of the 1990s | Feature". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
5.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Verhoeven, Paul and Neumeier, Ed (1997). Audio Commentary for "Starship Troopers" (DVD). Buena Vista International.
6.Jump up ^ "Family Filter Disclamer". Metacafe.com. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
7.Jump up ^ prezol (2010-06-29). "Watch Dina Meyer Flashing Boobs In Starship Troopers Video". Break.com. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
8.Jump up ^ Alexei Panshin. "Starship Troopers: The PITFCS Debate". Enter.net. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
9.Jump up ^ Godwin, Mike. "Meme, Counter-meme". Wired.
10.Jump up ^ Gifford, James. “The Nature of Federal Service in Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers”
11.Jump up ^ Svetkey, Benjamin (1997-11-21). "The Reich Stuff". Entertainment Weekly.
12.Jump up ^ Tobias, Scott (2005-10-19). "Who Will Love The Brown Bunny? A Decade Of Underrated Movies (1997 Starship Trooper)". A.V. Club. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
13.Jump up ^ "Commentary Tracks Of The Blessed (1997 Starship Trooper)". A.V. Club. 2005-03-25. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
14.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
15.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers (1997)". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
16.Jump up ^ "Awards for Starship Troopers". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
17.Jump up ^ "RiffTrax Live: Starship Troopers". Fathom. 2013-08-15. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
18.Jump up ^ Morris, Clint. "Sony Debugs Starship Troopers". MovieHole.net. Archived from the original on 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
19.Jump up ^ "NEW STARSHIP TROOPERS IS A GO!". Retrieved 2011-02-19.
20.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers: Invasion - Trailer - IGN Video". Ign.com. 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
21.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers Remake Planned". Retrieved January 27, 2012.
22.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers: Prepare For Battle!". Retrieved 2006-12-03.
23.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers (1976)". Board Game Geek. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
24.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers". Internet Pinball Machine Database. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers at the Internet Movie Database
Starship Troopers at the TCM Movie Database
Starship Troopers at Box Office Mojo
Starship Troopers at Rotten Tomatoes
Starship Troopers at Metacritic

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Starship Troopers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the novel. For the 1997 film, see Starship Troopers (film).
For other uses, see Starship Troopers (disambiguation).

Starship Troopers
St59.jpg
First edition cover

Author
Robert A. Heinlein
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
Science fiction
Philosophical novel[1][2]
Publisher
G. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date
December 1959
Media type
Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages
263 pp (paperback edition)
ISBN
0-450-02576-4
OCLC Number
2797649
Dewey Decimal
[Fic]
LC Classification
PZ7.H368 Su8
Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published (in abridged form) as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published hardcover in December 1959. The first-person narrative is about a young soldier from the Philippines named Juan "Johnnie" Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military service branch equipped with powered armor. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs". Rico and the other characters discuss moral and philosophical aspects of suffrage, civic virtue, juvenile delinquency, capital punishment, and war.[3]
Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960.[4] The novel has been criticised for its social and political themes including allegations of advocating fascism or militarism.[5]

Contents
  [hide] 1 Heinlein's military background and political views
2 Writing of the novel
3 Plot
4 Major themes 4.1 Politics
4.2 Military history, traditions, and military science
4.3 Responsibility
5 Military innovations
6 Influence with U.S. military
7 Critical reception
8 Controversy 8.1 Allegations of militarism
8.2 Allegations of fascism
8.3 Allegations of utopianism
8.4 Allegations of racism
9 Adaptations 9.1 Games 9.1.1 Board
9.1.2 Computer
9.1.3 Pinball
9.2 Animated
9.3 Live-action movies
10 Cultural influence 10.1 Books
10.2 Film and television
10.3 Games
10.4 Comics
11 Release details
12 References
13 External links
Heinlein's military background and political views[edit]
Heinlein graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1929, and served on active duty in the U.S. Navy for five years. He served on the then-new aircraft carrier USS Lexington in 1931, and as a naval lieutenant aboard the destroyer USS Roper between 1933 and 1934, until he was forced to leave the Navy because of pulmonary tuberculosis. Heinlein never served in active combat while a Navy officer and he was a civilian during World War II doing research and development at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.[6]
According to Heinlein, his desire to write Starship Troopers was sparked by the publication of a newspaper advertisement placed by the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy on April 5, 1958 calling for a unilateral suspension of nuclear weapon testing by the United States. In response, Robert and Virginia Heinlein created the small "Patrick Henry League" in an attempt to create support for the U.S. nuclear testing program. Heinlein found himself under attack both from within and outside the science fiction community for his views. Heinlein used the novel to clarify and defend his military and political views at the time.[7]
Writing of the novel[edit]
Some time during 1958 and 1959, Heinlein ceased work on the novel that would become Stranger in a Strange Land and wrote Starship Troopers. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in October and November 1959 as a serial called Starship Soldier. Although originally written as a juvenile novel for New York publishing house Scribner, it was rejected,[8] prompting Heinlein to cease writing juvenile fiction for Scribners, to end his association with them completely, and begin writing books with more adult themes.[9] The novel was eventually published as teenage fiction by G. P. Putnam's Sons.[10]
Plot[edit]



 Cover of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (November 1959), illustrating Starship Soldier
Further information: List of Starship Troopers characters
Starship Troopers takes place in the midst of an interstellar war between the Terran Federation of Earth and the Arachnids (referred to as "The Bugs") of Klendathu. It is narrated as a series of flashbacks by Juan Rico, and is one of just a few Heinlein novels set out in this fashion.[11] The novel opens with Rico aboard the corvette Rodger Young (named after Medal of Honor recipient Rodger Wilton Young), serving with the platoon known as "Rasczak's Roughnecks" (named after the platoon leader, Lt. Rasczak) about to embark on a raid against the planet of the "Skinnies", who are allies of the Arachnids. We learn that he is a cap(sule) trooper in the Terran Federation's Mobile Infantry. The raid itself, one of the few instances of actual combat in the novel, is relatively brief: the Roughnecks land on the planet, destroy their targets, and retreat, suffering a single casualty in the process (Dizzy Flores, who dies in the retrieval boat of wounds received in action).
The story then flashes back to Rico's graduation from high school, and his decision to sign up for Federal Service over the objections of his father, who disowns him. This is the only chapter that describes Rico's civilian life, and most of it is spent on the monologues of two people: retired Lt. Col. Jean V. Dubois, Rico's school instructor in "History and Moral Philosophy"; and Fleet Sergeant Ho, a recruiter for the armed forces of the Terran Federation.
Some see Dubois as speaking for Heinlein throughout the novel; he delivers what is probably the book's most famous soliloquy on violence: "[It] has settled more issues in history than has any other factor."[12] Fleet Sergeant Ho's monologues examine the nature of military service, and his anti-military tirades seem primarily to be a contrast with Dubois. We learn, later, that his rants are part of a policy intended to scare off applicants signing up without conviction.
Interspersed throughout the book are other flashbacks to Rico's high school History and Moral Philosophy course, which describe how in the Terran Federation of Rico's day, the rights of a full Citizen (to vote, and hold public office) must be earned through some form of volunteer Federal service. Those residents who have not exercised their right to perform this Federal Service retain all other rights generally associated with a modern democracy (free speech, assembly, etc.), but they cannot vote or hold public office. This structure arose ad hoc after the collapse of the "20th century Western democracies", brought on by both social failures at home (among which appear to be poor handling of juvenile delinquency) and military defeat by the Chinese Hegemony overseas (assumed looking forward into the late 20th century from the time the novel was written in the late 1950s)[13]
In the next section of the novel, after being denied all his higher preferred Service choices, Rico goes to boot camp at Camp Arthur Currie, on the northern prairies. Five chapters are spent exploring Rico's experience there, including his adjustment to a very different situation, entering the service under the training of the leading instructor, career Ship's Sergeant Charles Zim. Camp Currie is rigorous by design; less than ten percent of the recruits finish basic training. The rest either resign, are expelled, or die in training. One of the chapters deals with Ted Hendrick, a fellow recruit and constant complainer who is flogged and expelled for striking a superior officer during a simulated combat exercise (he caught Sgt. Zim by surprise after being struck by the sergeant for failure to perform during the exercise). Another recruit, a deserter who murdered a baby girl while AWOL, is hanged by his battalion after his arrest by civilian police and return to Camp Currie. Rico himself is flogged for poor handling of (simulated) nuclear weapons during a drill; despite these experiences, he eventually graduates and is assigned to a unit in the Fleet.
At some point during Rico's training, the "Bug War" has changed from border incidents to a full-fledged formal war, and Rico finds himself taking part in combat operations. The war "officially" starts with an Arachnid attack that annihilates the city of Buenos Aires (which kills Juan's mother who was visiting there), although Rico makes it clear that prior to the attack there had been many "'incidents', 'patrols', or 'police actions'".[14] Rico briefly describes the Terran Federation's loss at the Battle of Klendathu during which his unit is decimated and his ship destroyed. Following Klendathu, the Terran Federation is reduced to making hit-and-run raids similar to the one described at the beginning of the novel (which, chronologically, would be placed between chapters 10 and 11). Rico meanwhile finds himself posted to Rasczak's Roughnecks. This part of the book focuses on the daily routine of military life, as well as the relationship between officers and non-commissioned officers, personified in this case by Rasczak and Sergeant Jelal.
Eventually, Rico decides to become a career soldier, and one of his fellow troopers claims he is officer material and should consider volunteering for Officer Candidate School. He applies and is accepted. It turns out to be just like boot camp, only "squared and cubed with books added".[15] Rico manages to make it through to the final exam, "in the Fleet". He is commissioned a temporary Third Lieutenant for his field-test and commands his own unit during Operation Royalty. It is revealed at the end of the chapter that one of the enlisted men he leads into combat is his former basic training instructor, Sergeant Zim. Although personally convinced that he badly mismanaged his men, he passes the final exam, and graduates as a Second Lieutenant.
Rico has a meeting with his father, who had volunteered for Service after his wife, Rico's mother, was killed at Buenos Aires. The final chapter serves as more of a coda, depicting Rico aboard the Rodger Young as the lieutenant in command of Rico's Roughnecks, preparing to drop to Klendathu as part of a major strike, his father being his senior sergeant, and a Native American Third Lieutenant-in-training (James Bearpaw, known as "Jimmie") of his own under instruction.
Major themes[edit]
Politics[edit]
Starship Troopers seems to have been meant as a political essay as well as a novel. Large portions of the book take place in classrooms, with Rico and other characters engaged in debates with their History and Moral Philosophy teacher, who is often thought[16] to be speaking in Heinlein's voice.[16] The overall theme of the book is that social responsibility requires being prepared to make individual sacrifice. Heinlein's Terran Federation is a limited democracy, with aspects of a meritocracy in regard to full citizenship, based on voluntarily assuming a responsibility for the common good. Suffrage can only be earned by those willing to serve their society by at least two years of volunteer Federal Service – "the franchise is today limited to discharged veterans", (ch. XII), instead of, as Heinlein would later note, anyone "...who is 18 years old and has a body temperature near 37 °C"[17] The Federation is required to find a place for anyone who desires to serve, regardless of his skill or aptitude (this also includes service ranging from teaching to dangerous non-military work such as serving as experimental medical test subjects to military service—such as Rico's Mobile Infantry).
There is an explicit contrast to the "democracies of the 20th century", which according to the novel, collapsed because "people had been led to believe that they could simply vote for whatever they wanted... and get it, without toil, without sweat, without tears."[18] Indeed, Colonel Dubois criticizes as unrealistic the famous U.S. Declaration of Independence line concerning "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". No one can stop anyone from pursuing happiness, but the Colonel claims life and liberty exist only if they are deliberately sought and, often, bought painfully by great effort and sacrifice.
Starship Troopers is also widely-regarded[who?] as a vehicle for Heinlein's anti-communist views.[citation needed] Characters attack Karl Marx (a "pompous fraud"), the labor theory of value ("All the work one cares to add will not turn a mud pie into an apple tart..."),[19] and Plato's The Republic ("ant-like communism" and "weird in the extreme").[20]
Military history, traditions, and military science[edit]
The Korean War ended only five years before Heinlein began writing Starship Troopers, and the book makes several direct references to it, such as the claim that "no 'Department of Defense' ever won a war."[21] Heinlein also refers to the American prisoners of war taken in that conflict, including the popular accusations of Communist brainwashing.[22] After the Korean War ended, there were rumors that the Chinese and North Koreans continued to hold a large number of Americans.[23] Rico's History and Moral Philosophy class at Officer Candidate School has a long discussion about whether it is moral to never leave a single man behind, even at the risk of starting a new war. Rico debates whether it was worth it to risk two nations' futures over a single fellow soldier who might not even deserve to live by some standard, but concludes it "doesn't matter whether it's a thousand – or just one, sir. You fight."[24]
Several references are made to other wars: these include the name of the starship that collided with Valley Forge; Ypres, a major battleground in World War I; the starship Mannerheim, a reference to the World War II-era marshal of Finland; and Rico's boot camp, Camp Arthur Currie (named after Sir Arthur Currie who commanded the Canadian Corps during WWI). A brief reference is also made to Camp Sergeant Smokey Smith, named after a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross in World War II. The airport was the location of the U.S. Army Air Corps' Walla Walla Army Air Base in World War II. The 91st Bomb Group lays claim to being the first Army Air Forces outfit to use that base. Another World War I reference was the phrase "Come on, you apes! You wanna live forever?", which comes from Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly at the Battle of Belleau Wood (although instead of "apes", Daly said "sons of bitches"). This phrase, however, has been attributed to various people throughout military history, including perhaps the earliest documented citation by Frederick II of Prussia when he was meant to have said "Kerls, wollt ihr ewig leben?" (tr. "Men, would you live forever?") at the Battle of Kolín. The starship corvette Rodger Young was named after the World War II Medal of Honor recipient, and lines from the chorus of Frank Loesser's Ballad of Rodger Young are used as the ship's recall signal. Another war reference, this one from the War of 1812, involves some implications of the court-martial of Third Lieutenant William Sitgreaves Cox, which are discussed in some detail.
Responsibility[edit]
Juan Rico begins the novel with no thought of his personal responsibility or of any particular group's responsibility to self or others. This theme is repeatedly obliquely addressed immediately in the novel's opening. "We had all inspected our combat equipment (look, it's you own neck -- see?), the acting platoon sergeant had gone over us carefully after he mustered us, and now Jelly went over us again, his eyes missing nothing." "Now I was going to have a hole in my section and no way to fill it. That's not good; it means a man can run into something sticky, call for help and have nobody to help him." "I've heard tell that there used to be military outfits whose chaplains did not fight alongside the others, but I've never been able to see how that could work. I mean, how can a chaplain bless anything he's not willing to do himself? In any case, in the Mobile Infantry, everybody drops and everybody fights -- chaplain and cook and the Old Man's writer."
The theme is repeated through flashbacks to both High School and Officer Candidate School in a required class called History and Moral Philosophy. Heinlein uses this as exposition to explain the societal and political setting - after a war, a group of veterans in control of the government decided that only those who had volunteered to serve could really be trusted to appreciate the responsibility of governing, and they limited the franchise to service veterans. (The novel explicitly discloses that service need not be military service, but military service is suggested to be the primary kind of service in question, and is the service we see throughout the book.) In this view, everything from the right to vote to the punishments for various crimes are depicted as part of a larger effort to recognize society's needs and improve society, as distinct from self-interest. It is important to note that the service Heinlein envisioned was an all-volunteer service, long before the US military had changed to an all-volunteer model. Other than the rights to vote and hold public office, there is no other restriction between service veterans and civilians - everyone can live where they like, work how they choose, follow the same laws, etc.
In the course of both the "current" plot and flashbacks Rico learns to take responsibility for ever-increasing groups: himself, his comrades, and eventually all of mankind (a shared responsibility, of course) - and accept that as the reason for remaining in the service. Further, Rico is seen to develop from relatively powerless as an unimposing Filipino teenager to a very dangerous fighter. "There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men. We're trying to teach you to be dangerous -- to the enemy. Dangerous even without a knife. Deadly as long as you still have one hand or one foot and are still alive." Similar to (but pre-dating) the comic book hero Spider-man, we can see the theme, "With great power also comes great responsibility." Rico is essentially given great power and must come to terms with what he can or should do with his impressive new abilities.
Military innovations[edit]
Further information: Powered armor
In addition to Heinlein's political views, Starship Troopers popularized a number of military concepts and innovations, some of which have inspired real-life research. The novel's most noted innovation is the powered armor exoskeletons used by the Mobile Infantry.[25] These suits were controlled by the wearer's own movements, but powerfully augmented a soldier's strength, speed, weight-carrying capacity (which allowed much heavier personal armament), jumping ability (including jet and rocket boost assistance), and provided the wearer with improved senses (infrared vision and night vision, radar, and amplified hearing), a completely self-contained personal environment including a drug-dispensing apparatus, sophisticated communications equipment, and tactical map displays. Their powered armor made the Mobile Infantry a hybrid between an infantry unit and an armored one.
Another concept the book pioneered was that of "space-borne infantry". The heavily mechanized units of M.I. troops were attached to interstellar troop transport spacecraft, which then delivered them to planetary target zones, by dropping groups of Mobile Infantrymen onto the planet surface from orbit via individual re-entry capsules (hence the book's slang term "cap troopers" for M.I. troops). The uses for such a force—ranging from smash-and-burn raids, to surgical strikes, conventional infantry warfare, and holding beachheads—and the tactics that might be employed by such soldiers are described extensively within the novel. The tactics, training, and many other aspects of this futuristic elite force are carefully detailed: everything from the function of the armored suits themselves, to the need for multiple variants of powered armor, to the training of personnel in both suit operations and the specialized unit tactics that would be needed, to the operational use of the suits in combat.
Influence with U.S. military[edit]
While powered armor is Starship Troopers' most famous legacy, its influence extends deep into contemporary militaries. Over half a century after its publication, Starship Troopers was on the reading lists of the United States Marine Corps[26][27] and the United States Navy.[28] It is the first science fiction novel to have appeared on the reading lists at three of the five United States military branches. When Heinlein wrote Starship Troopers the United States military was a largely conscripted force, with conscripts serving two-year hitches. Today the U.S. military has incorporated many ideas similar to Heinlein's concept of an all-volunteer, high-tech strike force. In addition, references to the book keep appearing in military culture. In 2002 a marine general described the future of Marine Corps clothing and equipment as needing to emulate the Mobile Infantry.[29] In 2012, an article on the US military buying ballistic face masks specifically referenced the "big steel gorilla[s]" of Starship Troopers.[30]
Critical reception[edit]
Alexei Panshin serves as an excellent razor for dividing criticisms of this book. He stated that the novel was "[an] account of the making of a [Marine] ... and nothing more".[16] The criticisms that have followed have largely fallen into two camps. If the reader thought that "The making of a Marine" was an interesting or relevant topic, the reception was generally positive. If not, then negative.
The primary negative assessment of Starship Troopers is that it is nothing more than a vehicle for Heinlein's political views.
John Brunner compared it to a "Victorian children's book"[31] while Anthony Boucher, founder of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, remarked that Heinlein had "forgotten to insert a story."[31]
In his review column for F&SF, Damon Knight selected the novel as one of the 10 best genre books of 1959.[32] In a 2009 retrospective, Jo Walton finds Starship Troopers "military SF done extremely well."[33] "Heinlein was absolutely at his peak when he wrote this in 1959. He had so much technical stylistic mastery of the craft of writing science fiction that he could do something like this [per Walton, he tells the story "backwards and in high heels"] and get away with it." "It’s astonishing that [Starship Troopers is] still controversial now, fifty years after it was first published," and "Probably [Heinlein would] have been delighted at how much the book has made people think and argue."[33]
Controversy[edit]
To Heinlein's surprise,[34] Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960.[4] By 1980, twenty years after its release, it had been translated into eleven languages and was still selling strongly. However, Heinlein complained that, despite this success, almost all the mail he received about it was negative and he only heard about it "when someone wants to chew me out."[35]
Allegations of militarism[edit]
A common complaint about Starship Troopers is that it is glorifies war along with the military. There was a two-year debate in the Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century Studies (PITFCS) that was sparked by a comparison between a quote in Starship Troopers that "the noblest fate that a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and war's desolation"[36] (paraphrase of the fourth stanza of "The Star-Spangled Banner") and the anti-war poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen.[31] Dean McLaughlin called it "a book-length recruiting poster."[31] Alexei Panshin, a veteran of the peacetime military, argued that Heinlein glossed over the reality of military life, and that the Terran Federation-Arachnid conflict existed simply because, "Starship troopers are not half so glorious sitting on their butts polishing their weapons for the tenth time for lack of anything else to do."[16] Joe Haldeman, a Vietnam veteran and author of the anti-war Hugo[37]- and Nebula[38]-winning science fiction novel The Forever War, similarly complained that Starship Troopers unnecessarily glorifies war.[39]
Defending Heinlein, George Price argued that "[Heinlein] implies, first, that war is something 'endured,' not enjoyed, and second, that war is so unpleasant, so desolate, that it must at all costs be kept away from one's home."[31] In a commentary on his essay "Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry?", Heinlein agreed that Starship Troopers "glorifies the military ... Specifically the P.B.I., the Poor Bloody Infantry, the mudfoot who places his frail body between his loved home and the war's desolation – but is rarely appreciated... he has the toughest job of all and should be honored."[40] The book's dedication also reads in part "... to all sergeants everywhere who have labored to make men out of boys."[41] Heinlein also received some complaints about the lack of conscription in Starship Troopers (the military draft was the law in the United States when he wrote the novel).[42]
Allegations of fascism[edit]
Some critics assert that the Terran Federation is a fascist society, and that Starship Troopers is therefore an endorsement of fascism. These allegations have become so popular that Sircar's Corollary of Godwin's Law states that once Heinlein is brought up during online debates, "Nazis or Hitler are mentioned within three days."[43] The most visible proponent of these views is probably Paul Verhoeven, whose film version of Starship Troopers portrayed the Terran Federation's personnel wearing uniforms strongly reminiscent of those worn by the Third Reich-era Wehrmacht.[44] Most of the arguments for this view cite the idea that only veterans can vote and non-veterans lack full citizenship; moreover, only veterans are permitted to teach the course "History & Moral Philosophy", children are taught that moral arguments for the status quo are mathematically correct, and both capital and corporal punishment are accepted as methods of teaching morality and reducing crime. Federal Service is not necessarily military, although it is suggested that hardship and strict discipline are pervasive. According to Poul Anderson, Heinlein got the idea not from Nazi Germany or Sparta, but from Switzerland.[13]
Many argue that Heinlein was simply discussing the merits of a "selective versus nonselective franchise."[31][volume & issue needed] Heinlein made a similar claim in his Expanded Universe and further noted that 95% of "veterans" were not military personnel but members of the civil service and that only retired veterans could vote or hold office.[45]
However, this issue is still controversial, even among the book's defenders. James Gifford[8] and David Dyer-Bennet[46] point to several quotes as indications that the characters assume Federal Service is military; for instance, when Rico tells his father he is interested in Federal Service, his father immediately explains his belief that Federal Service is a bad idea because there is no war in progress, indicating that he sees Federal Service as military in nature, or not necessary to a businessman during peacetime. Some Federal Service recruiters wear military ribbons, and a term of service "is either real military service... or a most unreasonable facsimile thereof." Moreover, the history of Federal Service describes it as being started by military veterans who did not originally allow civilians to join and are not described as allowing them to join later. Gifford decides, as a result, that although Heinlein's intentions may have been that Federal Service be 95% non-military, in relation to the actual contents of the book, Heinlein "is wrong on this point. Flatly so."
Allegations of utopianism[edit]
More recently, the book has been analyzed as a hypothetical utopia, in the sense that while Heinlein's ideas sound plausible, they have never been put to the test. This criticism has been leveled by writers such as Robert A. W. Lowndes, Philip José Farmer, and Michael Moorcock. The latter wrote an essay entitled "Starship Stormtroopers" in which he attacked Heinlein and other writers over similar "Utopian fiction."[47] Lowndes accused Heinlein of using straw man arguments, "countering ingenuous half-truths with brilliant half-truths."[31] Lowndes further argued that the Terran Federation could never be as idealistic as Heinlein portrays it to be because he never properly addressed "whether or not [non-citizens] have at least as full a measure of civil redress against official injustice as we have today".[31] Farmer also agreed, arguing that a "world ruled by veterans would be as mismanaged, graft-ridden, and insane as one ruled by men who had never gotten near the odor of blood and guts."[31]
Allegations of racism[edit]
The supposedly racist aspects of Starship Troopers involve the Terrans' relations with the Bugs and the Skinnies. Richard Geib has suggested that Heinlein portrayed the individual Arachnids as lacking "minds or souls... killing them seems no different from stepping on ants."[48] Both Robert Peterson and John Brunner believe that the nicknames "Bugs" and "Skinnies" carry racial overtones, Brunner making a comparison with calling Koreans "gooks" [31][citation needed] while Peterson suggested that "not only does the nickname 'Bugs' for the arachnids of Klendathu sound too much like a racial slur, but Heinlein's characters unswervingly believe that humans are superior to Bugs, and that humans are destined to spread across the galaxy."[49]
Robert A. W. Lowndes argues that the war between the Terrans and the Arachnids is not about a quest for racial purity, but rather an extension of Heinlein's belief that man is a wild animal. According to this theory, if man lacks a moral compass beyond the will to survive, and he was confronted by another species with a similar lack of morality, then the only possible moral result would be warfare.[31]
Adaptations[edit]
Games[edit]
Board[edit]
In 1976, Avalon Hill published Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, a map-and-counter board wargame featuring a number of scenarios as written in the novel.[50]
In 1997, as a tie-in with Verhoeven's film adaptation, Avalon later published Starship Troopers: Prepare for Battle!, which entirely focused on the film.[51]
In 2005, Mongoose Publishing published Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game, a miniature wargame which used material from both the novel, film, and animated TV series.[52]
Computer[edit]
In 1982, Radio Shack/Tandy Corporation published Klendathu by Leo Christopherson for the TRS-80 Model I/II/III and Color Computer.[53]
In 1998, Mythic Entertainment[54] released Starship Troopers: Battlespace which was available to America Online subscribers. The game, in which players battled each other in overhead space combat, allowed players to assume either Klendathu or Federation roles.
In 2000, Blue Tongue Entertainment released the top-down real-time tactics video game Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy.[55]
A first-person shooter game titled Starship Troopers was released November 15, 2005, based on Paul Verhoeven's film version rather than on Heinlein's novel. It was developed by Strangelite and published by Empire Interactive.
November 13, 2012 a mobile game that acts as a prequel to the series called Starship Troopers: Invasion "Mobile Infantry" was released worldwide via the App Store (iOS).
Pinball[edit]
In 1997, Sega Pinball (now Stern Pinball) released the Starship Troopers pinball machine, based on the movie adaptation that was released that year.
Animated[edit]
In 1988, from October to December, Sunrise and Bandai Visual produced a 6-episode Japanese original video animation locally titled Uchū no Senshi with mobile infantry power armor designs by Kazutaka Miyatake (famous for his work on Macross/Robotech).
In August 1999, an animated series, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, which took inspiration from both the novel and the first (1997) film, lasted 40 episodes until April 2000.
In July 2012, an animated movie entitled Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012) was released on DVD and Blu-ray. It features new characters, with Rico, now a General, playing a supporting role.
Live-action movies[edit]
The film rights to the novel were licensed in the 1990s.[56] The first film, also titled Starship Troopers, was directed by Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Total Recall) and released in 1997. The film diverged greatly in terms of the themes and plot of the novel, and received mixed reviews from critics.[57] Two sequels followed: Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004), and Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008).
In December 2011, Neal H. Moritz, producer of films such as The Fast and the Furious series and I Am Legend, announced plans to do a remake of the film that promises to be more faithful to the source material.[58]
Cultural influence[edit]
Books[edit]
Starship Troopers influenced many later science fiction stories, setting a tone for the military in space, a type of story referred to as military science fiction. John Steakley's novel Armor was, according to the author, born out of frustration with the small amount of actual combat in Starship Troopers and because he wanted this aspect developed further.[59] Conversely, Joe Haldeman's anti-war novel The Forever War is popularly thought to be a direct reply to Starship Troopers, and though Haldeman has stated that it is actually a result of his personal experiences in the Vietnam War, he has admitted to being influenced by Starship Troopers.[39] Haldeman's historical novel 1968 has a soldier going crazy in Vietnam: he imagines himself killing alien bugs in a battlesuit, instead of actual Vietnamese people.[33]
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is also thought by many to have been either a direct response to or influenced by Starship Troopers. Card has flatly denied this, saying that he never read the novel and did not read The Forever War until after writing Ender's Game.[60] Harry Harrison wrote a satirical book called Bill, the Galactic Hero which he described as "a piss-take on Heinlein's Starship Troopers."[61] John Scalzi's novel Old Man's War is, according to the author, explicitly patterned after Starship Troopers.[62] In recent years, John Ringo's series Legacy of the Aldenata (also known as the Posleen series) featured a more explicit homage to Heinlein's book. In 1987, a Choose Your Own Adventure-style interactive book set in the Starship Troopers universe, Combat Command in the World of Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers: Shines the Name by Mark Acres, was published by Ace Publishers.
Film and television[edit]
The 1986 James Cameron film Aliens incorporated themes and phrases from the novel, such as the terms "the drop" and "bug hunt", as well as the cargo-loader exoskeleton. The actors playing the Colonial Marines were also required to read Starship Troopers as part of their preparation prior to filming.[63]
Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of the mecha anime TV series Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) has cited Starship Troopers as an important inspiration. He coined the term "mobile suit" used to name the piloted mecha from the anime series as a reference to the novel's own "mobile infantry". The Gundam series are notable because they started the Real Robot genre of mecha anime that continues to be portrayed in several Japanese sci-fi productions to this very day.[64][65]
Games[edit]
Starship Troopers is thought to have influenced numerous games including Outwars,[66] Tribes, Tribes 2,[67] Warhammer 40k, Crysis and Halo: Combat Evolved. On November 13, 2012 Spectre Media, LLC released Starship Troopers: Invasion "Mobile Infantry" for iOS devices, which acts as a prequel to the 2012 Starship Troopers: Invasion film by Shinji Aramaki.
Comics[edit]
Dark Horse Comics, Mongoose Publishing and Markosia have held the license to produce comic books based on Starship Troopers. Over the years, the writers have included Warren Ellis, Gordon Rennie and Tony Lee.[68][69]
Release details[edit]
1960-06-01, Putnam Publishing Group, hardcover, ISBN 0-399-20209-9
May 1968, Berkley Medallion Edition, paperback, ISBN 0-425-02945-X and ISBN 0-425-03787-8
January 1984, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-07158-8
November 1985, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-09144-9
November 1986, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-09926-1
1987-05-01, Ace Books, paperback, 263 pages, ISBN 0-441-78358-9
1995-10-01, Buccaneer Books, hardcover, ISBN 1-56849-287-1
1997-12-01, Blackstone Audiobooks, cassette audiobook, ISBN 0-7861-1231-X
1998-07-01, G. K. Hall & Company, large print hardcover, 362 pages, ISBN 0-7838-0118-1
1999-10-01, Sagebrush, library binding, ISBN 0-7857-8728-3
2000-01-01, Blackstone Audiobooks, CD audiobook, ISBN 0-7861-9946-6
2006-06-27, Ace Trade, paperback, ISBN 0-441-01410-0
References[edit]
Notes
1.Jump up ^ "Ill Humor". Salon. November 13, 1997. Retrieved March 27, 2010.[dead link]
2.Jump up ^ James, Edward & Farah Mendlesohn. The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. Cambridge University Press, 2003. pp 231
 "[Heinlein's] works include some that are sensitive to the realities of politics, and some that decidedly are not, but which do embody the imaginative exposition of a political philosophy. The best example of the former is Double Star; of the latter, Starship Troopers."
3.Jump up ^ "ROBERT A. HEINLEIN: THE NOVELS". Luna-City.com. Retrieved March 4, 2006.
4.^ Jump up to: a b "1960 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
5.Jump up ^ "Scott Rosenberg's critic of the movie from Salon.com, describing a fascist "G.I. Joe" novel". Retrieved April 18, 2006.[dead link]
6.Jump up ^ "Biographies of Robert and Virginia Heinlein". Retrieved December 16, 2007.
7.Jump up ^ Heinlein. Expanded Universe. Baen Books. pp. 468–469, 481–482. ISBN 0-448-11916-1.
8.^ Jump up to: a b Gifford, James. "The Nature of Federal Service in Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers" (PDF). Retrieved March 4, 2006.
9.Jump up ^ Causo, Roberto de Sousa. "Citizenship at War". Retrieved March 4, 2006.
10.Jump up ^ "Biographies of Robert and Virginia Heinlein". The Heinlein Society. Retrieved March 4, 2006.
11.Jump up ^ "Heinlein in Dimension". Retrieved 2006-03-04.
12.Jump up ^ Heinlein (1987). Starship Troopers. p. 26. ISBN 1-156-85543-8.
13.^ Jump up to: a b Weuve, Chris. "Thoughts on Starship Troopers". Retrieved 2006-03-04.
14.Jump up ^ Heinlein (1987). Starship Troopers. p. 131. ISBN 1-156-85543-8.
15.Jump up ^ Heinlein (1987). Starship Troopers. p. 172. ISBN 1-156-85543-8.
16.^ Jump up to: a b c d Panshin, Alexei. "Heinlein in Dimension". Retrieved March 4, 2006.
17.Jump up ^ Heinlein. Expanded Universe. p. 485. ISBN 0-448-11916-1.
18.Jump up ^ Heinlein (1987). Starship Troopers. p. 93. ISBN 1-156-85543-8.
19.Jump up ^ Heinlein (1987). Starship Troopers. p. 92. ISBN 1-156-85543-8.
20.Jump up ^ Heinlein (1987). Starship Troopers. p. 181. ISBN 1-156-85543-8.
21.Jump up ^ Heinlein (1987). Starship Troopers. p. 133. ISBN 1-156-85543-8.
22.Jump up ^ Heinlein (1987). Starship Troopers. p. 184. ISBN 1-156-85543-8.
23.Jump up ^ "DPMO: Korean War Missing Personnel". Archived from the original on April 3, 2006. Retrieved March 4, 2006.. Similar accusations would be made during the Vietnam and Gulf Wars.
24.Jump up ^ Heinlein (1987). Starship Troopers. p. 178. ISBN 1-156-85543-8.
25.Jump up ^ Weiss, Peter. "Dances with Robots". Science News Online. Archived from the original on January 16, 2006. Retrieved March 4, 2006.
26.Jump up ^ "ALMAR 246/96". 1996. Archived from the original on February 22, 2006. Retrieved March 4, 2006.
27.Jump up ^ "2nd Battalion, 6th Marines. Battalion Commander's Reading List". Archived from the original on December 19, 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
28.Jump up ^ "Junior Enlisted Reading List". Retrieved May 6, 2009.
29.Jump up ^ Brig. Gen. James M. Feigley, Marine Corps Systems Command. Quoted in Brill, Arthur P. Jr. "The Last Ounce of Combat Readiness". Retrieved March 4, 2006.
30.Jump up ^ Beckhusen, Robert (17 May 2012). "Smile! U.S. Troops Cover Up With New ‘Facial Armor’". Danger Room blog at Wired.com. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
31.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k "Starship Troopers: The PITFCS Debate". Retrieved March 4, 2006.
32.Jump up ^ "Books", F&SF, April 1960, p.98
33.^ Jump up to: a b c Review of Starship Troopers by Jo Walton
34.Jump up ^ Heinlein. Expanded Universe. p. 482. ISBN 0-448-11916-1.. "I still can't see how that book got a Hugo."
35.Jump up ^ Heinlein. Expanded Universe. p. 482. ISBN 0-448-11916-1.
36.Jump up ^ Heinlein (1987). Starship Troopers. p. 91. ISBN 1-156-85543-8.
37.Jump up ^ "1976 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
38.Jump up ^ "1975 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
39.^ Jump up to: a b Haldeman, Joe (1998). "1998 SciFi.com interview". Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 4, 2006.
40.Jump up ^ Heinlein. Expanded Universe. p. 484. ISBN 0-448-11916-1.
41.Jump up ^ Berkley Medallion paperback edition. The nitrosyncretic site's "Heinlein’s Dedications" incorrectly uses the "anywhere" word instead of "everywhere".
42.Jump up ^ Heinlein. Expanded Universe. pp. 483–484. ISBN 0-448-11916-1.
43.Jump up ^ Godwin, Mike (October 1, 2004). "Meme, Counter-meme". Wired. Retrieved March 24, 2006.
44.Jump up ^ Peterson, Robert (2000). "Starship Troopers: Film and Heinlein's Vision". Space.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2001. Retrieved March 4, 2006.
45.Jump up ^ Heinlein. Expanded Universe. pp. 396–404. ISBN 0-448-11916-1.
46.Jump up ^ "Federal Service" in Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers by David Dyer-Bennet, 2004.
47.Jump up ^ Moorcock, Michael (1977). "Starship Stormtroopers". Archived from the original on December 24, 2002. Retrieved March 4, 2006.
48.Jump up ^ Geib, Richard. ""STARSHIP TROOPERS" by Robert A. Heinlein. An opinion.". Retrieved March 4, 2006.
49.Jump up ^ Peterson, Robert (2000). "Militarism and Utopia in Starship Troopers". Space.com. Retrieved March 4, 2006.[dead link]
50.Jump up ^ "Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers (1976)". BoardGameGeek. n.d. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
51.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers". Skirmisher Publishing LLC. n.d. Retrieved February 1, 2008.[dead link]
52.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers Miniatures Game (2005)". BoardGameGeek. n.d. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
53.Jump up ^ "Klendathu". Nitros9.lcurtisboyle.com. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
54.Jump up ^ "Mythic Entertainment". Retrieved May 2, 2006.
55.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy". Retrieved March 4, 2006.
56.Jump up ^ Robley, Les Paul (November 1997). "Interstellar Exterminators. Ornery insects threaten the galaxy in Starship Troopers". American Cinematographer (California, United States of America: American Society of Cinematographers) 78 (11): 56–66.
57.Jump up ^ "Starship Troopers – Rotten Tomatoes". Retrieved February 1, 2008.
58.Jump up ^ "A New Invasion: ‘Starship Troopers’ Headed for a Remake". Retrieved December 3, 2011.[dead link]
59.Jump up ^ Alpern, Dave (November 1997). "Steakley Interviews – First Chat". The Official Unofficial John Steakley Site. Archived from the original on June 6, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
60.Jump up ^ "Student Research Area: Orson Scott Card Answers Questions". 2000. Retrieved March 4, 2006.
61.Jump up ^ "Harry Harrison". Archived from the original on August 30, 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
62.Jump up ^ Hoffman, Douglas (2005). "Old Man's War: The Distaff View". Retrieved March 4, 2006.
63.Jump up ^ Sigourney Weaver (Lead actress) (December 2, 2003). Alien Quadrilogy (Superior Firepower: The Making of Aliens) (DVD). California, United States: 20th Century Fox. UPC 024543098478.
64.Jump up ^ Tomino, Yoshiyuki (2004). Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation. Stone Bridge Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-880656-86-0.
65.Jump up ^ Simmons, Mark (2002). Gundam The Official Guide. Seiji Horibuchi. p. 41. ISBN 1-56931-739-9.
66.Jump up ^ Marines in Powered Armor & bug-like Aliens engaged in Intergalactic Battle in the PC game Outwars
67.Jump up ^ A training mission in Tribes 2 uses the phrase "on the bounce" from the novel.
68.Jump up ^ Johnson, Craig (October 21, 2004). "Tony Lee: I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper". Comics Bulletin. Retrieved September 30, 2009.[dead link]
69.Jump up ^ Saunders, Steven (January 7, 2007). "Tony Lee: Comic Book Trooper". Comics Bulletin. Retrieved September 30, 2009.[dead link]
Bibliography
Angelo, Carlos. Robert A. Heinlein, Dean of Science Fiction Writers.
Causo, Roberto de Sousa (February 21, 1998). "Citizenship at War". O Jornal da Tarde. pp. XX.
Gifford, James (Year Unknown). The Nature of Federal Service in Starship Troopers (PDF).
Heinlein, Robert A. (2003). Expanded Universe. Baen. ISBN 0-7434-7159-8. OCLC 223822885. Contains Heinlein's comments on the writing and the politics of Starship Troopers, as well as the polemical speech "The Pragmatics of Patriotism" on the moral basis of the military.
Moorcock, Michael. Starship Stormtroopers, Cienfuegos Press Anarchist Review, 1978.
Panshin, Alexei (1968). Heinlein in Dimension. Advent Publishers. ISBN 0-911682-12-0. OCLC 7535112.
Panshin, Alexei (Year Unknown). Rite of Passage and Robert Heinlein. Describes a correspondence with Heinlein over "Starship Troopers" in 1959.
Pinkerton, James (May 2003). "Starship Trooperization". Tech Central Station Daily.
"The Heinlein Society". Official Robert Anson Heinlein Estate Endorsed Website. Retrieved December 1, 2005.
Starship Troopers: The PITFCS Debate: A two-year debate about the novel in a Science Fiction publication occurring immediately after its publication.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Citizenship at War by Roberto de Sousa Causo. Review from a Brazilian newspaper.
Gotterdammerung.Org book review by Branislav L. Slantchev.
SFReviews.Net book review by T. M. Wagner.
Rah, Rah, R. A. H.! – essay by Spider Robinson in defense of Heinlein mostly against Panshin's "Heinlein In Dimension"
Starship Troopers at Worlds Without End
"Starry-Eyed Internationalists" versus the Social Darwinists by Rafeeq O. McGiveron. Examines Heinlein's transnational governments, including the Terran Federation.

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Categories: 1959 novels
American science fiction novels
Hugo Award for Best Novel winning works
Military science fiction novels
Novels by Robert A. Heinlein
Novels first published in serial form
1950s science fiction novels
Starship Troopers
Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction








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