Helpful Score: 9
Time and Again is one of my favorite books I've ever read. Not only is the story one that will keep any reader engaged, it is set against the backdrop of New York City at the turn of the century. With amazing historical accuracy, Jack Finney describes not only everyday life during this period, but also historical events from the point of view of a citizen at that time.
This book is a must read for any New Yorker. For visitors to New York, it would be fun to read this book, then tour the Gramercy Park area of NYC, which stands not too differently from how it did during the time-frame of when Time and Again was written.
This book is a must read for any New Yorker. For visitors to New York, it would be fun to read this book, then tour the Gramercy Park area of NYC, which stands not too differently from how it did during the time-frame of when Time and Again was written.
Helpful Score: 9
A different twist on time travel, with a historic slant. A number of us in our family read this, and we enjoyed discussing it at the dinner table. Science is not the strong point here, but Finney has fun with time travel issues.
Helpful Score: 8
I really enjoyed this book. So much so that I ordered the sequel from PBS. Finney has done a very thorough job with his research of NYC in 1882. He paints such detailed pictures with his words that it is easy to imagine yourself there along with his characters. I really see the old buildings and brick streets in my hometown in a new light after reading this book.
Helpful Score: 6
I almost decided not to post this book, because I liked it so much! The sequel to it, "From Time to Time" is also a keeper.
Helpful Score: 5
Very interesting, especially to anyone who has lived (or visited) Manhattan. Time travel experiment, with government involvement. Simon travels back to 1882 NYC and his descriptions of the people, places, events surpass any others I have ever read. Jack Finney, the author does a great job of taking the reader along for an exciting literary ride. I felt like I was right there in the midst of the action. He does the whole narrative in the first person so you don't get the thoughts of any other characters, something I would have liked. I guess, this way, it reads more like a true diary/journal. Pictures of the area, people are included with the text. I highly recommend it.
Helpful Score: 3
very good time travel with some romance
Helpful Score: 3
Best book about time travel I've ever read. Inventive, totally believable, thought-provoking, engaging. Not your ordinary sci fi novel.
Helpful Score: 3
A time travel novel with a twist. The hero doesn't use a time machine, but "wills" himself into the past. The author has a very unique way of making this seem plausible. I thought this was rather a quaint story.
Helpful Score: 2
This is a good book. I had to read it in college, then I just reread it. There is an interesting plot twist. If you like books involving going back in time, then you will like this. There are also pictures and newspaper articles included. Its a good read during storms (hurricanes, snowstorms, etc.)
Helpful Score: 2
Loved this book! While I'm not a huge fan of science fiction, I enjoyed the historical aspect of this and the sequel, Time and Again.
Helpful Score: 2
Time travel story which takes place in old New York. I throughly enjoyed it.
This is my favorite book of all time! Anyone who lives or lived in NYC should read this book; anyone who loves NYC history should read this book; anyone who ever has or wants to visit NYC should read this book.
Helpful Score: 2
An excellent, wonderfully detailed story. It is easy to get lost in the author's description of the New York City of the 1880s, and the real period photographs are a unique addition. The concept of time travel has always fascinated me, and this book has an explanation that actually seems quite plausible. If you enjoyed this book, be sure to check out the sequel, From Time To Time.
Helpful Score: 2
Jack Finney is the grand master of time travel stories. This book and the sequel (From Time to Time) are both tours de force of the time-travel genre. In "Time and Again," Finney carries us to the New York of 1882 with convincing authority. Simon Morley, the hero, and Julia Charbonneau, the girl he meets in old New York, are vividly drawn. The twists of the story and the memorable characters keep the reader's attention and make for some unanticipated outcomes.
"Time and Again" is every bit as good as Richard Matheson's "Somewhere in Time." Highly recommended.
"Time and Again" is every bit as good as Richard Matheson's "Somewhere in Time." Highly recommended.
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful story, almost believable! I loved it.
Helpful Score: 1
Great time travel novel! Very suspenseful.
Helpful Score: 1
Great read, kept my interest all throughout.
Helpful Score: 1
I have read this book almost every year. I never get tired of it. It is not hard core Sci-Fi but more a historical novel with a little time travel thrown in. I have also enjoyed almost very Jack Finney book I have read; the one I liked the least is his most famous "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".
Helpful Score: 1
A time traveler novel that I really enjoyed. Si Morley joins a secret gov't. project that send him back in time to the early 1880's in NYC. From there he unravels a mystery that is very cleverly solved. I was caught up in the book all the way to the bittersweet and touching ending. Looking foward to the sequel.
Helpful Score: 1
After reading for a week and only getting to page 175, I just gave up.
What a fabulous read! I loved the descriptions of late 19th Century NYC and wish that I had the capability to transport myself back in time. If only time travel WERE this simple.
Helpful Score: 1
Fantastic, I couldn't put it down.
Helpful Score: 1
Wow! An amazing read. Such a simple concept and yet, so very fantastical. I loved every word of this unique story.
The first half was slow going for me; but as the action picked up in the second half, I enjoyed it very much. The author's research and story telling skills are most impressive. I read it because it was my book group's selection for that month and the discussion was quite lively; the book was generally enjoyed by all.
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful book; great story; fun to read.
Helpful Score: 1
If you like New York, this is a great book. Wonderful descriptions of the city and contrasts to the past. Some parts were dense, but basically a fun story about time travel.
Helpful Score: 1
Great book. Well written with a good plot. I read a lot of different genres and found this fictional account of past history to be very entertaining.
Helpful Score: 1
I gave up on this book. I kept hoping it would catch my interest but it never did. Too many details, not enough plot.
Helpful Score: 1
I thought it was great fun, especially the description of the sleighs whipping around on the new-fallen snow. (I've always wanted to go on a sleigh ride, now I almost feel like I have!) I kept thinking it would be even more interesting to someone who knows New York City, & would know the places and buildings he mentions. It's kind of science fiction and historical fiction, both.
Helpful Score: 1
A fantasy of New York through the eyes of a time traveler. Thought-provoking.
Helpful Score: 1
Both my husband and I LOVED this book. It was like taking a step back in time with modern day eyes. The characters were interesting, the imagery and setting very vivid and you could feel, smell and almost touch the past in reading this book. A fantastic read and I'm anxious to read the sequel!
This is a very interesting story told conversationally throughout. It makes you believe in travel to "other" times or at least hope that it is believable. Really enjoyable read from a very good author.
Be aware, even though PBS has this ISBN number marked as a hardcover, this info is incorrect. This is a PAPERBACK edition.
Slow to start but has a great story and perfect ending.
If you live and work in NYC, or are very familiar with it, you could enjoy this book immensely. In Time and Again, Jack Finney provides detailed pictures and descriptions of a New York during the 1880's. I loved the premise of the story. A man, Simon Morley, is sent back in time by scientists and the government in a highly classified experiment. He is told only that they want to see if they can accomplish such an amazing fete, in order to observe the events of history. They believe that history and the present exist simultaneously in the here and now. They have warned him to be observant only. He is told he must be extremely cautious in what he says and does, so that there will be no changes or consequences to the future. He then undergoes weeks of training in preparation. However, they are unaware that he has a personal agenda as well. He plans on observing two men in order to solve the mystery of their interactions, based only on an ancient cryptic note he's read in modern times.
The plot is somewhat thin, so the book is filled with a tourist's eye view of New York in the 19th century. It is a fascinating look at history, and the author took great pains to be completely accurate, even for very little known events woven into his story. I would have personally enjoyed more of the mystery and less of the city. But there is also romance when he meets and falls in love with a girl from "her" time, Julie. Together they pursue her fiance, Jake, and his associate, barely escaping with their lives. Eventually, the mystery is sorted out and solved. Then Si Morley finally realizes the true meaning behind the experiments in which he has so willingly participated. The time travel is the core of the story, and what Morley does in the end is fantastic. Can't wait to read the sequel to find out what he does next!
The plot is somewhat thin, so the book is filled with a tourist's eye view of New York in the 19th century. It is a fascinating look at history, and the author took great pains to be completely accurate, even for very little known events woven into his story. I would have personally enjoyed more of the mystery and less of the city. But there is also romance when he meets and falls in love with a girl from "her" time, Julie. Together they pursue her fiance, Jake, and his associate, barely escaping with their lives. Eventually, the mystery is sorted out and solved. Then Si Morley finally realizes the true meaning behind the experiments in which he has so willingly participated. The time travel is the core of the story, and what Morley does in the end is fantastic. Can't wait to read the sequel to find out what he does next!
Ssleep and when you awakw everything you know of the 20th century will e gone from your mind - Tonight is January 21, 1882 - Let Jack Finney make a believer of you as he takes you on an incredible tour in words and pictures of a time long gone - great story!
My husband enjoyed all of the acurate historical details this story included.
This is one of my all-time favorites. I have read it several times and own more than one copy! I love time-travel stories, and this one is not only that, but also part mystery, part romance, and part history. (I can't wait for you to meet Julia!) There are also lots of illustrations, old photos and sketches, to help us sense that we, too, are travelling through New York City's colorful past.
Lots of interesting history of early New York City social and political life, with intrigue, philosophy and romance sprinkled throughout.
This is an awesome book - I have been reading it over and over for almost forty years - my book club loved it too....
A great book. I couldn't put it down.
After reading a few duds, I thought I'd return to a book I'd read many years before and really enjoyed. Having spent my youth in an apartment at Second Avenue and 40th Street, I knew the general area described in the book. On rereading I have to deduct a star from my rating because I thought it was way too wordy with descriptions that were unnecessary and boring. I enjoy time travel stories, but there were many things that I wondered about but were not addressed. The writing is fine, but it needed an editor to pare it down a bit.
The fantasy / sci fi classic profusely illustrated!
Listed by Murder Ink as one of the five best mysteries of all time.
"A most ingenious confection..." New York Times Book Review
"Mind-boggling..." San Francisco Examiner
"A most ingenious confection..." New York Times Book Review
"Mind-boggling..." San Francisco Examiner
different, interesting, intriguing
One of my favorite time-travel stories.
The book offers an interesting twist on time travel and the question about the effects of doing so. The story also includes a romantic aspect that presents the main character with a difficult choice. It is not up to H G Wells standard, but I enjoyed rereading it after more than 40 years since my first reading.
I am willing to share my copy, but the condition I received it in does not meet requirements. Due to age some pages have come loose and it has highlighting and underlining in places. I did not object to getting it in that condition, but I would want others to know that in advance of sending it to anyone else.
I am willing to share my copy, but the condition I received it in does not meet requirements. Due to age some pages have come loose and it has highlighting and underlining in places. I did not object to getting it in that condition, but I would want others to know that in advance of sending it to anyone else.
I loved this book. I can see why it is so popular. A great time travel mystery book that takes place in NYC. If you love NYC ( and doesn't everyone?) you will love this book. After reading this I checked out the sequel from the library.
There's a sequel to this, "From Time to Time", where the hero goes back to 1912, and crosses the North Atlantic in some ship.
Did illustrator Si Morley really step out of his twentieth-century apartment one night- right into the winter of 1882? The US government believed it, especially when Si returned with a portfolio of brand-new sketches and tintype photos of a world that no longer existed-- or did it?
From the back cover:
Dream? ... Nightmare? ... Reality?
Did illustrator Si Morley really step out of his twentieth-century apartment one night - right into the winter of 1882? The U.S. Government believed it, especially when Si returned with a portfolio of brand-new sketches and tintype photos of a world that no longer existed - or did it?
Dream? ... Nightmare? ... Reality?
Did illustrator Si Morley really step out of his twentieth-century apartment one night - right into the winter of 1882? The U.S. Government believed it, especially when Si returned with a portfolio of brand-new sketches and tintype photos of a world that no longer existed - or did it?
