Was Starship Troopers a good book? The movie doesn't count, that was terrible. And do you agree/disagree with Heinlein's ideas? Thoughts?

To my mind, this was his transition book. He had written lots of books for young adults/teenagers and was about to move on to adult literature. This is somewhere in between.

When I read this book as a teenager, I was somewhat disappointed. Other Heinlein books I had read featured a coherent story line. This book had a lot of events, but they didn't really add up to complete narrative and the novel was slowed down by some preaching. Still, the events were entertaining and it warranted a reread or two when I was older.

It was a book that strongly advocated a need for a strong military. It was well argued, but a bit of a cheat in that he set up the antagonists as an alien race that could not possibly be dealt with via diplomacy. I am basically a pacifist, but can see the need for a strong defense. We, as human beings, though, need to learn to temper our ability/desire to commit violence with the knowledge that there are some problems that can be solved without using it. Heinlein seemed to advocate the idea that violence is necessary to solve pretty much any problem.

The book was the first time I was presented with the idea that you must first serve your country before voting. Since it wasn't necessary that one join the military, I found this to be a reasonable idea.

So, while it wasn't his best book, it was better than most science fiction that came out in that era. Heinlein was an author that tried to make the reader think while being entertained. That's always a good thing.

Starship Troopers was written with teenage readers in mind. I read it in high school and though it was pretty good but then just about anything Heinlein wrote was good. Some really make you think. I am not sure I agree with all of his ideas but they still make you think. That is a good thing for any writer to do. I still have some of this books in my library.