''The Past Through Tomorrow'' is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

, first published in 1967, all part of his ''

Future History A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction. Sometimes the author publishes a timeline of events in the history, whi ...

''. 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 Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fro ...

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

, a revolution, and the establishment of a free society that does not save the pseudo-immortal

Lazarus Long Lazarus Long is a fictional character featured in a number of science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein. Born in 1912 in the third generation of a selective breeding experiment run by the Ira Howard Foundation, Lazarus (birth name Woodrow Wi ...

and his

Howard Families The Howard Families are a fictional group of people created by the author Robert A. Heinlein. According to Heinlein, the Howard Foundation was started in the 19th century by Ira Howard, a millionaire dying of old age in his forties, for the purpos ...

from fleeing

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

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: * "

Life-Line "Life-Line" is a short story by American author Robert A. Heinlein. Published in the August 1939 edition of ''Astounding'', it was Heinlein's first published short story. The protagonist, Professor Hugo Pinero, builds a machine that will predict ...

", 1939; a month before "Misfit" * " Misfit", 1939 * "

The Roads Must Roll "The Roads Must Roll" is a 1940 science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It was selected for ''The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964'' anthology in 1970. The story is set in the near future, when "ro ...

", 1940 * "

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

", 1940 * If This Goes On—, 1940 * "

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

", 1940 * "

Blowups Happen "Blowups Happen" is a 1940 science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It is one of two stories in which Heinlein, using only public knowledge of nuclear fission, anticipated the actual development of nuclear technology a few ...

", 1940 * "

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

", 1941 * "

Methuselah's Children ''Methuselah's Children'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Originally serialized in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' in the July, August, and September 1941 issues, it was expanded into a full-length novel in 1958. ...

", 1941; extended and published as a novel, 1958 * "

Logic of Empire "Logic of Empire" is a science fiction novella by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Part of his Future History series, it originally appeared in '' Astounding Science Fiction'' (March 1941), and was collected in ''The Green Hills of Earth'' (an ...

", 1941 * "'

—We Also Walk Dogs "—We Also Walk Dogs" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. One of his Future History stories, it was first published in '' Astounding Science Fiction'' (July 1941, as by Anson MacDonald) and collected in ''The G ...

'", 1941 * "

Space Jockey "Space Jockey" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein.James Gifford. 2000. ''Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader's Companion''. SacramentoNitrosyncretic Press. Part of his Future History series, it originally appeared in ...

", 1947 * "'

It's Great to Be Back! "It's Great to Be Back!" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. One of his Future History stories, it was first published in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' in the July 26, 1947 issue and later reprinted in ''The Gree ...

'", 1947 * "

The Green Hills of Earth "The Green Hills of Earth" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. One of his Future History stories, the short story originally appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' (February 8, 1947), and it was collected ...

", 1947 * " Ordeal in Space", 1948 * "

The Long Watch "The Long Watch" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It is about a military officer who faces a ''coup d'état'' by a would-be dictator. Originally titled "Rebellion on the Moon", the story originally appeared ...

", 1948 * " Gentlemen, Be Seated!", 1948 * "

The Black Pits of Luna "The Black Pits of Luna" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, about a Boy Scout on a trip to the Moon and his novel way of finding his lost brother. Included as part of his Future History, it originally appeared in ...

", 1948 * " Delilah and the Space Rigger", 1949 * "

The Man Who Sold the Moon "The Man Who Sold the Moon" is a science fiction novella by American author Robert A. Heinlein, written in 1949 and published in 1950. A part of his '' Future History'' and prequel to "Requiem", it covers events around a fictional first Moon lan ...

", 1950 * "

The Menace from Earth "The Menace From Earth" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in the August 1957 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction''. Plot summary The story is set in the near future, when t ...

", 1957 * "

Searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...

", 1962 The 1975 and 1986 paperback editions are both missing the story "

" (''Orphans of the Sky''), and likewise the 1967 hardback.

Reception

While regretting that several Future History stories Heinlein planned were never written,

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), John ...

praised the collection as "some of the finest writing cience fictionhas ever known". He described the book as "a magnificent compendium, coincidentally a rewarding and perhaps accurate cross-section of a writer's career", and required for any science fiction library. In February 1968 he named the book the "best publishing idea of the year".

References

External links

* * 1967 short story collections Short story collections by Robert A. Heinlein {{1960s-sf-story-collection-stub