Gleick's story begins at the turn of the twentieth century with the young H. G. Wells writing and rewriting the fantastic tale that became his first book, an international sensation, The Time Machine. A host of forces were converging to transmute the human understanding of time, some philosophical and some technological--the electric telegraph, the steam railroad, the discovery of buried civilizations, and the perfection of clocks. Gleick tracks the...

"Annie, Edward, and their young daughter, Rose, live in a cramped apartment. One night, without warning, they find a beautiful terrace hidden in their closet. It wasn't there before, and it seems to only appear when their friend Stephanie visits. A city dweller's dream come true! But every extra bit of space has a hidden cost, and the terrace sets off a seismic chain of events, forever changing the shape of their tiny home, and the shape of the world"--...

After plummeting through a hole in her backyard and finding herself once again in the room of mysterious jars, eleven-year-old Olive unwittingly releases two of Elsewhere's biggest, most cunning, most dangerous forces.

We are not alone. The alien protomolecule is clear evidence of an intelligence beyond human reckoning. No one knows what exactly is being built on Venus, but whatever it is, it is vast, powerful, and terrifying. When a creature of unknown origin and seemingly impossible physiology attacks soldiers on Ganymede, the fragile balance of power in the Solar System shatters. Now, the race is on to discover if the protomolecule has escaped Venus, or if someone...

As a seventeen-year-old sophomore at NYU, Casey wears different disguises to fit in, but when she starts hearing voices and seeing visions, she travels to a remote beach town and searches for answers. Seventeen and already in her sophomore year at NYU, Casey Rhodes sheds disguises effortlessly. It's how she navigates school and avoids the second-guessing that has plagued her since she and her boyfriend Marcus got together. Then Casey starts hearing...

While picking up milk for his children's cereal, a father is abducted by aliens and finds himself on a wild adventure through time and space.

Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

"When something crucial goes missing, eleven-year-old Olive and her friends must decide how to get it back--put their faith in a strange and dangerous magic, their odd new neighbors, or someone more uncertain and terrifying than both"--

Thirteen-year-old Atticus "Tick" Higginbottom begins receiving mysterious letters from around the world signed only "M.G.," and the clues contained therein lead him on a journey to the perilous 13th Reality and a confrontation with evil Mistress Jane.

Four children looking forward to an ordinary summer enjoy a series of fantastic adventures by double-wishing on an ancient coin.