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The Man Who Folded Himself Paperback – June 10, 2003

by David Gerrold (Author)

902 ratings

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This classic work of science fiction is widely considered to be the ultimate time-travel novel. When Daniel Eakins inherits a time machine, he soon realizes that he has enormous power to shape the course of history. He can foil terrorists, prevent assassinations, or just make some fast money at the racetrack. And if he doesn't like the results of the change, he can simply go back in time and talk himself out of making it! But Dan soon finds that there are limits to his powers and forces beyond his control.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gerrold is such a good writer that he keeps us reading through. . . shifts of time, space and character--right into pre-history."

"Uncanny allegorical force . . . altogether most impressive."

About the Author

David Gerrold is the author of the Hugo and Nebula award–nominated The Man Who Folded Himself and When HARLIE Was One, books that quickly established him in the hard science fiction genre during the 1970s. He also wrote "The Trouble with Tribbles" episode of Star Trek, voted the most popular Star Trek episode of all time, and is the author of the popular Star Wolf, Dingillian, and Chtorr series. He lives in Northridge, CA.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ BenBella Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 10, 2003
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1932100040
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1932100044
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #86,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #245 in Cyberpunk Science Fiction (Books)
- #299 in Science Fiction Short Stories
- #2,041 in Science Fiction Adventures

Customer Reviews:
902 ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this time travel book engaging and well-written, appreciating its unique premise as a classic time paradox story. The book receives positive feedback for its readability, with customers noting it's worth reading multiple times and provides thought-provoking content. The pacing and philosophy receive mixed reactions - while some find it fast-paced, others describe it as tedious, and while some appreciate the philosophical treatise, others criticize the excessive focus on paradoxes.

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Time travel Readability Writing style Pacing Enjoyment Read pace Philosophy

73 customers mention "Time travel"69 positive4 negative

Customers enjoy the book's approach to time travel, describing it as a fascinating exploration of the genre with a thoughtful treatment of its complexities and consequences.

"This is a hard book to review. Very original. Extremely convoluted. Interesting and dizzying. Best of all, it reads like old school scifi" Read more

"...It is a widely acclaimed time-travel novel that was first published in 1973, and it was nominated for the Nebula Award in 1973 and the Hugo Award..." Read more

"Concise writing. Easy reading. Fascinating concepts. This book uses time travel in ways I've never thought of. It's a page-turner...." Read more

"...but with the revisions it still hasn't lost its sharp wit nor mind-boggling concept...." Read more

60 customers mention "Readability"60 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and thought-provoking, noting it's worth reading more than once and giving them much to think about.

"This is a hard book to review. Very original. Extremely convoluted. Interesting and dizzying. Best of all, it reads like old school scifi" Read more

"...includes an author's note at the end, where Gerrold provides more information about his life, and an afterword by Geoffrey Klempner that provides a..." Read more

"...The other theme is the life of Dan. This story is a biography of sorts, covering an entire man's life from birth to death...." Read more

"...There are no chapters breaks. Via gamut of life moments, you go from the opening page all the way to the fulfilling denouement...." Read more

35 customers mention "Writing style"32 positive3 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, finding it engaging and well-thought-out, with one customer noting it reads like old-school science fiction.

"This is a hard book to review. Very original. Extremely convoluted. Interesting and dizzying. Best of all, it reads like old school scifi" Read more

"Yes this is a fascinating book written in exactly the correct register to express the complexity that the author has devised to explain time..." Read more

"Concise writing. Easy reading. Fascinating concepts. This book uses time travel in ways I've never thought of. It's a page-turner...." Read more

"...The plot has to be water-tight, explain the reader's questions, explain away the paradoxes, and bring the reader through a linear book with a non-..." Read more

19 customers mention "Pacing"15 positive4 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, describing it as a philosophical treatise that delves deeply into one's psyche, with one customer noting how it raises interesting moral dilemmas.

"...In the middle of the book there's a well-crafted and brief POV shift that I found to be brilliant. The story has dark undertones...." Read more

"...This leads to a lot of fun, riches, and sorrows...." Read more

"...this story is well trod by now - the story itself feels as real and well crafted as it might even if culture hadn't been steeped in time travel..." Read more

"...It was hard to read for several chapters, and I felt real heartache as the story moved through its second half...." Read more

25 customers mention "Enjoyment"10 positive15 negative

Customers have mixed feelings about the book, with some finding it enjoyable while others describe it as unsatisfying and boring.

"...It's an inferior revision from 2003. Disappointing." Read more

"...Like so many of us, the rain of tribbles on Kirk (it is such a fun episode, it really is)...." Read more

"...If you like Time Travel. This is definately worth your time. It may not be epic, character is not that cool, but its time travel..." Read more

"A favorite from my teenage years. I've thought about it often since then, and finally decided to get it from amazon...." Read more

13 customers mention "Read pace"9 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's pace, with some finding it fast and quick to read, while others describe it as tedious.

"...The Man Who Folded Himself" was quite short, about 115 pages. It picks up quite fast in the sense of explaining Time Travel and the character..." Read more

"The man who F'd himself was a quick read, It's a page turner that finished in 2 sittings...." Read more

"...effect on timestream, but it isn't interesting or informative, it's tedious and annoying...." Read more

"...It is fun and a quick read. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this genre." Read more

10 customers mention "Philosophy"6 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the book's philosophical content, with some appreciating it as a treatise while others find it overly focused on mental masturbation describing paradoxes ad infinitum.

"...(especially in the afterword), and I must say I enjoyed the philosophical implications of being alone in the world with infinite power." Read more

"...halfway through is a perfect metaphor for this book, it's mental masturbation. The writing is trite, disjointed and frankly infantile...." Read more

"...the best time travel book ever from both an entertainment and philosophical standpoint...." Read more

"...It's a little too short and clipped, too list-y, with next to no descriptions of surroundings." Read more

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L. Lopatin
Strange book
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase

This is a hard book to review. Very original. Extremely convoluted. Interesting and dizzying. Best of all, it reads like old school scifi

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Jaime Enrique Babka
Solipsism
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Yes this is a fascinating book written in exactly the correct register to express the complexity that the author has devised to explain time travel.
Yes it was - - and I suppose may once again be, if the current regime has anything to say about it- - breaking new ground in representing the possibilities of human sexual expression.
But midway I no longer was enjoying the ride. The is s an extended essay on solipsism: the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist. When this manifests in a single individual "the self" is THAT self, that person, and there own self-contained world.
I'v never appreciated the solipsists I have met or had to endure.bAnd by mid-book., I wasn't enjoying having to read about Dan-Don-Dianne-etc. I felt more or less like a voyeur peering into their self-world.
Weird that time travel should b the ultimate in solipsism. Its a provocative idea, for sure.

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Mark K. Bilbo
Holds up in a surprising way...
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2016
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
David Gerrold and "The Man Who Folded Himself" were part of starting a life long love of reading for me. Especially of time travel stories (which I just can never get enough of if well done).

Like many, it started with Star Trek. In my defense, when the show first aired, I was five. I didn't see the cheezy special effects or Shatner chewing the scenery. I saw an adventure that was about to begin in reality as I would be about eight years old when I watched our old, rattle trap black and white TV as they beamed an image from the surface of the moon.

Of course I was hooked.

Wasn't much older when I discovered people wrote the stories on ST ("classic" I guess we call it now) and went looking for their books. And guess which scene in Star Trek has been stuck in my head for half a century? Like so many of us, the rain of tribbles on Kirk (it is such a fun episode, it really is). So the first ST writer I went looking for and found was David Gerrold and his very excellent "The Man Who Folded Himself". For someone on the young side of things, it was simply a mind "blowing" experience. I don't think there's an aspect of time travel left untouched. The novel has remained my "yardstick" for measuring all other time travel novels, stories, TV episodes, and movies.

It's been years since I read the book so I decided it was time for a reread. Only to discover there's an entire other level to the book. Time travel is not immortality. Even with access to high tech, future medicine, the protagonist ages. We're never told how old he is and he doesn't even know. His lifespan may be immense by our standards. Yet it is finite.

In the end, he has to choose what is truly important. He seems to have all of time as his playground, his backyard, but he doesn't. Not really. And he has to find meaning. To create meaning out of the chaos of what had once seemed and endless party.

As someone now facing a deadly cancer, I related to the novel in ways you may not. I came to see another angle to "more time" not being "more meaning". Not in and of itself. Not even if you have a time machine...

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7 people found this helpful

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Bibliophage
Inferior revised version
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This is not the edgy, controversial book published in 1973. It's an inferior revision from 2003. Disappointing.

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Clark Hallman
A very thought-provoking time-travel book!
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2012
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
The Man Who Folded Himself, by David Gerrold, has been on my "to read" list for many years. It is a widely acclaimed time-travel novel that was first published in 1973, and it was nominated for the Nebula Award in 1973 and the Hugo Award and the Locus Award in 1974. It was not selected as a best science fiction book by those awards voters. However, it has been widely mentioned as perhaps the best time-travel novel ever written. I believe the accuracy of that suggestion depends upon how one defines "best time-travel novel." For readers who want a story with lots of suspense and excitement, along with an assortment of well-defined diverse characters including an appealing protagonist, and a satisfying ending, this book may not make the grade. However, for readers who want the concept of time-travel and its paradoxes explored in detail within the confines of logic and scientific thought this book should definitely be considered one of the best time-travel novels ever written. Daniel Eakins inherits a "time belt" from his deceased uncle, who has been supporting him. In addition, Daniel discovers that there is no longer enough money left from his uncle's estate to support him. Of course, Daniel quickly discovers how to use the time belt to make as much money as he could ever want. In addition, he also uses it to make nonlinear time visits throughout history and into the future completely at his whim, without concerns about temporal paradoxes. Over time, he (and the reader) learns that he does not move though time Instead each "trip" creates and new timestream, including a new Daniel Eakins that lives on within the new timestream. When a Daniel Eakins chooses to make a temporal jump he continues living in the new time stream, while his previous Daniel Eakins continues living in the previous timestream. As each time traveler continues to create new timestreams, and additional David Eakins, they eventually they learn how to meet up with each other and things get complicated. In addition, all time travelers continue to age at a normal rate no matter how often, or in which direction (past or future), they travel and eventually they die. It's a complex storyline and more than a little counterintuitive, but I believe the separated timestreams provides a satisfying way to cope with possible paradoxes. Of course, this book also has a continuing story about the human experiences, interactions, and relationships between the many Daniel Eakins characters. I found this short book to be a very interesting read and I certainly recommend it to anyone who likes time-travel books. This BenBella (2003) eBook, Kindle edition, includes an introduction by Robert J. Sawyer, which presents information about David Gerrold and his career. It also includes an author's note at the end, where Gerrold provides more information about his life, and an afterword by Geoffrey Klempner that provides a very helpful explanation of "time travel" as Gerrold viewed it.

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9 people found this helpful

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Matt Mason
Time traveling at its best
Reviewed in Italy on December 19, 2021
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A short but intense Sci-Fi novel. The best one I read in my life about time traveling. While I was reading it, here and there I was thinking that some paragraphs were not necessary to the story. When I reached the end of the story, everything was perfectly build up: a story beyond standard Sci-Fi.

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R. A. Harris
Top notch time-travel tale
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2013
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This is the greatest time-travel story ever written. It starts strong, gets better, gets even better (sexier), then even better again.

The only time travel book to come close to it is Caris O'Malley's wonderful The Egg Said Nothing. If you like this one, be sure to check that one out too.

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tamalesyatole
Casi todo lo que se puede hacer con una máquina del tiempo se hace aquí.
Reviewed in Mexico on July 31, 2017
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
La premisa básica es que Daniel recibe una máquina del tiempo y al viajar al pasado se encuentra con sí mismo varias veces. Sus interacciones consigo mismo hacen la mayoría del libro; Temas LGBT e inevitables comparaciones con "Por sus Propios Medios" de Heinlein. Decir más ya sería Spoiler.

No parece que se haya editado nunca en Español. Es corto. Recomendable para amantes de novelas de viajes en el tiempo.

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CLEMOWBOOKS
Time travel done right.
Reviewed in Canada on July 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
A classic that seems to be out of print at the moment. David "Tribble" Gerrold is an excellent writer with interesting takes on things.
His newer books are also well worth buying - new so he gets paid!

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BarBaRa Brickland
Hard reading. Very cliche. Not new if you ...
Reviewed in Australia on May 30, 2015
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Hard reading. Very cliche. Not new if you have read time travel stories before. I'm halfway through the book and want it to end.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Strange book

4.0 out of 5 stars Solipsism

5.0 out of 5 stars Holds up in a surprising way...

3.0 out of 5 stars Inferior revised version

4.0 out of 5 stars A very thought-provoking time-travel book!

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Time traveling at its best

5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch time-travel tale

4.0 out of 5 stars Casi todo lo que se puede hacer con una máquina del tiempo se hace aquí.

5.0 out of 5 stars Time travel done right.

2.0 out of 5 stars Hard reading. Very cliche. Not new if you ...

Strange book

Solipsism

Holds up in a surprising way...

Inferior revised version

A very thought-provoking time-travel book!

Time traveling at its best

Top notch time-travel tale

Casi todo lo que se puede hacer con una máquina del tiempo se hace aquí.

Time travel done right.

Hard reading. Very cliche. Not new if you ...