The infinite loop.
A great story by Heinlein about time travel and temporal paradoxes that makes you reflect on your own identity and free will. "By His Bootstraps" is a mind-bending exploration of these themes, perfect for fans of science fiction and stories that make you think. If you enjoy time travel books, this one by Robert A. Heinlein is a must-read.

This is a fascinating story, so much so that it lent its name to a whole paradox and even got a mention in a philosophy article.What's good:* Heinlein's commitment to scientific accuracy and his attention to detail in making everything logical.* The exploration of free will.What's not so good:* Blatant sexism.* The writing style is 100% pulp fiction. I was really slogging through it in places.I read "By His Bootstraps" for a discussion on the science fiction podcast «Худо Не Было». You can liste...

“I’m just BESIDE myself!” “I’ve got myself comin’ and goin’.” “Now, I almost had a heart attack, Lookin’ in my rear-view mirror; I saw myself the next car back, Lookin’ in the rear-view mirror, ‘Bout to have a heart attack.” -from “(Damn this) Traffic Jam,” by James Taylor The person who recommended this long short story (along with Heinlein’s “All You Zombies” [review coming]) said it was gonna “blow your mind.” Well, they were spot on. The story centers around a graduate student in mathematics...

More like 3.5 stars.

P.S. It's funny how I ended up reading "By His Bootstraps" by Robert A. Heinlein just because the Doctor told me to Google something. What can I say? I'm weak. Looking for a quick, thought-provoking sci-fi read? This might be it!

***By His Bootstraps by Robert A. Heinlein***A seriously cool time travel yarn, originally published back in 1941 under the pen name Anson MacDonald.This is another one of those stories that ended up getting folded into a magazine somewhere. I'm a bit hazy on whether I stumbled across it online or as part of a collection. Can’t dig up a link now, so probably the latter. I reckon I'll give "By His Bootstraps" another go if I can track it down again. Definitely worth a read if you're into classic ...

Marty and Doc Brown are under the hood of a DeLorean, shooting the breeze about time travel and Robert A. Heinlein.Marty: So, Doc, what got you hooked on time travel in the first place?Brown: Science Fiction, my boy! Science Fiction, the finest literature there is!Marty: Isn’t that kind of… you know, looked down on?Brown: What?? By who? Marty, science fiction is what makes the world go 'round! It's the fuel, the driving force. It’s the spark, I tell you, like electricity!Marty: Well, like what?B...

Stumbling upon the wiki of Causal Loops by chance led me to read By His Bootstraps by Robert A. Heinlein. Looking back, I have to wonder if it was truly random after all. Maybe my future self found a way to nudge me into reading By His Bootstraps because it's essential for some thought process I haven't even fully formed yet. Maybe time travel portals aren't mechanical like they're shown in movies and books. Maybe they exist only as folds in memory, which is circular, not linear as most people t...

I'd heard whispers about *By His Bootstraps* by Robert A. Heinlein being a sci-fi time travel cornerstone, one of those stories I really should get around to. But what actually kicked me into gear and made me hunt it down was when the Doctor (no, not *that* Doctor) told me to Google the Bootstrap Paradox last fall. https://youtu.be/u4SEDzynMiQ So, if you're looking for a mind-bending time travel story, *By His Bootstraps* is definitely worth a read. It's a proper classic for a reason. Check ou...

Despite its flaws, I mostly enjoyed *By His Bootstraps*, particularly because it distills my personal theory about the essence of time. ツRobert A. Heinlein imagines a practical example of "immovable history" (a term I coined myself), which suggests that a person can't change any past or future events in their life; they can only fulfill the history. The fantasy genre (and others!) often uses this concept through prophecies, while science fiction typically uses time travel to illustrate it. What'...

By His Bootstraps is a bit of an outlier in Robert A. Heinlein's work, mostly because the main character is kind of a weakling and not all that likeable. I reckon that's what happens when you tackle such a bonkers plot.Heinlein played with time travel before, but usually the long-distance kind. When you're hopping ahead two thousand years and hand-waving away any paradoxes, time travel ain't so tough. It just gives you a cool backdrop. By His Bootstraps is his one dip into the close-range stuff,...