HOW TO BUILD A TIME MACHINE

By: Chris Wyatt
Review Date: Thursday, April 10, 2003

According to Paul Davies, author of the non-fiction science book HOW TO BUILD A TIME MACHINE, the concept of time travel was first introduced to culture through science fiction, particularly through H.G. Wells' THE TIME MACHINE. But it was Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, published in 1905, that gave the first clues to how time travel might eventually accomplished. In his book Davies follows developments in temporal physics from their birth in relativity, to their current state. Unlike many science texts, the book moves along at a clipping pace- and never gets boring- as it probes the mysteries of the universe.

The page turning speed of the book does much to keep the subject matter from getting dry, but, unfortunately, that same speed sometimes works against itself. Davies has to move so quickly that his sometimes skimpy explanations of fairly complex physics concepts are lacking. Often in the book a reader has to simply assume the facts that Davies asserts are correct, because the writer doesn't take the time to explain them.

Another complaint is the price. The paperback book is only 125 pages of widely-margined font and large, page-consuming diagrams. But the price for what is essentially a pamphlet, is $12.00 - almost twice the cost of a mass market novel.

Despite these complaints, you can't beat the subject matter, which is fascinating. Even with the lack of in-depth explanations, Davies does a good job to keep the tone light and interesting. He also repeatedly ties the physics of time travel to the fiction of time travel, making special note of the connection between Carl Sagan's novel CONTACT and recent developments in temporal theory.

And Davies does keep it simple, without becoming condescending. HOW TO BUILD A TIME MACHINE can unhesitatingly be recommended to interested readers, even if they didn't do so hot in their high school physics classes.

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at feedback@cinescape.com.