I have never been able to sit through a showing of Starship Troopers, even though I’m very familiar with the beginning of it. But everyone seems to love this book, so I wanted to find out what its all about. And I have found out that the book is pretty good.
This is a Heinlein book. So that means it could be either kind of good, weird, and well written like Stranger in A Strange Land or really bad like Time Enough For Love. It is definitely more like Stranger in a Stranger Land in the fact that it is enjoyable and succinct. (There is no shocker at the end, unlike SIASL.) 
Heinlein’s military is probably the main exhibit in this book. He points out some deficiencies in the militaries of the past (which is now), so this must be why Starship Troopers is called “controversial”. One point that Heinlein makes is about how there are so many officers compared to soldiers in militaries of the past (he means now, again). Everyone in Heinlein’s military fights, and those who do not are civilians. Heinlein draws attention to how many of the officers of our era are commissioned without ever being “experienced” soldiers. And another interesting tidbit about Heinlein’s society is this: only those people who have served a term in the military and retired are allowed to vote. The idea is that you make a sacrifice for the honor of having a voice in the government. Another very interesting concept.
Here’s one more thing that I saw. Heinlein has quite an obvious stance on corporal punishment. He’s for it. In this book a public flogging was the punishment for drunk driving. And that sounds like a fitting punishment to me.
And if there is any other controversy in this book, I didn’t catch it. I am, after all, reading for pleasure.
So one thing about this book is that the war involves space-alien hive bugs. Have you ever heard of this plot before? Hmm…Uncle Orson, if you’re out there…would you like to comment on that?
This is a short and easy read, if you like science fiction. And the story is enjoyable, even if it is about war. So I say go for it. Much of what I read isn’t as good as this book.
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