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A disappointment, largely because I so love Gleick's earlier works ( Chaos: Making a New Science , Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman , The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood in particular are magnificent), and also because I was (mis)led to expect an incisive and exacting compariso Leggi tutto

Why is it so difficult—so degradingly difficult—to bring the notion of Time into mental focus and keep it there for inspection? What an effort, what fumbling, what irritating fatigue! —Vladimir Nabokov (1969) Time is a funny thing, everyone knows what it is and no one can (easily) explain it. But Leggi tutto

I remember distinctly when my interest in time travel arose. I'd seen it in movies and Saturday morning cartoons before and played a little "back to the time of the dinosaurs" make-believe with the neighborhood kids already, but it wasn't until fourth grade that I had the legitimate thought: I shoul Leggi tutto

This book is really about the history of the idea of time travel. James Gleick traces the history of the idea of time travel, through literature and films. The earliest stories about time travel paved the way, for they first exposed people to the whole concept. Later stories expanded on the concept, Leggi tutto

Beautifully written essay, a flow of thought exuberant in clever ideas and witt quotes (“Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.”). It's not really a book about time travel, but a book about time, a book that travels time –through history, philo Leggi tutto

I've already read another book by James Gleick ( Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman ) and loved it. His books are well-researched, thoughtful and informative, not without being entertaining, and his writing is esthetically pleasing and effective. "Time Travel: A History" -- the title itsel Leggi tutto

This book is less about the history of time travel in fiction and more about the concept of time in mostly the 19th and 20th century : how it used to be perceived and the philosophical and scientific theories around it. I adored about the first third of the book, because it focused very much on the d Leggi tutto

“Literature creates its own time, it mimics time” says James Gleick who uses the subject of time travel in literature as a jumping off point for a deep and fascinating examination of Time. He delves equally into physics, philosophy and literature to present a refreshing perspective that respects our Leggi tutto