Jack Finney (1) (1911–1995)
Author of Time and Again
For other authors named Jack Finney, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Jack Finney was born on October 2, 1911 with the given name John Finney. His father died when he was three years old and he was renamed Walter Braden Finney in honor of his father. He attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. After moving to New York and working in the advertising industry, he show more began writing stories for popular magazines like Collier's, The Saturday Evening Post and McCall's. His first novel, "Five Against the House" (1954), told the story of five college students who plot to rob a casino in Reno. A year later he published "The Body Snatchers" which was later reissued as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Many critics interpreted the insidious infiltration by aliens as a cold-war allegory that dramatized America's fear of a takeover by Communists. Mr. Finney maintained that the novel was nothing more than popular entertainment. The 1956 film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was remade twice. With "Time and Again," Mr. Finney won the kind of critical praise and attention not normally accorded to genre fiction. Finney died November 16, 1995 of pneumonia and emphysema at Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, Calif. He was 84. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Jack Finney
I'm Scared 9 copies
The Third Level [short story] 7 copies
Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket 7 copies
Such Interesting Neighbors 2 copies
Where the Cluetts Are 2 copies
Second Chance 2 copies
Hey, Look at Me! 2 copies
Novels by Jack Finney: Time and Again, From Time to Time, Of Missing Persons, The Body Snatchers (2010) 1 copy
The Widow's Walk 1 copy
Home Alone [novelette] 1 copy
Behind the News 1 copy
Associated Works
American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from the 1940s to Now (2009) — Contributor — 261 copies
The Best Fantasy Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1985) — Contributor — 67 copies
Van Jules Verne tot Isaac Asimov de vijftig beste science fiction verhalen (1981) — Contributor — 15 copies
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction September 1954, Vol. 7, No. 3 (1954) — Contributor — 14 copies
Science fiction verhalen [1969] — Contributor, some editions — 13 copies
Discovering Fiction Level 2 Student's Book: A Reader of North American Short Stories (2012) — Contributor — 2 copies
Times 4: Four Science Fiction Tales — Contributor — 2 copies
Configurations: American Short Stories for the EFL Classroom, Advanced Level (1984) — Contributor — 1 copy
Mystery and Suspense — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Finney, Jack (birth)
Finney, Walter Braden - Other names
- ジャック・フィニイ
ジャック フィニイ - Birthdate
- 1911-10-02
- Date of death
- 1995-11-14
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Country (for map)
- USA
- Birthplace
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
- Place of death
- Greenbrae, California, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Mill Valley, California, USA
Galesburg, Illinois, USA - Education
- Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, USA
- Occupations
- science fiction writer
novelist - Short biography
- Jack Finney was a prolific writer best known for his science fiction and thrillers, including The Body Snatchers (1955) and Time and Again (1970).Walter Braden "Jack" Finney (born John Finney, October 2, 1911 – November 14, 1995) was an American author. His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers, including The Body Snatchers and Time and Again. The former was the basis for the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers and its remakes.
Members
Discussions
Found: Late 1970s sci fi short story; man hesitates and misses his chance at life-changing trip in Name that Book (June 2022)
SciFi Aliens pick up people who buy tickets in Name that Book (November 2018)
Reviews
Time And Again: Time and Again: Book One (FANTASY… by Jack Finney
This was recommended to me long ago, and has sat on my book shelf collecting dust for years. I regret not picking it up until now. I love time travel books, and this one is a winner. Although it dragged in parts with way too much description, especially as to what folks were wearing, it eventually took off and had a great ending.
I really wanted to love this book. The person who recommended it to me did. At least one of my bookstore customers did. Alas, I did not.
I had to work very hard to make myself read it all the way to the end. The tale was interesting enough, but having spent a grand total of twenty-five minutes (at most) of my life in New York, I simply couldn't appreciate the packaging. At good 80% of the text is devoted to describing nineteenth century New York city, mostly as compared to twentieth century New York. The remaining 20% slowly (very, very, slowly) moved the protagonist towards a predictable decision. Some twists at the end were unexpected - I'll give Finney that - but by then I didn't care enough to feel genuine surprise at the turn of events.
A native New Yorker would probably be delighted with this book, but this southern girl was left quite unmoved. (Sorry, Barb!)… (more)
I had to work very hard to make myself read it all the way to the end. The tale was interesting enough, but having spent a grand total of twenty-five minutes (at most) of my life in New York, I simply couldn't appreciate the packaging. At good 80% of the text is devoted to describing nineteenth century New York city, mostly as compared to twentieth century New York. The remaining 20% slowly (very, very, slowly) moved the protagonist towards a predictable decision. Some twists at the end were unexpected - I'll give Finney that - but by then I didn't care enough to feel genuine surprise at the turn of events.
A native New Yorker would probably be delighted with this book, but this southern girl was left quite unmoved. (Sorry, Barb!)… (more)
Good 1960s thriller by Finney. This book is not SF like his "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". It is a fun read about a group of adventurer criminals with an insane but implausible plan.
3.5 Stars
Well that was a surprisingly tense read. I haven't seen any of the movie adaptations so didn't know what to expect. I think the ending was a bit anticlimactic given that Jack had done a brilliant job of creating a growing sense of dread and unease. It all just ended a bit too easily in my opinion. Still a really good book that definitely has a place in a high school library for those who want a less flashy sci-fi mystery.
Well that was a surprisingly tense read. I haven't seen any of the movie adaptations so didn't know what to expect. I think the ending was a bit anticlimactic given that Jack had done a brilliant job of creating a growing sense of dread and unease. It all just ended a bit too easily in my opinion. Still a really good book that definitely has a place in a high school library for those who want a less flashy sci-fi mystery.
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Statistics
- Works
- 42
- Also by
- 53
- Members
- 8,234
- Popularity
- #2,936
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 270
- ISBNs
- 167
- Languages
- 9
- Favorited
- 1