The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century: Stories by Arthur C. Clarke, Jack Finney, Joe Haldeman, Ursula K. Le Guin,

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
LEAP INTO THE FUTURE, AND SHOOT BACK TO THE PAST

H. G. Wells’s seminal short story “The Time Machine,” published in 1895, provided the springboard for modern science fiction’s time travel explosion. Responding to their own fascination with the subject, the greatest visionary writers of the twentieth century penned some of their finest stories. Here are eighteen of the most exciting tales ever told, including

“Time’s Arrow” In Arthur C. Clarke’s classic, two brilliant physicists finally crack the mystery of time travel–with appalling consequences.

“Death Ship” Richard Matheson, author of Somewhere in Time, unveils a chilling scenario concerning three astronauts who stumble upon the conundrum of past and future.

“A Sound of Thunder” Ray Bradbury’s haunting vision of modern man gone dinosaur hunting poses daunting questions about destiny and consequences.

“Yesterday was Monday” If all the world’s a stage, Theodore Sturgeon’s compelling tale follows the odyssey of an ordinary joe who winds up backstage.

“Rainbird” R.A. Lafferty reflects on what might have been in this brainteaser about an inventor so brilliant that he invents himself right out of existence.

“Timetipping” What if everyone time-traveled except you? Jack Dann provides some surprising answers in this literary gem.

. . . as well as stories by Poul Anderson • L. Sprague de Camp • Jack Finney • Joe Haldeman • John Kessel • Nancy Kress • Henry Kuttner • Ursula K. Le Guin • Larry Niven • Charles Sheffield • Robert Silverberg • Connie Willis

By turns frightening, puzzling, and fantastic, these stories engage us in situations that may one day break free of the bonds of fantasy . . . to enter the realm of the future: our future.

Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Forwardback to Yestermorrow March 16, 2005
37 out of 39 found this review helpful

A compilation such as this proves that a genre can be difficult to define, and that talented writers can explore what appears to be a simple theme in myriad unexpected fashions. That's what makes this compendium of classic time travel stories such fun to read. Most of the short stories here, spanning from the 1940s to the 1990s, examine the personal or social ramifications of traveling through time and messing things up, and this strong focus can be attributed to editors Turtledove and Greenburg. The archetypal masterpiece about how even slightly altering the past can screw up the present, Ray Bradbury's awesome "A Sound of Thunder," is included here. That's the story from which most modern time travel literature springs, and it's also the source of the celebrated butterfly effect, though Bradbury didn't use that exact term. Other influential early classics such as "Time's Arrow" by Arthur C. Clarke and "A Gun for Dinosaur" by L. Sprague de Camp are also included. For the later stories, there are a few missteps, like the Vietnam obsession of Joe Haldeman's "Anniversary Project," and the heavy-handed gender politics of Ursula K. Leguin's "Another Story or The Fisherman of the Inland Sea." But most of the rest of the collection is perfectly enjoyable, with winners like Poul Anderson's "The Man Who Came Early," which illustrates how a modern American would be both unbearably obnoxious and pathetically helpless in medieval times, and R.A. Lafferty's "Rainbird" in which an inventor can't stop going back in time to set his younger self on a different path, with outlandish results. Remember - if you ever travel through time, don't change anything! [~doomsdayer520~]

2 out of 5 stars

Nostalgic but a little disappointing November 9, 2006
13 out of 17 found this review helpful

I gave this book as a gift, then read it and regretted. The commentary was knowledgeable but the stories tended to be very pulp-y and, to me, only interesting for historic or nostalgic value. Most readers' tastes will have evolved past most of these tales. The worst aren't really even stories, in the sense of plot or characters, but have the quality of bad Twilight Zone episodes based entirely on a single "Wouldn't it be weird" punchline.

Sorry to be negative, but I was genuinely disappointed with at least half of the collection. Even the stories listed as good examples in the editorial review are mostly trivial and now cliche. For escapist time travel yarns, you might try Heinlein's "The Door Into Summer", Willis's "Doomsday Book" or "To Say Nothing Of The Dog", or (what the heck) Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court".

3 out of 5 stars

Fair at best August 9, 2005
9 out of 16 found this review helpful

I've been a Sci-Fi fan for well over 50 years now and have read many time travel tales. While there were several in this collection that were very good most definitely did not measure up to the best of the 20th century.

2 out of 5 stars

Damning omission March 24, 2005
7 out of 35 found this review helpful

The absence of Bester's "The Men Who Murdered Mohammed" is alone enough to invalidate the title.

5 out of 5 stars

An Excellent Curator Put This Together April 6, 2007
6 out of 9 found this review helpful

The stories in this volume are themselves great, and I'm admittedly biased because he very first story happens to be my favorite time travel story ever.

But the best part, in my opinion, are the wonderful introductions to each story, where teach author's work, style, and contributions to the sci-fi genre are explained in caring and specific detail. I read the book for the stories, but I bought the book because of the intros, which offer a good set of suggestions for reading follow up, and gave me a really good justification for who I should by this, considering I had ready some of the stories before.

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