Editing Robert A. Heinlein (section)

===Later life and death===
Beginning in 1970, Heinlein had a series of health crises, broken by strenuous periods of activity in his hobby of [[stonemasonry]]: in a private correspondence, he referred to that as his "usual and favorite occupation between books".<ref>Virginia Heinlein to Michael A. Banks, 1988</ref> The decade began with a life-threatening attack of [[peritonitis]], recovery from which required more than two years, and treatment of which required multiple transfusions of Heinlein's [[Human blood group systems|rare blood type, A2 negative]].<!-- *not* "AB negative"-->{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} As soon as he was well enough to write again, he began work on ''[[Time Enough for Love]]'' (1973), which introduced many of the themes found in his later fiction.

In the mid-1970s, Heinlein wrote two articles for the ''[[Britannica]] Compton Yearbook''.<ref>On Paul Dirac and antimatter, and on blood chemistry. A version of the former, titled ''Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You'', was published in the anthology ''[[Expanded Universe (Heinlein)|Expanded Universe]]'', and it demonstrates both Heinlein's skill as a popularizer and his lack of depth in physics. An afterword gives a normalization equation and presents it, incorrectly, as being the [[Dirac equation]].</ref> He and Ginny crisscrossed the country helping to reorganize [[blood donation]] in the United States in an effort to assist the system which had saved his life.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} At science fiction conventions to receive his autograph, fans would be asked to co-sign with Heinlein a beautifully embellished pledge form he supplied stating that the recipient agrees that they will [[Blood donation|donate blood]]. He was the guest of honor at the Worldcon in 1976 for the third time at [[34th World Science Fiction Convention|MidAmeriCon]] in [[Kansas City, Missouri]]. At that Worldcon, Heinlein hosted a blood drive and donors' reception to thank all those who had helped save lives.

Beginning in 1977, and including an episode while vacationing in [[Tahiti]] in early 1978, he had episodes of reversible neurologic dysfunction due to [[transient ischemic attack]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heinleinsociety.org/2013/02/faq-frequently-asked-questions-about-robert-a-heinlein-the-person-2/|title=FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about Robert A. Heinlein, the person. |work=The Heinlein Society |access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-date=February 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213124001/http://www.heinleinsociety.org/2013/02/faq-frequently-asked-questions-about-robert-a-heinlein-the-person-2/|url-status=live}}</ref> Over the next few months, he became more and more exhausted, and his health again began to decline. The problem was determined to be [[Carotid artery stenosis|a blocked carotid artery]], and he had one of the earliest known carotid bypass operations to correct it.

In 1980, Robert Heinlein was a member of the [[Citizen's Advisory Council on National Space Policy]], chaired by [[Jerry Pournelle]], which met at the home of SF writer [[Larry Niven]] to write space policy papers for the incoming [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration]]. Members included such aerospace industry leaders as former astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]], General [[Daniel O. Graham]], [[Aerospace engineering|aerospace engineer]] [[Maxwell Hunter|Max Hunter]] and [[North American Rockwell]] VP for Space Shuttle development George Merrick. Policy recommendations from the Council included ballistic missile defense concepts which were later transformed into what was called the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]]. Heinlein assisted with Council contribution to the Reagan SDI spring 1983 speech. Asked to appear before a [[Joint Committee of the United States Congress]] that year, he testified on his belief that [[Government spin-off|spin-offs]] from [[space technology]] were benefiting the infirm and the elderly.

Heinlein's surgical treatment re-energized him, and he wrote five novels from 1980 until he died in his sleep from [[emphysema]] and [[heart failure]] on May 8, 1988.

In 1995, [[Spider Robinson]] wrote the novel ''[[Variable Star]]'' based on an outline and notes created by Heinlein.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Society |first1=National Space |title=Book Review: Variable Star - National Space Society |url=https://space.nss.org/book-review-variable-star/ |date=October 25, 2006}}</ref> Heinlein's posthumously published nonfiction includes a selection of correspondence and notes edited into a somewhat autobiographical examination of his career, published in 1989 under the title ''[[Grumbles from the Grave]]'' by his wife, Virginia; his book on practical politics written in 1946 and published as ''[[Take Back Your Government]]'' in 1992; and a travelogue of their first around-the-world tour in 1954, ''[[Tramp Royale]]''. The novel ''Podkayne of Mars,'' which had been edited against Heinlein's wishes in their original release, was reissued with the original ending. ''Stranger In a Strange Land'' was originally published in a shorter form, but both the long and short versions are now simultaneously available in print.

Heinlein's archive is housed by the Special Collections department of [[McHenry Library]] at the [[University of California at Santa Cruz]]. The collection includes manuscript drafts, correspondence, photographs and artifacts. A substantial portion of the archive has been digitized and it is available online through the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Archives.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Heinlein Archives |url=https://www.heinleinarchive.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207002700/http://www.heinleinarchives.net/upload/index.php |archive-date=December 7, 2008 |access-date=October 21, 2008 |publisher=The Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Archives}}</ref>