"Solution Unsatisfactory" tells of an alternate ending to World War II where the US develops an intensely radioactive dust with selective half-life rather than the atomic bomb; its use on Germany and its parallel discovery by the Soviet Union bring the world into a Cold War many times worse than what the world truly experienced. In short, the balance of terror doctrine was and will always be a "solution unsatisfactory."
"PRAVDA Means TRUTH" is a short nonfiction piece on the dangers of a state-run media and its influence on the lives of citizens, based on true-life experiences Heinlein and his wife had while traveling to Russia at the same time Francis Gary Powers' U2 was brought down. Similarly, "Inside Intourist" tells of the Heinlein's experiences with the Soviet tourism agency (through which all travel had to be arranged). Contrary to some reviewers' comments, Heinlein never condescends upon the people of Russia and its former republics; he merely explains the dangers the people face from their oppressive government. He in fact often discusses how nicely the actual people of Russia treated him and his wife on their trip.
Many other stories and nonfiction pieces (some dated by their survivalist Cold War era themes) are included; another of interest is "No Bands Playing, No Flags Flying," which tells the slightly fictionalized tale of courage and TB treatments (which Heinlein himself underwent) in the pre-WW2 Navy. His survivalist pieces may seem dated or extremist today, yet for the cold war climate (and today's constant threat of terrorism), the message is still clear: those who are ready will survive catastrophes, and those who aren't may very well not.
Give this Heinlein anthology a chance; for those already versed in Heinlein's other works, Expanded Universe will offer a fresh look into the mind of one of science fiction's Grand Masters.
The pre-eminent concern in "Expanded Universe" is the threat of nuclear war. Heinlein, as anyone familiar with his writings will know, wrote firmly out of the Cold War tradition. "Solution Unsatisfactory" is the best example of this kind of thinking in this volume. Personally, I'd like to interject, I see absolutely no correlation whatsoever between the end of the Cold War and any putative decrease in the threat to mankind posed by nuclear weapons. I, for one, couldn't care less whether the dude aiming MIRV missiles at my kitchen speaks Russian, Arabic, Chinese, or, heck, even Navajo -- the point is that armed conflict will always exist, and now that nuclear weapons exist too, the clock is frankly ticking away the last seconds/hours/days/years/decades (decades? Let's hope so...) on mankind's time remaining on Earth.
For anyone who is genuinely disturbed by Heinlein's ideas, I want to make a few recommendations. Try to find a copy of "Nuclear Shelterist," by Walton McCarthy. It's out of print right now, but it's obviously worth trying to track down. Ask your friendly local librarian for help in finding it. Also -- if you can locate a copy of the British movie "Threads," you should see it. It's extremely frightening and graphic -- do NOT watch it with your kids in the house. I'm very serious about that. That said, it is an absolutely uncompromising overview of the currently accepted, likely aftermath of a nuclear war, extrapolated over a period of thirteen years after the war happens. It's horrifying enough that it might prompt you to get involved in some way. You might have to search a little to find the video -- not all video stores carry it. However, fifteen minutes of calling all the video stores in the yellow pages will probably be enough to track it down. Finally, I'd like to recommend "Hydroponic Home Food Gardens," by Howard Resh. If we ever have a nuclear war, indoor hydroponic gardens will be just about the only way of growing food successfully, and people who have them will have a VASTLY higher chance of surviving the worldwide economic chaos and food shortages which will definitely follow such a war. Whether you would actually be glad you survived is, of course, another question.
Well, I just wanted to make a little contribution, online, to the kind of concerns that Heinlein wrote about in "Expanded Universe." I like to think that he would have approved of my passing on those tips... Anyway, this book is fantastic. Buy it, please, and get copies for your friends. People need to be more aware of this stuff. I give this book seven hundred billion thumbs up.