Indeholder "Introduction", "1939: Lifeline", "1940: The Roads Must Roll", "1940: And He Built a Crooked House", "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag", "Bibliography".

"Introduction" handler om ???
"1939: Lifeline" handler om Doktor Pinero, der har lavet en maskine, der kan måle længden af en persons totale levealder, dvs forudsige hvornår man skal dø. Det har store konsekvenser og ender med at koste ham selv livet, helt som han havde forudset men uden at kunne gøre noget ved det.
"1940: The Roads Must Roll" handler om hvad der sker når et trafiksystem med rullende vejbaner og masser af arbejdere til at vedligeholde systemet møder fagforeninger og strejker.
"1940: And He Built a Crooked House" handler om et hus i fire dimensioner.
"The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag" handler om ???
"Bibliography" handler om ??? ( )

A collection of Heinlein's short stories, varied and futuristic - and considering they are nearly 70yrs old not too dated either. They touch on a number of themes and are well written, without the moralising that bulks out Stranger in a Strange land for example.

Crooked house is a story concerning the still prevalent problems of overcrowding and house prices - combined with the difficulties of grasping other physical dimensions. The Roads must roll concerns union activity in days when transport pressures are huge. Lifeline covers the profession of life insurance, and the effects of a new scientific prediction technique. It is the most dated of the stories, with public gatherings to debate scientific principles.

My favourite is the unpleasant profession of Johnathon Hoag - it is longer than the others bordering upon a novella, and it does drag in places. But it envisages a galactic society where the appreciation of food as art rather than energy intake is unheard of. A great concept. ( )