I’ve created this bibliography as a reading checklist for my Rereading Heinlein Project. My plan is to reread Heinlein’s stories in the order they were written, if I know when, or by when they were first published. A few stories were published posthumously, and are listed under the year of first publication. For serialized novels, I use the magazine date.
For short stories, I’ve listed the current in-print collection or the used collection easiest to buy. It’s a shame The Past Through Tomorrow is out-of-print. Most of Heinlein’s original short story collections are in print for the Kindle and Audible.
| Year | Title | Type | Publication | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | For Us, The Living | n | Scribner (2004) | |
| 1939 | Life-Line | ss | Astounding (Aug) The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950) | |
| 1939 | Misfit | ss | Astounding (Nov) Revolt in 2100 (1953) | |
| 1940 | Requiem | ss | Astounding (Jan) The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950) | |
| 1940 | “If This Goes On —” | n | Astounding (Feb,Mar) Revolt in 2100 | |
| 1940 | Successful Operation | ss | Futuria Fantasies (Spr) Expanded Universe (1980) | |
| 1940 | Let There Be Light | ss | Super Science Stories (May) The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950) | |
| 1940 | The Roads Must Roll | nt | Astounding (Jun) The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950) | |
| 1940 | Coventry | na | Astounding (Jul) Revolt in 2100 (1953) | |
| 1940 | Blowups Happen | nt | Astounding (Sep) The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950) | |
| 1940 | The Devil Makes the Law (Magic, Inc) | na | Unknown (Sep) Waldo and Magic, Inc. (1950) | |
| 1941 | Sixth Column | n | Astounding (Jan,Feb,Mar) Gnome Press (1949) | |
| 1941 | “—And He Built a Crooked House” | ss | Astounding (Feb) The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag (1959) | |
| 1941 | Logic of Empire | na | Astounding (Mar) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) | |
| 1941 | Beyond Doubt | ss | Astonishing (Apr) Off the Main Sequence (2005) | |
| 1941 | They | ss | Astounding (Apr) The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag (1959) | |
| 1941 | Solution Unsatisfactory | nt | Astounding (May) The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein (1966) | |
| 1941 | Universe | nt | Astounding (May) Orphans in the Sky (1963) | |
| 1941 | “—We Also Walk Dogs” | nt | Astounding (Jul) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) | |
| 1941 | Methuselah’s Children | n | Astounding (Jul,Aug,Sep) Gnome Press 1958 | |
| 1941 | Elsewhen | nt | Astounding (Sep) Assignment in Eternity (1953) | |
| 1941 | By His Bootstraps | na | Astounding (Oct) The Menace From Earth (1959) | |
| 1941 | Common Sense | na | Astounding (Oct) Orphans in the Sky (1963) | |
| 1941 | Lost Legacy | na | Super Science Stories (Nov) Assignment in Eternity (1953) | |
| 1942 | “My Object All Sublime” | ss | Future (Feb) | |
| 1942 | Goldfish Bowl | nt | Astounding (Mar) The Menace From Earth (1959) | |
| 1942 | Pied Piper | ss | Astonishing (Mar) | |
| 1942 | Waldo | na | Astounding (Aug) Waldo and Magic, Inc. (1950) | |
| 1942 | The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag | na | Unknown Worlds (Oct) The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag (1959) | |
| 1947 | Back of the Moon | ss | The Elks Magazine (Jan) | |
| 1947 | The Green Hills of Earth | ss | Saturday Evening Post (Feb 8) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) | |
| 1947 | Space Jockey | ss | Saturday Evening Post (Apr 26) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) | |
| 1947 | Columbus Was a Dope | ss | Startling Stories (May) The Menace From Earth (1959) | |
| 1947 | They Do It with Mirrors | ss | Popular Dective (May) Expanded Universe (1980) | |
| 1947 | “It’s Great to Be Back!” | ss | Saturday Evening Post (Jul 26) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) | |
| 1947 | Jerry Was a Man | nt | Thrilling Wonder Stories (Oct) Assignment in Eternity (1953) | |
| 1947 | Rocket Ship Galilio | n | Charles Scribner’s Sons | |
| 1947 | Water is for Washing | ss | Argosy (Nov) The Menace From Earth (1959) | |
| 1948 | The Black Pits of Luna | ss | Saturday Evening Post (Jan 10) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) | |
| 1948 | Gentlemen, Be Seated! | ss | Argosy (May) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) | |
| 1948 | Ordeal in Space | ss | Town & Country (May) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) | |
| 1948 | Space Cadet | n | Charles Scribner’s Sons | |
| 1949 | Our Fair City | ss | Weird Tales (Jan) The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag (1959) | |
| 1949 | Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon | nt | Boy’s Life (Apr,May) Expanded Universe (1980) | |
| 1949 | Gulf | na | Astounding (Nov) Assignment in Eternity (1953) | |
| 1949 | Delilah and the Space-Rigger | ss | Blue Book (Dec) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) | |
| 1949 | Red Planet | n | Charles Scribner’s Sons | |
| 1949 | The Long Watch | ss | American Legion Magazine (Dec) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) | |
| 1950 | Farmer in the Sky | n | Boys’ Life (Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov) Charles Scribner’s Sons | |
| 1950 | The Man Who Sold the Moon | na | The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950) | |
| 1950 | Destination Moon | nt | Requiem (1992) | |
| 1951 | Between Planets | n | The Blue Book Magazine (Sep,Oct) Charles Scriber’s Sons | |
| 1951 | The Puppet Masters | n | Galaxy (Sep,Oct,Nov) Doubleday | |
| 1952 | The Rolling Stones | n | Boys’ Life (Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec) Charles Scriber’s Sons | |
| 1952 | The Year of the Jackpot | nt | Galaxy (Mar) The Menace From Earth (1959) | |
| 1953 | Project Nightmare | nt | Amazing Stories (Apr-May) The Menace From Earth (1959) | |
| 1953 | Sky Lift | ss | Imagination (Nov) The Menace From Earth (1959) | |
| 1953 | Starman Jones | n | Charles Scribner’s Sons | |
| 1954 | The Star Beast | n | F&SF (May,Jun,Jul) Charles Scribner’s Sons | |
| 1955 | Tunnel in the Sky | n | Charles Scribner’s Sons | |
| 1956 | Double Star | n | Astounding (Feb,Mar,Apr) Doubleday | |
| 1956 | Time for the Stars | n | Charles Scribner’s Sons | |
| 1956 | The Door Into Summer | n | F&SF (Oct,Nov,Dec) Doubleday (1957) | |
| 1957 | Citizen of the Galaxy | n | Astounding (Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec) Charles Scribner’s Sons | |
| 1957 | The Menace From Earth | nt | F&SF (Aug) The Menace From Earth (1959) | |
| 1957 | The Man Who Traveled in Elephants | ss | Saturn (Oct) The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag (1959) | |
| 1958 | Have Space Suit – Will Travel | n | F&SF (Aug,Sep,Oct) Charles Scribner’s Sons | |
| 1958 | Tenderfoot in Space | nt | Boys’ Life (May,Jun,Jul) Requiem (1992) | |
| 1959 | “All You Zombies …” | ss | F&SF (Mar) The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag (1959) | |
| 1959 | Starship Troopers | n | F&SF (Oct,Nov) G. P. Putnam’s | |
| 1961 | Stranger in a Strange Land | n | G. P. Putnam’s | |
| 1962 | Searchlight | ss | Scientific American (Aug) The Past Through Tomorrow (1967) | |
| 1962-63 | Podkayne of Mars | n | If (Nov62,Jan63) G. P. Putnam’s (1963) | |
| 1964 | Farnham’s Freehold | n | If (Aug,Oct) G. P. Putnam’s | |
| 1965-66 | The Moon is a Harsh Mistress | n | If (Dec 1965, Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr 1966) G. P. Putnam’s | |
| 1966 | Free Men | nt | The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein (1966) Expanded Universe (1980) | |
| 1970 | I Will Fear No Evil | n | Galaxy (Jul,Aug-Sep,Oct-Nov,Dec) G. P. Putnam’s | |
| 1973 | Time Enough for Love | n | G. P. Putnam Sons | |
| 1978 | The Notebooks of Lazarus Long | cb | G. P. Putnam’s Sons | |
| 1979 | The Number of the Beast The Pursuit of the Pankera (draft) | n | Omni (Oct,Nov) Fawcett Columbine (1980) CAEZIK SF & Fantasy (2020) | |
| 1980 | A Bathroom of Her Own | ss | Expanded Universe | |
| 1980 | Cliff and the Calories | ss | Expanded Universe | |
| 1980 | On the Slopes of Vesuvius | ss | Expanded Universe | |
| 1982 | Friday | n | Holt, Rinehart and Winston | |
| 1984 | Job: A Comedy of Justic | n | Del Rey/Ballantine | |
| 1985 | The Cat Who Walks Through Walls | n | G. P. Putnam’s | |
| 1987 | To Sail Beyond the Sunset | n | Ace/Putnam | |
| 1992 | The Bulletin Board | ss | Requiem | |
| 1992 | Poor Daddy | ss | Requiem |
Classics of Science Fiction 
Many thanks for this, Jim! I agree about The Past Through Tomorrow. It’s good to have all those stories in one book. I also like the intro by Damon Knight.
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Thanks, this is a valuable public service.
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You’re welcome.
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Very nice. You might want to check, for 1940-41 in Astounding, the editors or readers responses and ratings for these, to see the trajectory of Heinlein’s reputation and popularity.
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I’ve started doing that in my reviews of the short stories but I might do a whole blog about it too.
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Thanks. This is fun and useful. I don’t think I have read any of his short fiction after 1959, and I need to read those. I am curious as to whether the quality of his post 1959 short fiction is better than many of his novels from post 1959.
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My opinion is Heinlein peaked in 1958-59 and declined after that.
I have this unsubstantiated theory that after the success of Atlas Shrugged that Heinlein wanted to be another Ayn Rand and shifted his writing to focus mainly on the philosophical/political starting with Stranger in a Strange Land.
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I also suspect that Heinlein’s switch to mostly novels and away from short fiction was a factor. I do think he was a more effective writer at shorter fiction lengths, perhaps due to multiple reasons. Maybe more editorial oversight and less following his own foibles into BS?
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Heinlein got into longer works fairly quickly, but he wrote a lot of short stories in the 1940s, and many in the 1950s.
I believe Heinlein was often helped significantly by a good editor. John W. Campbell at Astounding, Alice Dalgliesh at Scribner’s for his juveniles. Even the editors at Doubleday and Putnam’s, but I don’t know their names. At Putnam’s, he got a lot more free reign, and he took off. They made him cut a lot for Stranger in a Strange Land. Even Heinlein admitted the work was tighter. But they go with the original edition now.
I believe his best writing comes from the 1950s.
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I’ve read that Heinlein eventually broke with John W. Campbell because of his irritation with Heinlein’s habit of sending long, friendly and encouraging, but often disputatious letters to his writers regarding their stories, whether he was rejecting them or asking for revisions. Some writers such as Asimov welcomed such letters–for them it almost a course on how to write. However, I gather that Heinlein simply found them overbearing. (I think there’s background about this on the website of the Heinlein Society.)
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