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The Time Machine [Unabridged] [Mass Market Paperback]

H. G. Wells
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (727 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 15, 1992
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title—offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords.

This edition of The Time Machine includes an Introduction, Biographical Note, and Afterword by James Gunn.

The time? 802,701 A.D.

The place? An Earth stranger than you can imagine.

The people? A pretty, childlike race, the Eloi-and their distant cousins, the Morlocks: disgusting, hairy creatures who live in caves and feed on the flesh of-what?

Enter the Time Traveller, who has hurtled almost a million years into the future. After the Morlocks steal his machine he may be trapped there...and at their mercy.

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The Time Machine + The War of the Worlds + Journey to the Center of the Earth (Dover Thrift Editions)
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grades 4-7--The St. Charles Players perform this readers' theatre-style rendition of H.G. Wells' classic story. Using appropriate sound effects and alternating readers allows listeners to differentiate between characters and to develop a sense of place and time. The lively narration will hold listeners' attention from beginning to end. The story begins with a revolutionary Victorian scientist who claims to have invented a machine that allows him to travel through time. Using flashbacks, he recounts his adventures in the futurist world he visits in his time machine to a group of skeptical friends. This abridged version will work well as an introduction to classic literature in elementary grade classes, but omits too much of the original text for older students. Consider adding this title to audiobook collections that focus on classic, time-tested literature.
Sarah Prielipp, Chippewa River District Library System, Mt Pleasant, MI
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Review

First novel by H.G. Wells, published in book form in 1895. The novel is considered one of the earliest works of science fiction and the progenitor of the "time travel" subgenre. Wells advanced his social and political ideas in this narrative of a nameless Time Traveller who is hurtled into the year 802,701 by his elaborate ivory, crystal, and brass contraption. The world he finds is peopled by two races: the decadent Eloi, fluttery and useless, are dependent for food, clothing, and shelter on the simian subterranean Morlocks, who prey on them. The two races--whose names are borrowed from the Biblical Eli and Moloch--symbolize Wells's vision of the eventual result of unchecked capitalism: a neurasthenic upper class that would eventually be devoured by a proletariat driven to the depths. --The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 125 pages
  • Publisher: Tor (Tom Doherty) (December 15, 1992)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0812505042
  • ISBN-13: 978-0812505047
  • Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 0.4 x 7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (727 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Very well written story. Gary L Laffoon  |  105 reviewers made a similar statement
The time machine takes an interesting look at human society in the distant future. Always with an open mind  |  50 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
69 of 72 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I tried reading this book as a child many, many years ago, some of the "big" words and allusions made it hard going, and I never completed it then. Finally, about fifteen years ago I did read it through, but still was missing something. Then, a few weeks ago, I got this edition, after having enjoyed the Penguin edition of "The War of the Worlds" with its annotations and map. Well, the annotations in this edition (about four pages worth as endnotes) of "The Time Machine" cleared away whatever fuzz remained, and I was completely overcome by the greatness of the book, great from whatever way I looked at it: plot, speculation, characters, "sense of wonder", even throw away humor were all topnotch. I couldn't believe what I'd been missing. A few days later, I read another editon of the book that didn't have notes, and had no trouble following that version. I plan to reread the book again shortly. So if you've had difficulty reading "The Time Machine" for some of the reasons mentioned above, get this version pronto and find out what a true classic is.
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119 of 129 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Timeless Classic July 14, 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
It goes without saying that this book is a science fiction classic in every sense of the word and that H.G. Wells was a founding father of the genre. This book proves that science fiction does not necessarily need to be heavily technical but does need to deal with grand themes such as the nature of society; man's hopes, dreams, and fears; and the very humanity of man. Wells does not go to great lengths in describing the time machine nor how it works. He lays the foundation of the story in science and then proceeds with his somewhat moralistic and certainly socially conscious story. This makes his writing much more enjoyable than that of a Jules Verne, who liked to fill up pages with scientific and highly technical nomenclature. One of the more striking aspects of the novel is Wells' treatment of the actual experience of time travel--moving in time is not like opening and walking through a door. There are physical and emotional aspects of the time travel process--in fact, some of the most descriptive passages in the book are those describing what the Time Traveler experiences and sees during his time shifts.

Basically, Wells is posing the question of What will man be like in the distant future? His answer is quite unlike any kind of scenario that modern readers, schooled on Star Wars, Star Trek, and the like, would come up with. He gives birth to a simple and tragic society made up of the Eloi and the Morlocks. In contrasting these two groups, he offers a critique of sorts of men in his own time. Clearly, he is worried about the gap between the rich and the poor widening in his own world and is warning his readers of the dangers posed by such a growing rift. It is most interesting to see how the Time Traveler's views of the future change over the course of his stay there....

This basic message of the novel is more than applicable today. While it is paramount that we continue to research and discover new scientific facts about ourselves and the world, we must not come to view science as a religion that can ultimately recreate the earth as an immense garden of Eden. Knowledge itself is far less important than the healthy pursuit of that knowledge. Man's greatness lies in his ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. Speaking only for myself, I think this novel points out the dangerousness of Communism and points to the importance of individualism--if you engineer a society in which every person is "the same" and "equal," then you have doomed that society. Read more ›

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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Past and present masterpiece November 11, 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the little number that started it all. For the English-speaking world (some translations of Verne possibly aside), science fiction begins with the four brief, brilliant novels published by H G Wells in the 1890s. The War of the Worlds is a still-unsurpassed alien invasion story; The Invisible Man one of the first world-dominating mad scientist tales; and The Island of Dr Moreau a splendidly misanthropic story of artificial evolution and genetic modification. But The Time Machine came first, launching Wells' career in literature; and, after just over a century, there still isn't anything nearly like it. A Victorian inventor travels to the year 802701, where the class divisions of Wells' day have evolved two distinct human races: the helpless, childlike and luxurious Eloi and the monstrous, mechanically adept and subterranean Morlocks. Predictably, the film version turned them into the usual Good Guys and Bad Guys, though it's still worth seeing, particularly for its conception of the Time Machine itself - a splendid piece of Victorian gadgetry. The book, despite its sociological-satirical premise, is rather more complex in its treatment of the opposed races, and the Time Traveller's voyage ends, not with them, but still further in the future, with images of a dead sun and a dark earth populated only by scuttling, indefinite shadows. As in the other three novels, too, the premise of the story is carefully worked out and clearly explained - a discipline largely beyond science fiction today, in which time travel, invading aliens or whatever are simply taken for granted as convenient genre props and automatic thought-nullifiers. After more than a century, The Time Machine is still waiting for the rest of us to catch up.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
An unnamed time traveler sees the future of man (802,701 A.D.) and then the inevitable future of the world. He tells his tale in detail.

I grew up on the Rod Taylor /George Pal movie. When I started the book I expected it to be slightly different with a tad more complexity as with most book/movie relationships. I was surprised to find the reason for the breakup of species (Morlock and Eloi) was class Vs atomic (in later movie versions it was political). I could live with that but to find that some little pink thing replaced Yvette Mimieux was too munch.

After al the surprises we can look at the story as unique in its time, first published in 1895, yet the message is timeless. The writing and timing could not have been better. And the ending was certainly appropriate for the world that he describes. Possibly if the story were written today the species division would be based on eugenics.

The Time Machine Starring: Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux

Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress Upon Human L
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good
This is the first eBook I've read.
I was fiddling with the idea of reading ebooks and chose this one as it was free. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Patrick V.
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
A timeless classic to read over and over. Great to pass on to the kids when they need something to read.
Published 1 day ago by S. Wachter
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
I use this novel in my senior English class and the kids really like it. It inspires them to write their own short story on time travel. It's a quick and easy read.
Published 2 days ago by elyse rhodes
4.0 out of 5 stars Happy
One of the many classics I have read, I love getting into the minds of writers from 'back in the day'. The way they use words to paint ideas and hold conversations is astounding. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Leah Pulido
3.0 out of 5 stars Great story! Too many words.
I had to read this book for Literature of the Future. It was alright, but I had a really tough time getting through the first few chapters. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Rachel Jungklaus
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Classic!
If you like science fiction and enjoy reading classics, this book is a must! This story is wonderful and unforgettable.
Published 5 days ago by vega2578
5.0 out of 5 stars Time Travel
This book is amazing in so many ways. The novella, short book, is great for the unmotivated reader. It is a quick read, but you won't be disappointed. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Cesar Hernandez
4.0 out of 5 stars So, what exactly has become of mankind?
We may read The Time Machine and feel like we have experienced this premise of looking into the future many times before. Read more
Published 18 days ago by fra7299
5.0 out of 5 stars Philosophical
Good news or bad news? There can be no other question more difficult or exasperating or difficult to answer intelligently.
Published 18 days ago by garydavi
4.0 out of 5 stars Time Machine Trouble
A very interesting book about the fate of the human race and a good and well-known read but the book has a scary memory of might happen to man-kind. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Jack Gillespie
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humm...
He went again forward in time only he experienced a different version of time and met with an advanced version of the Morlocks who have built a dyson sphere round the Sun - amongst other things.
Mar 30, 2010 by Aspartame |  See all 4 posts
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