 He was a sixth-generation German-American; a family tradition had it that Heinleins fought in every American war, starting with the War of Independence.He spent his childhood in Kansas City, Missouri.The outlook and values of this time and place (in his own words, "The Bible Belt") had a definite influence on his fiction, especially in his later works, as he drew heavily upon his childhood in establishing the setting and cultural atmosphere in works like "Time Enough for Love" and "To Sail Beyond the Sunset".