8.4 /10 1 Votes
Originally published 1967 | 4.2/5 Goodreads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Genres Anthology, Speculative fiction Similar Robert A Heinlein books, Speculative fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Past Through Tomorrow is a collection of Robert A. Heinlein's Future History stories.
Most of the stories are parts of a larger storyline about the future rapid collapse of sanity in the United States, followed by a theocratic dictatorship, a revolution, and the establishment of a free society that does not save the pseudo-immortal Lazarus Long and his Howard Families from fleeing Earth for their lives. Most editions of the collection include a timeline showing the chronology of the stories (including stories never written, such as "The Stone Pillow", which was to occur during the period of the theocracy), times of birth and death of the significant characters, and commentary by Heinlein.
The specific short stories included vary with the edition, but typically include:
The 1986 paperback edition is missing the story "Universe"
Reception
Algis Budrys hailed the collection as "some of the finest writing [science fiction] has ever known," describing it as "a magnificent compendium, coincidentally a rewarding and perhaps accurate cross-section of a writer's career."