“Citizen of the Galaxy” has always been one of my favorite Heinlein novels, and I’ve always wondered as to the origin of the name of the starship who’s occupants adopted Thorby. I came across this nice article that discusses that very subject:
However, sisu is not bravery, nor strength. It is distinguished from courage, especially when talking about the military. Sisu is an ability to finish the task and get things done, as defined by Roman Schatz in his book From Finland with Love (2005), and decisiveness. Usually sisu means the will and decisiveness to get things done against impossible odds, or to succeed when given the Chinaman’s chance.
In Robert Heinlein’s “juvenile” novel, “Citizen of the Galaxy”, the protagonist was adopted by the captain of an interstellar trading ship which was named, “Sisu”. This reflected Heinlein’s admiration of the Finnish stand against the Soviets, Heinlein himself being ardently anti-communist. The interstellar trading “family” of which this ship was but a part, is described as being fiercely proud and independent, preferring battle and death to being taken prisoner by raiding pirates.
