''Take Back Your Government!: A Practical Handbook for the Private Citizen Who Wants Democracy to Work'' was an early work by

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 ...

. It was published in 1992 after his death in 1988. Originally entitled ''How to Be a Politician'', the book was written in 1946 but never found a publisher, perhaps due to excess candor. Like so many of Heinlein's works, he wrote what he knew. In this case, he based the work on his experience in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

politics in the 1930s, particularly his efforts on behalf of

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in sever ...

's End Poverty in California (EPIC) movement and Sinclair's attempt to become the Democratic nominee for governor of California in 1934. The book contains annotations by

Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. In the 1960s ...

, who had little time to finish, polish, or fact-check, because the publishers demanded the work be available during Ross Perot's campaign for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

. A new edition was published in 2012, with an introduction by Heinlein biographer William H. Patterson, Jr.

Editions

* August, 1992,

Baen Books Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher an ...

, paperback, 304pp, * January, 2012,

Phoenix Pick Phoenix Pick is the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Arc Manor Publishers based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Phoenix Pick publishes many classic and semi-classic works of science fiction and fantasy. These include '' Dark Univ ...

, trade paperback, 246pp,

External links

* * 1992 non-fiction books Books by Robert A. Heinlein Books about politics of the United States {{US-poli-book-stub