Time on My Hands: A Novel with Photographs

I don't agree with the politics of Gabriel Prince (the protagonist), but I found them very consistent with other elements of his character. In any case, the message of this book is not one of politics, nor is it a gee-whiz time travel story. It tells a story of a person's efforts to find a proper direction in life. (And how much harder it is to find direction when presented with the navigational aid of a time machine).I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone.

Peter Delacort's Time on My Hands is a very successful time travel story in the tradition of Jack Finney and Richard Matheson. Unlike them, however, Peter chooses to add a controversial element -- the presidency of Ronald Reagan and what things might be like if his political career were stopped before it began. This is dangerous stuff for a time travel novel -- Reagan's supporters are legion, and they remember the old man with great affection. I was more than doubtful when I purchased the book for this very reason. While not a Reaganite myself, I respect Reagan as a past president who accomplished things. Still, even though Delacort's take on the Reagan presidency is not as kind as mine, he treats Dutch in such a way that you begin to like him as a character - flawed, it is true, but human and admirable. This novel's great strength is its recreation of 1930s Hollywood. Here Delacort shines like no other time travel novelist. He describes my native Los Angeles as no Angeleno ever has - and Peter's from our sister city to the north, San Francisco, whose denizens have not always been kind to the City of Angels. Peter Delacort recreates Malibu of the '30s, Warner Bros. (for whom I worked for 25 years, and so know quite well), the times, the people, the water they swim in, the political and social climate of a city that lays in wait for the archaeologist's spade and brush. In short, this is a great read on a number of levels. I can't recommend it more.

I can't believe how many of the reviewers didn't like the end. The end is fabulous and chilling. As someone below warns, this book is about a man travelling back in time to prevent Ronald Reagan from being president. My politics lean to the left, so initially I was not offended by the thought. Later on, I did start to get offended. But that is part of what makes this book so great. It gives you a lot to chew on. Think about this: You can change any bit of history you want, and this guy chooses to prevent Reagan from becoming president. Why? Why not Nixon? He arguably did more harm. Why not prevent one of the wars or prevent one of the assassinations in the 1960s or save a child's life or do something to improve economic conditions in one of the poorer nations? They do give a bit of explanation for this at the front of the book, but there's something that occurs later in the book that discounts the explanation. So read this book even if you do lean to the right. Think about if you had a time machine, what would you do?

Time travel, romance, adventure, and the puzzle of how and whether we can change the past and future are featured in this beautifully crafted novel. Delacorte loves ideas and words, and both are showcased in this fast-paced, fascinating take on our strange, perverse, and wonderful species. TIME AND AGAIN is considered a classic, but Delacorte's novel is even better. Read TIME ON MY HANDS. You'll thank me