Although the title of this book may make it sound like I am on some kind of theme, it is really just a coincidence. I got this book under semi-random circumstances. I had set out for a trip to the US with two reading books and read both of them on the flight over. This left me with nothing for the return flight. I figured that this wasn't a problem, as they have book stores in the US. Not in downtown San Jose they don't! I was amazed to hear that there was not a single book store within walking distance of my hotel, despite it being near the Convention Center and the University. I concluded that this was not a big issue, as I knew there were shops at the airport, but I happened to stop by the shop at The Tech [science/technology museum] and perused their selection of science-oriented books and was attracted by this one.
It is the auto-biography [a genre that I enjoy] of a guy whose father died when he was young. He began to wish he had a time machine to go back and see his father again. This was not just an idle fantasy - it became a lifelong quest. From very humble beginnings, he went on to become a professor of theoretical physics and devoted much research to the possibilities of time travel.
It is a moving and well told story of his journey. As the news has not had headlines of the form "Scientist travels back in time to see father", I am not giving anything away by revealing that he has, as yet, not built a time machine. But I think the author himself would agree that sometimes the journey is more rewarding than the arrival at a particular destination. And he hasn't given up yet.
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