Originally published as Timescapes: Stories of Time Travel, this book is now titled Time Travelers – Fiction in the Fourth Dimension and is edited and introduced  by Peter Haining. It is an anthology of  short stories by various authors on the subject of time travel. There are three sections in the book:

1. Back to the Present – comprised of nine stories by a variety of authors.

2. Journeys to the Past – another eight stories

3. History of the Future – seven more stories.

This is a sample platter of time travel literature, since some of the stories are sections of other works by many different authors. I tasted some truffles but also some stale brownies. Overall, this book is a great way to learn about authors without committing to reading their whole books. I knew some of the authors, of course, including:

• Arthur C. Clarke
• Isaac Asimov
• Jack Finney
• Frederik Pohl
• Ray Bradbury
• H. G. Wells (of course)
• Robert A. Heinlein

Each story is introduced by a page or so by Haining, where he gives a background for the story, a little about the author, and the context in which the story was created. This helps a great deal.

It took me a long time to work through the book. It kept making its way back to the reading shelf. Some stories I only skimmed over when I lost interest. Some had me riveted. Most had me marveling about one of my favorite subjects – time travel.

Rating: **