sensormellow's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
docpacey's review against another edition
1.0
Pop science works best when it engages the reader with a complex subject by showing how thoughts about that subject have evolved, and by giving insight to the lives and careers of the leading figures in the development of that subject.
Gleick's History starts promisingly enough with HG Wells, but never seems to find any sort of rhythm, never seems to do anything more than bob around on a sea of quotes about the nature of time and the way philosophers, writers and scientists have spoken and argued about it.
I have read many many time travel stories and understand a lot of the physics. I was hoping to be enlightened, but a hundred pages in and I had learned little more than how frustrating a poorly written book can be.
This book is a waste of time.
Gleick's History starts promisingly enough with HG Wells, but never seems to find any sort of rhythm, never seems to do anything more than bob around on a sea of quotes about the nature of time and the way philosophers, writers and scientists have spoken and argued about it.
I have read many many time travel stories and understand a lot of the physics. I was hoping to be enlightened, but a hundred pages in and I had learned little more than how frustrating a poorly written book can be.
This book is a waste of time.
nick_latanick's review against another edition
4.0
Not knowing anything but the title, I thought this would be a survey of time travel stories in literature and pop-culture. And it is that for sure, though not exhaustively. I was happily surprised to discover it delves quite deeply into the science and philosophy of time travel, and the nature of Time itself. There was one chapter examining the idioms and metaphors we use to conceptualize Time that felt flat, but the rest of the book was genuinely interesting throughout. The author weaves together related concepts through fiction and scholarly thought such that we never get bogged down in inscrutable journal articles, nor too unmoored from reality- a strange thing to say indeed, for a book about time travel. Well crafted.
benfast's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
4.75
Really interesting book, and well written way to get this complicated information out in an eye-opening and culturally-centred way.
lafee's review against another edition
5.0
James Gleick explores time travel as a cultural idea through literature and film, from The Time Machine to Groundhog Day, with a little philosophy and physics thrown in for good measure. Much of the book is focused on how the understanding of time has changed through... time, concentrating particularly on how ideas of chronological and historical time developed in the nineteenth century and paved the way for future philosophers to posit why time exists and how it functions. The chapters about the complicated science behind time travel were easy to understand - always a bonus - and the bits about Kurt Godel were my fave.
"I gave a party for time-travelers, but I didn't send out the invitations until after the party. I sat there a long time, but no one came." --Stephen Hawking
aschuman0's review against another edition
2.0
A fine summary of some ideas. Adds nothing to the conversation.