Time and Again

Si Morley earns his living as a commercial illustrator in Manhattan, sketching products for advertisements. One unremarkable day in 1970, a stranger connected to the military arrives at his studio with an unusual offer: join a classified government program. The researchers behind it believe that people with strong imaginations, such as artists, can learn to use self-hypnosis to picture a past era so vividly that their minds, and eventually their bodies, slip into it. During his first attempt, Si finds himself in an apartment in the Dakota, a landmark building, but his mind has been carried back to Manhattan in 1882.

The novel plays with paradox and the ripple effects that small changes can cause across time. Much of its appeal comes from Si's wry, affectionate view of old New York and from his growing romance with Julia, a woman who refuses to believe he has traveled through time. Jack Finney weaves authentic period photographs and newspaper engravings into the text, so the pictures function as part of the story itself.

The book suits readers who enjoy time travel fiction grounded in real places and everyday detail, and it has a quiet, nostalgic tone. It is followed by a sequel, From Time to Time, which returns to Si's story.