Reviews
"James Gleick is a master historian of ideas--no one else can do what he does. Synthesis leads to elucidation leads to stunning, original insight. Time Travel, like so much of his work, is simply indispensable." --Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe "Magnificent. A riveting history of an idea that changed us so profoundly, we forgot we had even been changed. But Gleick remembers." --Lev Grossman, Books Editor of TIME and author of The Magicians Trilogy, "In his enthralling new book, James Gleick mounts H.G. Wells's time machine for an invigorating ride through the most baffling of the four dimensions. In these pages, time flies." --John Banville "James Gleick is a master historian of ideas--no one else can do what he does. Synthesis leads to elucidation leads to stunning, original insight. Time Travel, like so much of his work, is simply indispensable." --Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe "Magnificent. A riveting history of an idea that changed us so profoundly, we forgot we had even been changed. But Gleick remembers." --Lev Grossman, Books Editor of TIME and author of The Magicians Trilogy "Against Kingsley Amis' skeptical assertion that 'time travel is inconceivable,' Gleick adduces impressive evidence that the phenomenon has tantalized novelists, philosophers, poets, scientists, moviemakers, and even cartoonists as a transformative possibility. Readers follow the fictional 'Time Traveler' that H. G. Wells sends into future centuries; track the gyrations of time-spanning thought that Borges unfolds in his labyrinthine tales; ponder the temporal cause-effect paradoxes that Bertrand Russel surmounts; and puzzle over the reversibility of time in the physics with which Einstein revolutionized science....Ultimately, readers discern behind the modern mania for the phenomenon a human craving for immortality that--particularly in a secular age--fosters this mania. Both piquant and profound." --Booklist *starred review* "A dazzling voyage through the concept of time....Deeply philosophical and full of quirky humor--'The universe is like a river. It flows. (Or it doesn't, if you're Plato.)'--Gleick's journey through the fourth dimension is a marvelous mind bender." --Publishers Weekly * starred review* "From Wells to Schrödinger to Twitter, [Gleick] doesn't miss a beat, and he imparts a wry appreciation for humorous detail, making him one of the most enjoyable science writers in the field....Another fantastic contribution...from Gleick, whose lush storytelling will appeal to a wide range of audiences." -- Kirkus Reviews "Isaac Newton's biographer takes a smart, scholarly look at this science fiction staple. With a little help from Gleick, you might finally understand Interstellar ." -- Esquire Magazine, "Nine Books That You Need To Know", "In his enthralling new book, James Gleick mounts H.G. Wells's time machine for an invigorating ride through the most baffling of the four dimensions. In these pages, time flies." --John Banville "James Gleick is a master historian of ideas--no one else can do what he does. Synthesis leads to elucidation leads to stunning, original insight. Time Travel, like so much of his work, is simply indispensable." --Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe "Magnificent. A riveting history of an idea that changed us so profoundly, we forgot we had even been changed. But Gleick remembers." --Lev Grossman, Books Editor of TIME and author of The Magicians Trilogy "A dazzling voyage through the concept of time....Deeply philosophical and full of quirky humor--'The universe is like a river. It flows. (Or it doesn't, if you're Plato.)'--Gleick's journey through the fourth dimension is a marvelous mind bender." --Publishers Weekly * starred review* "From Wells to Schrödinger to Twitter, [Gleick] doesn't miss a beat, and he imparts a wry appreciation for humorous detail, making him one of the most enjoyable science writers in the field....Another fantastic contribution...from Gleick, whose lush storytelling will appeal to a wide range of audiences." -- Kirkus Reviews, "In his enthralling new book, James Gleick mounts H.G. Wells''s time machine for an invigorating ride through the most baffling of the four dimensions. In these pages, time flies." --John Banville, author of The Sea "James Gleick is a master historian of ideas--no one else can do what he does. Synthesis leads to elucidation leads to stunning, original insight. Time Travel, like so much of his work, is simply indispensable." --Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe " Time Travel is another of James Gleick''s superb, unclassifiable books--rich in obscure and illuminating information, laced with lyricism, wit, and startling and convincing insights. It is an exploration not only of the (theoretical) phenomenon of time travel but of our understanding of ''time'' itself." --Joyce Carol Oates "Magnificent. A riveting history of an idea that changed us so profoundly, we forgot we had even been changed. But Gleick remembers." --Lev Grossman, Books Editor of TIME and author of The Magicians Trilogy "Against Kingsley Amis'' skeptical assertion that ''time travel is inconceivable,'' Gleick adduces impressive evidence that the phenomenon has tantalized novelists, philosophers, poets, scientists, moviemakers, and even cartoonists as a transformative possibility. Readers follow the fictional ''Time Traveler'' that H. G. Wells sends into future centuries; track the gyrations of time-spanning thought that Borges unfolds in his labyrinthine tales; ponder the temporal cause-effect paradoxes that Bertrand Russel surmounts; and puzzle over the reversibility of time in the physics with which Einstein revolutionized science....Ultimately, readers discern behind the modern mania for the phenomenon a human craving for immortality that--particularly in a secular age--fosters this mania. Both piquant and profound." --Booklist *starred review* "A dazzling voyage through the concept of time....Deeply philosophical and full of quirky humor--''The universe is like a river. It flows. (Or it doesn''t, if you''re Plato.)''--Gleick''s journey through the fourth dimension is a marvelous mind bender." --Publishers Weekly * starred review* "From Wells to Schrödinger to Twitter, [Gleick] doesn''t miss a beat, and he imparts a wry appreciation for humorous detail, making him one of the most enjoyable science writers in the field....Another fantastic contribution...from Gleick, whose lush storytelling will appeal to a wide range of audiences." -- Kirkus Reviews "In Time Travel , James Gleick provides an absorbing history of the idea, eloquently elucidating the reasons for its enduring appeal.... Within physics, Gleick captures some of the intellectual ferment in his account of the debate about whether time is an illusion. Within literature, he''s particularly incisive in his account of alternative histories, which originated as an accident of time travel." --New Scientist "Engaging...[Gleick''s] book resembles a salon where the guests include physicists (Richard Feynman and Albert Einstein), science-fiction writers (Robert Heinlein, Hugo Gernsback and the inevitable Isaac Asimov), philosophers (Richard Taylor), logicians (Kurt Gödel) and scientist-philosophers (Arthur Eddington), among many other articulate souls. Their discussions draw upon the theater (Tom Stoppard''s "Arcadia"), TV series ("Doctor Who") and movies ("La Jetée"), as well as books of philosophy and works in theoretical physics.... Time Travel presents a great read--as well as a wide-ranging, rich list for further reading--for anyone intrigued by the scientific romance of time travel." --The Washington Post "Isaac Newton''s biographer takes a smart, scholarly look at this science fiction staple. With a little help from Gleick, you might finally understand Interstellar ." -- Esquire Magazine, "Nine Books That You Need To Know", "In his enthralling new book, James Gleick mounts H.G. Wells's time machine for an invigorating ride through the most baffling of the four dimensions. In these pages, time flies." --John Banville "James Gleick is a master historian of ideas--no one else can do what he does. Synthesis leads to elucidation leads to stunning, original insight. Time Travel, like so much of his work, is simply indispensable." --Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe "Magnificent. A riveting history of an idea that changed us so profoundly, we forgot we had even been changed. But Gleick remembers." --Lev Grossman, Books Editor of TIME and author of The Magicians Trilogy
