One of the most influential American authors of the twentieth century, Robert A. Heinlein, was born on this day (that would be July 7th, for those of you not too sure of today's date) in 1907.

Insofar as my previous post was on the subject of first lines in fiction, I thought I'd celebrate in part by listing a few first lines from Heinlein short stories and novels. Not all of these may be of the "grab you by the lapels and shake vigorously" variety, but I think you'll agree that they at least suggest enough to make you want to see the line or two that follow. Favorites include:

from Beyond This Horizon, his first published novel:

Their problems were solved: the poor they no longer had with them; the sick, the lame, the halt, and the blind were historic memories; the ancient casues of war no longer obtained; they had more freedom than Man has ever enjoyed. All of them should have been happy --

from The Day After Tomorrow:

"What the hell goes on here?"

from "Waldo":

The act was billed as ballet tap -- which does not describe it.

from "Magic, Inc.":

"Whose spells are you using, buddy?"

from "The Roads Must Roll":

"Who makes the roads roll?"

from "Requiem":

On a high hill in Samoa there is a grave.

from "The Long Watch":

Johnny Dahlquist blew smoke at the Geiger counter.

from "The Green Hills of Earth":

This is the story of Rhysling, the blind singer of the Spaceways -- but not the official version.

from The Puppet Masters:

Were they truly intelligent?

from "Jerry Was a Man":

Don't blame the Martians.

from The Door Into Summer:

One winter shortly before the Six Weeks War my tomcat, Petronius the Arbiter, and I lived in an old farmhouse in Connecticut.

from Have Space Suit -- Will Travel:

You see, I had this space suit.

from "The Year of the Jackpot":

At first Potiphar Breen did not notice the girl who was undressing.

from "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag":

"Is it blood, doctor?"

from Stranger in a Strange Land:

Once upon a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith.

from Time Enough for Love:

History has the relation to truth that theology has to religion -- ie, none to speak of.

from The Number of the Beast:

"He's a Mad Scientist and I'm his Beautiful Daughter."

from The Cat Who Walks Through Walls:

"We need you to kill a man."

from To Sail Beyond the Sunset:

I woke up in bed with a man and a cat. The man was a stranger; the cat was not.

And lastly, a first line that certainly makes *me* want to read more, from "It's Great to be Back!":

"Hurry up, Allan!"