Robert A HeinleinWhy?
Before Heinlein, science fiction was largely confined to trashy pulp adventures. Thrilling stuff, a guilty pleasure, at best. He was an absolutely key figure in the genre's maturation into a serious, socially and politically relevent literary form, and equally instrumental in the development of the 'hard' science fiction subgenre, characterised by rigorous scientific detail.
An engineer himself, he took great pains researching the science in his fiction. No other individual is so consistently and enthusiastically credited with inspiring the careers of his peers, and generations of authors to follow. When the Science Fiction Writers of America created their Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement - Heinlein was the inaugural winner. Lastly, his novel Stranger in a Strange Land became the handbook of the world-changing countercultural and sexual revolution of the late '60s. For all of these reasons and more, Heinlein sits proudly at our number one spot.
Required reading:
Starship Troopers (1959)
Stranger in a Strange Land (1961)
