Starship Troopers

I was a little hesitant when I picked this book up to read as I have already seen the movie probably a dozen times.  I just figured the book would be about a war with bugs and Mobile Infantry (MI) doing M.I. things.  Who wants to read a novelization of Starship Troopers anyways?  And while reading this book I became aware that this book was fundamentally different than the movie.  The themes of fascism were toned down in the movie.  Johnnie Rico was not a South American like in the movie, but a Filipino, which completely surprised me when he started talking Tagalog.

The main difference is that much of the book takes place in boot camp, Officer Training, and classrooms.  This is Heinlein using every opportunity to detail his military utopia and his ideas on society.  This arguments are well made, especially as Heinlein himself was destined to be a career Navy when illness discharged him from his chosen vocation.  This can all be gathered from Wikipedia's entry on Starship Troopers.

I must admit that I loved this book as SF.  It created a plausible future, albeit utopian, and the military seemed realistic enough.  Also, I really want a M.I. exoskeleton battle suit.