Quoted:
Years ago, I had a very early paperback edition of one of his novels, don't remember which.  But, I do remember at the front, in the listing of other Heinlein novels, one titled; Take Back Your Government.  I've never seen it referenced since and have never been able to find a copy anywhere.  Was this a typo by the publisher and I've been on a wild goose chase?  Certainly sounds like something Heinlein would write.

Any thoughts?  News, clues, rumors?


Dan

Quoted:
Years ago, I had a very early paperback edition of one of his novels, don't remember which.  But, I do remember at the front, in the listing of other Heinlein novels, one titled; Take Back Your Government.  I've never seen it referenced since and have never been able to find a copy anywhere.  Was this a typo by the publisher and I've been on a wild goose chase?  Certainly sounds like something Heinlein would write.The Number of the Beast
[url]http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=68SMLVA7JC&mscssid=EMR90CKS3A409GL50XTCRL9KFKQJ3FPD&isbn=0671721577[/url]

Quoted:
The quote thread got me thinking. Here are some of my recommendations for pro-gun Heinlein books. Feel free to add to the list, if I miss any of them...

Farnham's Freehold
Time Enough For Love
The Number of the Beast
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
Red Planet
Tunnel in the Sky
Starship Troopers
Methuselah's Children
"If This Goes On"
Sixth Column



Scott

Quoted:
Stranger in a Strange land is a must read, as is Starship Troopers.

Not that it's a "pro" gun book, but as a kid I always loved "The Door Into Summer", where the lead character had a problem with his cat, as they lived in a big farmhouse, and the cat refused to believe that every door in the house would let him out into a cold winter day, so he had to open each door every day so the cat could make sure one of them didn't lead into a nice day.


Wish more of his older stuff was still on shelves...

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I've got a (nearly) complete collection of his works occupying a shelf and a half of one book case.  Looks like I'll be re-re-re-reading them again!  [:D]

Quoted:
But I personally recommend ALL of his works. Some of them really should be required reading for some high school classes.

"Young lady the tragic wrongness of what those well meaning people did, contrasted with what they thought they were doing, goes very deep. They had no scientific theory of morals. They did have a theory of morals and they tried to live by it, but their theory was wrong -half of it fuzzy-headed wishful thinking, half of it rationalized charlatanry. The more earnest they were, the farther it led them astray. You see, they assumed that Man has a moral instinct."

"Sir? I thought-But he does! I have."

"No, my dear, you have a cultivated conscience, a most carefully trained one. Man has no moral instinct. He is not born with moral sense. You are not born with it, I was not-and a puppy has none. We acquire moral sense, when we do, through training, experience, and hard sweat of the mind. These unfortunate juvenile criminals were born with none, even as you and I, and they had no chance to acquire any; their experience did not permit it. What is `moral sense`? It is an elaboration of the instinct to survive. The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct acts sooner or later to eliminate the individual and thereby fails to show up in future generations. This truth is mathematically demonstrable, everywhere verifiable; it is the single eternal imperative controlling everything we do.

"But the instinct to survive, can be cultivated into motivations more subtle and much more complex then the blind, brute urge of the individual to stay alive. Young lady, what you miscalled your `moral instinct` was the installing in you by your elders of the truth that survival can have stronger imperatives than that of your own personal survival. Survival of your family, for example. Of your children, when you have them. Of your nation, if you struggle that high up the scale. And so on up. A scientifically verifiable theory of morals must be rooted in the individual's instinct to survive-and nowhere else!-and must correctly describe the hierarchy of survival, note the motivations at each level, and resolve all conflicts."

"The basis of all morality is duty, a concept with the same relation to group that self-interest has to the individual. Nobody preached duty to these kids in a way they could understand-that is with a spanking. But the society they were in told them endlessly about their `rights.` The results should have been predictable, since a human being has no natural rights of any nature."

"Sir? How about `life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness`?"

"Ah, yes, the `unalienable rights.` Each year someone quotes that magnificent poetry. Life? What `right` to life has a man who is drowning in the Pacific? The ocean will not hearken to his cries. What right to life has a man who must die if he is to save his children? If he chooses to save his own life, does he do so as a matter of `right`? If two men are starving and cannibalism is the only alternative to death, which man's right is `unalienable`? And is it `right`? As to liberty, the heroes who signed the great document pledged themselves to buy liberty with their lives. Liberty is never unalienable; it must be redeemed regularly with the blood of patriots or it always vanishes. Of all the so-called natural human rights that have ever been invented, liberty is least likely to be cheap and is never free of cost .

"The third `right`--the `pursuit of happiness`? It is indeed unalienable but it is not a right; it is simply a universal condition which tyrants cannot take away nor patriots restore. Cast me into a dungeon, burn me at the stake, crown me king of kings, I can `pursue happiness` as long as my brain lives-but neither gods nor saints, wise men nor subtle drugs, can insure that I will catch it."

Quoted:
"Take Back your Government" is out there, but it's pricey.  If I remember correctly, it was written in the 40s and  only printed once during the 80s.  Try these 2 sites for a copy ($100-$200).