Q 01/05

Which two authors are grouped with Robert A. Heinlein as the 'Big Three' of English-language science fiction?

A) H. G. Wells and Jules Verne

B) Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke

C) Ray Bradbury and Frank Herbert

D) Philip K. Dick and Ursula K. Le Guin

Answer · why

B) Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke

Asimov said the SF world accepted Heinlein as the best living science fiction writer from his very first story onward.

Q 02/05

What nickname is Robert A. Heinlein often given?

A) The dean of science fiction writers

B) The father of the space opera

C) The last of the pulp kings

D) The prophet of the atomic age

Answer · why

A) The dean of science fiction writers

He was among the first to insist on scientific accuracy in fiction and so pioneered hard science fiction.

Q 03/05

In which Missouri town was Robert A. Heinlein born on July 7, 1907?

A) Independence

B) Joplin

C) Butler

D) Hannibal

Answer · why

C) Butler

He was the third of seven children and grew up in Kansas City; the 1910 return of Halley's Comet sparked his lifelong interest in astronomy.

Q 04/05

How many of Senator Reed's Naval Academy recommendation letters were for Heinlein?

A) All 100 he got

B) 20 of the 100 he got

C) 5 of the 100 he got

D) 50 of the 100 he got

Answer · why

D) 50 of the 100 he got

Heinlein had been kept out at first because his brother Rex was already at Annapolis; the Pendergast machine helped too.

Q 05/05

Aboard which new aircraft carrier did Heinlein serve in radio communications in 1931?

A) USS Saratoga

B) USS Yorktown

C) USS Lexington

D) USS Enterprise

Answer · why

C) USS Lexington

Its captain, Ernest J. King, later commanded the whole US Fleet in World War II.