Starship Troopers

Rico never planned on joining the military, and certainly not the infantry, but circumstances lead him to enlist in the Terran Federation's Mobile Infantry. As he endures the toughest boot camp in the universe, Rico faces challenges that push him to his physical and mental limits. The stakes are high, with each mission bringing the terrifying possibility of death at the hands of the Arachnids—mankind's most formidable enemy. Heinlein's novel is more than just a tale of war; it is a deeply thoug

I would encourage people to read this book, even if only to disagree with its theme. Many ( not all) low reviews are based on a fundamental disagreement with morals portrayed in the book. I personally thought that exploring such harsh and opposing point of view made me think and evaluate my own ideas. One does not have to agree with something to gain a better understanding of it. The novel presents morality as a science. It proposes that fascism is thee form of government that humanity has evolved to embody. The protagonist, Rico, has a respect for the enemy bugs. He argues that communism is an effective way of life for them, as they evolved to pursue it. This is a stark contrast to the emotional view of mortality as it is used in modern western culture. An important note is that the book isn't really about war. It a first person account of a MI trooper's life. The motivation behind the war is never discussed, as it is not a trooper's job to think about those things.

Starship Troopers was a fun read, and felt very realistic - you can read the author's military service without ever having prior knowledge of it. This works as both an advantage and disadvantage - it often feels like listening to former service member friends of mine trade old war stories with each other: amazing to listen to, but easy to get lost without a frame of reference for the military jargon and hierarchy. Still, this book is one that reads quickly and stands up well to the test of time.