Start reading The Door into Summer on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

 
 
 

Try it free

Sample the beginning of this book for free

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

Don't have a Kindle? Read Kindle books on your smartphone or tablet with the FREE Kindle app
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

The Door into Summer [Kindle Edition]

Robert A. Heinlein
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (182 customer reviews)

Digital List Price: $6.39 What's this?
Kindle Price: $6.39 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet

Whispersync for Voice

Now you can switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible audiobook. Learn more

Add the professional narration of The Door into Summer for a reduced price of $3.49 after you buy this Kindle book.

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $6.39  
Hardcover --  
Paperback --  
Mass Market Paperback --  
Unknown Binding --  
Audible Audio Edition, Unabridged $14.95 or Free with Audible 30-day free trial
Kindle Daily Deals
Kindle Daily Deals
Subscribe to Kindle Delivers: Daily Deals to find out about each day's new book deals. Learn more (U.S. customers only)

Book Description

Brilliant engineer Dan Davis finds himself hoodwinked by his greedy business partners and forced to take the Long Sleep… placing him in suspended animation for 30 years. But his partners never anticipated the existence of time travel, enabling Dan to exact his revenge and alter his own future…

"Not only America's premier writer of speculative fiction, but the greatest writer of such fiction in the world."
- Stephen King

"There is no other writer whose work has exhilarated me as often and to such an extent as Heinlein."
- Dean Koontz

"One of the most influential writers in American Literature."
- The New York Times Book Review

"Heinlein… has the ability to see technologies just around the bend. That, combined with his outstanding skill as a writer and engineer-inventor, produces books that are often years ahead of their time."
- The Philadelphia Inquirer

"One of the grand masters of science fiction."
- The Wall Street Journal

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

After Heinlein passed away, Del Rey published a book called Grumbles from the Grave, and I had the great pleasure of working with Virginia Heinlein on gathering photos and other material to accompany the letters and text that made up the book. While at her house, I was introduced to a cat named Pixel.

It must not have been this particular feline that inspired the cat in A Door into Summer, but it certainly could have been, and I re-read the book as soon as I could.

If you haven't read Henlein, you haven't read science fiction, and if you haven't read this, you haven't read Heinlein. It's the quintessential time travel-paradox story. It's exciting, it's fun, and of course, there's the cat.
                                                --Alex Klapwald, Director of Production

From the Inside Flap

"Not only America's premier writer of speculative fiction, but the greatest writer of such fiction in the world. He remains today as a sort of trademark for all that is finest in American imaginative fiction."
--Stephen King

Electronics engineer Dan Davis has finally made the invention of a lifetime: a household robot with extraordinary abilities, destined to dramatically change the landscape of everyday routine. Then, with wild success just within reach, Dan's greedy partner and greedier fiancée trick him into taking the long sleep--suspended animation for thirty years. They never imagine that the future time in which Dan will awaken has mastered time travel, giving him a way to get back to them--and at them . . .

Once again, the author of Stranger in a Strange Land and Starship Troopers displays his genius. The Door in to Summer proves why Robert Heinlein's books have sold more than 50 million copies, winning countless awards, and earning him the title of Grand Master of Science Fiction.

"Heinlein . . . has the ability to see technologies just around the bend. That, combined with his outstanding skill as a writer and engineer-inventor, produces books that are often years ahead of their time."
--Philadelphia Inquirer

"One of the grandmasters of science fiction."
--The Wall Street Journal


Product Details

  • File Size: 394 KB
  • Print Length: 196 pages
  • Publisher: Robert A. Heinlein (May 18, 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0051QNLWW
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,429 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • Would you like to give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
151 of 157 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The best time travel novel ever written November 17, 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback
There have been many science fiction novels written about time travel, but The Door Into Summer is my pick for the greatest among them. It comes remarkably close to conveying the very theory of the subject in layman's terms. I'm not saying Heinlein's arguments are correct, but they darn near make sense. The experiment with the two coins and with the two guinea pigs (just one, actually) is fascinating, and Heinlein's introduction of several paradoxes in the protagonist's actual temporal dislocation lends his science even more believability. Time travel doesn't even enter into the pages of the first half of the novel (not directly, at least), but the whole story is totally engrossing from the very start. Dan is an engineer and a darn good one. His inventions have been designed with the view of easing the housework of women everywhere: Hired Girl cleans floor; Window Willie washes windows, and Flexible Frank, his newest creation, will be able to do just about anything around the house, from changing a diaper to washing dishes. Life seemed to be treating Dan pretty well. Then his fiance and business partner swindle him out of their business, and he decides to take the Long Sleep (cryogenic suspended animation) for thirty years so that he can come back to chastise an ex-fiance who will be thirty years older than he will be. Of course, he won't do it without his best friend Pete, his feisty, ginger ale-loving tomcat and true friend. He sends his remaining shares in the company he created to his partner's young daughter Ricky, his only other friend in the world, trying to make sure that those don't fall into the wrong hands as well. His only mistake is in confronting his traitorous friends one last time.... Read more ›
Was this review helpful to you?
55 of 55 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, charming SF tale September 8, 2003
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I rank this among Heinlein's three absolutely magisterial novels (the other two being _Double Star_ and _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_). Such judgments are notoriously subjective and controversial. But I feel safe in saying that any SF reader will find something to enjoy in this marvelous story.

It's part SF, part fairy tale, and part just plain good storytelling. Engineer/inventor Daniel Boone Davis and his feline companion Petronius the Arbiter are two of Heinlein's best-realized characters; the plot here is well-conceived and evenly, swiftly paced.

In case you haven't read it, I won't spoil it for you. The setup is that Davis has just been rooked by his best friend and his fiancee, and he's out to do something about it. What happens then is the story itself, so I won't tell you; I'll just say that the time-travel aspect is worked out every bit as neatly as in "By His Bootstraps", and the tale is one of Heinlein's most humane ever. I've read it more times than I can count, and there's a bit near the end that _always_ gets me. (You'll know what I mean when you get there.)

Heinlein wrote this at the peak of his talent. If you haven't read it yet, don't miss it.

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
58 of 59 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Time Travel at Its Best September 22, 2003
Format:Mass Market Paperback
At the time he was writing, Heinlein's books were so much better than all the others because he was so much smarter than most other writers. He thought things through first (which many others did too), but then he added an element that many other sf writers didn't (and some STILL don't): humanity.

Dan Davis, an inventor, narrates the story. He's a brilliant inventor and has come up with some pretty amazing gadgets, including Hired Girl, a robot who cleans, sweeps, vacuums, mops, and generally works all day long without supervision. Dan's problems begin mounting when he learns he's been betrayed by his partner. And to add insult to injury, Dan's fiancée is in on the betrayal as well. As if betrayal alone isn't enough, the two conspirators have Dan placed into a 30-year suspended animation. Dan wakes up 30 years later and is focused on one thing: revenge.

Now lots of authors could have taken the above premise and come up with an entertaining story. Heinlein did this and much more. He shows us that change (for individuals and for all humanity) is difficult, but not impossible. The future is full of challenges, but no matter how much technology changes, no matter how much language, currency, and trends change, man's basic instincts and attitudes remain constant.

Heinlein also tackles the implications of time travel better than anyone else from this period. (The book first appeared in 1957.) The problem of time travel is well thought out and logical. (Wish you could say that about every time travel story.) If you haven't read Heinlein, or if all you've read is `Stranger in a Strange Land,' `Starship Troopers,' or `The Moon is a Harsh Mistress' (all great books), treat yourself to a fun, intelligent read from one of the true masters.

Was this review helpful to you?
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best and most up-beat SF novels ever! June 11, 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I read this more than 30 years ago while in Vietnam. It was, at least temporarily, MY OWN 'Door into Summer' and I can't recall how many times I read it during that year as a means of mentally escaping that Southeast Asian toilet. The story is wonderfully written, the characters well defined and the plot never dulls. I've often felt that a movie, exactly like the book, would be a great success. Unfortunately, this'll never happen. If a movie doesn't have exploding bodies and thousands of guns, tanks and aliens to kill, Hollywood won't think it bankable and never make it. Why??!! A good love story can make a successful movie...we've all seen some excellent examples, i.e. Pretty Woman, etc. Today's digital techonology would make the "future" envisioned by Heinlein exciting and, the movie makers can always fall back on a great story. As for this book? Buy it, read it, treasure it. I promise you'll love it and give it to your kids and (as in my case) grandkids.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Sci-fi nut
I love this book, and think RAH is the absolute Master of science fiction. I have read RAH since the seventies and still love his stories.
Published 3 hours ago by Ed
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
Read this in the '60s. It was good then, better now. It's a cover-to-cover read. It is relevant as a love story and a techno tome.
Published 2 days ago by D. Kinney
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Story
I am a fan of Heinlein and this was fairly typical of his work. It was not as amazing as "Stranger in Strange Land", but few books can compare to that story. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Cheryl Leary
4.0 out of 5 stars Heinlein: Door Into Summer
Mid-fifties sci-fi, considered a classic from an all-time master of the art. Probably considered by some to be juvenile, it is not fancy nor does it try to impress with tech... Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Mathis
4.0 out of 5 stars A fast-paced time travel romp!
A fun time-travel story that quickly has you emotionally invested with Dan Davis, the at-first naive protagonist of the story. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Tony Wauchope
4.0 out of 5 stars Good time travel novel
For fans of time travel novels this is a good read.
Few "dry" spots. Keeps the reader involved.
A pretty good "page turner".
Published 2 months ago by Phillip Cook
5.0 out of 5 stars Breath taking in it detail
On of the few authors who has what seems to be a very firm understanding of the theory of time travel.
Published 2 months ago by Windwych
5.0 out of 5 stars great, quick read
I so enjoyed this book and looked forward to getting back to it every night. It's my first Robert A. Heinlein book, will read more. Read more
Published 2 months ago by skygirl
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
Classic Heilein
Dated, sometimes corny, but a perfect sci if tale. Let's face it Heinlein at his worst is still better than most others in the genre.
Published 3 months ago by Joshua
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Classic
I have read this book several times, it never ceases to delight. Heinlein's work is timeless, and becomes more entertaining with the passing of the years.
Published 4 months ago by Harold Tischler
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Book Extras from the Shelfari Community

(What's this?)

To add, correct, or read more Book Extras for The Door into Summer , visit Shelfari, an Amazon.com company.


More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?



Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Customers Who Highlighted This Item Also Highlighted


So You'd Like to...


Create a guide

Look for Similar Items by Category