TIME IS THE SIMPLEST THING by...

TIME IS THE SIMPLEST THING by Clifford D. Simak (Collier: $9; 263 pp.). Originally published in 1961, “Time” can be read as an exciting yarn with pulp overtones, involving a charming extraterrestrial known as The Pinkness. But the narrative also reveals the faith in science popular at the time, as well as bitter memories of the McCarthy era witch hunts. The current debates over science, religion and toleration have given new relevance to Simak’s vision of a fundamentalist hate campaign waged against human telepaths.