He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1967 with a BS in Astronomy, and later went on to achieve an MFA in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writer's Workshop in 1975. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he teaches writing. The Forever War is one of his best known non-Trek works, and reflects his personal experiences in the Vietnam War (during which he was awarded a Purple Heart for bravery and was wounded.). Many people have seen the work as a reply to Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. He has been married since 1965.