The Time Traders

A secret Cold War experiment opens gateways into Earth's distant past, where rival powers race to uncover alien technologies buried in prehistory.

When Ross Murdock is recruited into the mysterious Time Traders program, he discovers that the conflict between East and West has expanded beyond the present day. Using alien portals that reach millions of years into Earth's past, agents travel back in time to locate remnants of ancient extraterrestrial civilizations whose technologies could determine the outcome of the modern world.

But the past is not empty. Strange alien artifacts remain hidden among prehistoric landscapes, and the dangers awaiting the time agents are far greater than any Cold War intelligence service imagined. As Ross ventures deeper into forgotten eras, he uncovers evidence that humanity may not have been the first intelligence to shape the destiny of Earth.

First published in 1958, The Time Traders is one of Andre Norton's most enduring science fiction adventures, combining time travel, alien archaeology, and Cold War intrigue into a fast-moving classic of mid-century science fiction.