Title: By His Bootstraps

Title: By His Bootstraps Title Record # 46440
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Date: 1941-10-00
Type: SHORTFICTION
Length: novella
Webpages: Wikipedia-EN
Language: English

Note: This story was listed as a nomination for the 1941 Retro Hugo Award. It did not have sufficient votes to be a finalist. If it had, it would have been disqualified for being published in 1941.

Synopsis: Bob Wilson, while working on his thesis, is visited by "Joe" who appears in his room via a Time Gate. Joe is insistent that Bob go through the Time Gate, and when he refuses, Joe helps him through the Gate himself. When he awakens, he finds himself with Diktor, at least 20,000 years in the future.

User Rating: 8.38 (8 votes) Including variants and translations: 8.45 (11 votes) Your vote: Not cast VOTE
Current Tags: time travel (1), paradox (1), contemporary (1), time loop (1), music (1), alcohol (1), slavery (1), alien artifacts (1), NESFA Core Reading List (1), distant future (1), empathy (1) Add Tags

Other Titles

Variant Titles

Translations

Year	Title
1941	By His Bootstraps [as by Anson MacDonald]
1941	The Time Gate

Year	Language	Title
1962^ⓘTranslated by Peter Naujack. First published 1962 by Diogenes in the anthology Roboter, edited by Peter Naujack.	German	Im Kreis
1964^ⓘTranslated by J. M. H. Krah	Dutch	De tijdpoort [as by Robert Heinlein]
1964^ⓘTranslated by Fernando M. Sesén	Spanish	La puerta del tiempo
1965^ⓘTranslated by Gian Luigi Gonano	Italian	Un gran bel futuro
1974^ⓘTranslated by Warner Flamen	Dutch	Aan zijn veters omhoog [as by Robert Heinlein]
1977^ⓘTranslated by Ester Delamare Tate.	Portuguese	Pelos Cordões de Suas Botas
1978^ⓘTranslated by Janko Paravić	Croatian	Ja, mene, meni...
1981^ⓘTranslated by Jean-Pierre Pugi	French	Un self made man [as by Robert Heinlein]
1981^ⓘTranslated by Warner Flamen	Dutch	Aan zijn veters omhoog
1982	Swedish	Lyft dig i håret!

Awards

Place	Year and Award	Category
Nominations Below Cutoff	2016 Retro Hugo	Best Novella

Publications

Not displaying variants or translations • Display all variants and translations • Do not display translations

Title	Date	Author/Editor	Publisher/Pub. Series	ISBN/Catalog ID	Price	Pages	Format	Type	Cover Artist
The Giant Anthology of Science Fiction: 10 Complete Short Novels	1954-05-00	ed. Oscar J. Friend, Leo Margulies	Merlin Press		$3.95^?$: US dollar	xii+ 580	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth
The Menace from Earth	1959-00-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Ambassador		C$3.95^?C$: Canadian dollar	255	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	coll
The Menace from Earth	1959-11-25	Robert A. Heinlein	Gnome Press		$3.50^?$: US dollar	255	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	coll
The Menace from Earth	1962-04-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library	D2105	$0.50^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
Spectrum	1963-03-00	ed. Kingsley Amis, Robert Conquest	Berkley Medallion	F733	$0.50^?$: US dollar	190	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth	Richard Powers
Spectrum I	1964-00-00	ed. Kingsley Amis, Robert Conquest	Pan Books	M61	5/-^?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling. Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g. 3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters of a shilling).	317	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth
Spectrum I	1964-00-00	ed. Kingsley Amis, Robert Conquest	Pan Books	M61	5/-^?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling. Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g. 3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters of a shilling).	317	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth
The Menace from Earth	1964-10-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library	D2105	$0.50^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
The Menace from Earth	1964-10-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library of Canada	D2105	C$0.50^?C$: Canadian dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
The Menace from Earth	1966-00-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Dennis Dobson (Dobson Science Fiction)		21/-^?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling. Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g. 3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters of a shilling).	255	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	coll
The Menace from Earth	1968-00-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Corgi	0-552-07860-3	3/6^?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling. Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g. 3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters of a shilling).	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Josh Kirby
The Menace from Earth	1970-07-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library of Canada	T4306	C$0.75^?C$: Canadian dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Gene Szafran
Spectrum I	1971-00-00	ed. Kingsley Amis, Robert Conquest	Pan Books	0-330-02711-5	£0.30^?£: UK pound	317	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth
The Menace from Earth	1971-00-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library	T4306	$0.75^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Gene Szafran
The Menace from Earth	1973-10-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Corgi Books / Transworld Publishers (Corgi SF Collector's Library)	0-552-09334-3	£^?£: UK pound	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
The Menace from Earth	1975-06-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library	Y6383	$1.25^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Gene Szafran
The Menace from Earth	1975-06-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library	Y6383	$1.25^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Gene Szafran
Classic Science Fiction: The First Golden Age	1978-10-00	ed. Terry Carr	Harper & Row	0-06-010634-4	$14.95^?$: US dollar	viii+ 445	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth	Irving Freeman
Classic Science Fiction: The First Golden Age	1979-00-00	ed. Terry Carr	BCA - Book Club Associates	CN6459		445	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth
Classic Science Fiction: The First Golden Age	1979-00-00	ed. Terry Carr	Robson Books	0-86051-070-0	£5.95^?£: UK pound	445	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth	Harold King
The Menace from Earth	1979-00-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library	0-451-08768-2	$1.75^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Vincent Di Fate
The Menace from Earth	1979-00-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library of Canada	0-451-08768-2	C$1.95^?C$: Canadian dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Vincent Di Fate
The Menace from Earth	1979-07-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet	0-451-08768-2	$1.75^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Vincent Di Fate
The Menace from Earth	1980-00-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Corgi Books / Transworld Publishers	0-552-11332-8	£0.95^?£: UK pound	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Peter Jones
The Arbor House Treasury of Great Science Fiction Short Novels	1980-11-00	ed. Martin H. Greenberg, Robert Silverberg	Priam Books / Arbor House	0-87795-295-7	$9.95^?$: US dollar	x+ 768	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	anth
The Arbor House Treasury of Great Science Fiction Short Novels	1980-12-00	ed. Martin H. Greenberg, Robert Silverberg	Arbor House	0-87795-295-7	$19.95^?$: US dollar	x+ 768	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth	Antler & Baldwin, Inc.
The Arbor House Treasury of Great Science Fiction Short Novels	1981-05-00	ed. Martin H. Greenberg, Robert Silverberg	Arbor House / SFBC	5754	$6.98^?$: US dollar	viii+ 753	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth	Antler & Baldwin, Inc.
The Menace from Earth	1983-00-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Corgi	0-552-09334-3	£1.75^?£: UK pound	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
The Menace from Earth	1987-05-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Baen Books (Baen Science Fiction Books)	0-671-65640-6	C$4.50^?C$: Canadian dollar	271	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	John Melo
The Menace from Earth	1987-05-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Baen Books	0-671-65640-6	$3.50^?$: US dollar	271	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	John Melo
Worlds Imagined	1989-04-00	ed. Martin H. Greenberg, Robert Silverberg	Avenel Books	0-517-68029-7	$8.98^?$: US dollar	x+ 704	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth
The Menace from Earth	1999-02-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Baen Books	0-671-57802-2	$6.99^?$: US dollar	271	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
The Menace from Earth	1999-06-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Baen Books	0-671-72088-0	$6.99^?$: US dollar	271	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
The Menace from Earth	1999-12-15	Robert A. Heinlein	Blackstone Audio				digital audio download^?Digital recording in any format that is downloaded directly from the Internet. This category includes podcasts.	coll	Vincent Di Fate
Off the Main Sequence: The Other Science Fiction Stories of Robert A. Heinlein	2005-10-00	Robert A. Heinlein	Science Fiction Book Club	1-58288-184-7 / 1196119	$15.99^?$: US dollar	xxiv+ 738	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	coll	Bruce Jensen
Creating a Genre	2010-11-00	Robert A. Heinlein	The Virginia Edition (The Virginia Edition #32)	978-1-897350-38-6		v+ 424	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	coll
The Menace from Earth	date unknown	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet	0-451-09870-6	$2.25^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Vincent Di Fate
The Menace from Earth	date unknown	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet	0-451-12742-0	$2.50^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Vincent Di Fate
The Menace from Earth	date unknown	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library	Y6383	$1.25^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Gene Szafran
The Menace from Earth	date unknown	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library	Y6383	$1.25^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Gene Szafran
The Menace from Earth	date unknown	Robert A. Heinlein	Signet / New American Library	0-451-04306-5 / T4306	$0.75^?$: US dollar	189	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Gene Szafran

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Reviews

Review by James Gleick (2016) in Time Travel: A History , reprinted in:
Time Travel: A History (2016)
Time Travel: A History (2016)
Time Travel: A History (2017)
Time Travel: A History (2017)
Review by Robert Silverberg (2022) in Asimov's Science Fiction, March-April 2022