Joe and his wife Gay talk about his timeless classic The Forever War, a book that is in the running for the best military sci-fi novel of all time (and is almost definitely the best anti-war sci-fi story)
We spoke with Joe and Gay about the experience of writing The Forever War, what it felt like receiving such prestigious awards so early in his career, how sci-fi has changed over time; and, of course, about what they are currently reading and loving.
Watch or listen to the interview:
Joe and Gay's book recommendations:
Their short-listed favorites from Joe's other work:
- Camouflage (Nebula winner in 2005, which we discussed in our second interview with him)
Other sci-fi recommendations:
- Vonnegut
- The Murderbot series – Martha Wells
- Broken Earth trilogy - N.K. Jemisin
- The Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Non sci-fi recommendations:
Joe's Bio: Joe Haldeman was born in Oklahoma in 1943. He grew up across various American states and territories. He currently lives in Gainesville, Fla with his wife, Gay Haldeman.
Drafted in 1967, he served as a combat engineer with the 4th Division (1/22nd Airmobile Bn.) in Vietnam, and was awarded The Purple Heart.
Joe studied astronomy as an undergrad and did graduate work in mathematics and computer science before pivoting to writing and eventually attending the Iowa Writers Workshop for an M.F.A. in Creative Writing in 1975. While he was attending the workshop, he won The Nebula and The Hugo Awards for Best Novel in The Forever War (Pub. 1974, Nebula 1975, Hugo 1976).
He collected numerous awards over his career for his short and long fiction and poetry. Notable works include: Mindbridge (1976), The Hemingway Hoax (1991), Forever Peace (1997), and Camouflage (2005).
Joe is a member of Author’s Guild, Writer’s Guild, Science Fiction Writers of America, National Space Society (Board of Advisors), and the Space Studies Institute. He served as the President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America from 1992-1994.
Gay Haldeman earned her Master's degree in Spanish Literature from the University of Maryland and another in Linguistics, from the University of Iowa. She has taught in the Writing Center at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), specializing in English as a second language. She helped found the Science Fiction League of Iowa Students at the University of Iowa, and has been an integral member of numerous scifi cons.
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