I am now 46 and so it's been bugging me for over 30 years - time to try and do something about it. The collection was in my lower school library (UK). It was a thick black hardback book and I believe there was at least one more book in the series. Many of the images have stayed with me so vividly and it was the book that got me into science fiction. Here are snapshots of some of the stories - the first 2 are the ones I'd like to track down most:

1. Time travel is commonplace especially for leisure purposes. A group of people go back to the time of Jesus' crucifixion. Their appearances are modified so they blend in with the crowd and they are told what to do in order not to alter history. The experience is as exciting as they hoped until the moment when Pilate asks them to choose between Jesus and Barabbas - of course they shout for Barabbas, but the protagonist suddenly realises the whole crowd is made up of time travellers and the people of the time are hiding voiceless...

2. A new way of controlling criminals is to inject them with a drug that slows their bodies down to a fraction of that of normal humans. They exist alongside the world at normal speed but can't perpetrate any further crimes as they are so slow. Their speech is so slow it is incomprehensible. I seem to remember a reporter or similar decides to take the drug, either to meet a friend or just as an experience but gets trapped as the drug is routinely readministered as 'he must be a criminal'. Time passes so fast.

3. Aliens have taken over the world and are experiencing what is is like to be human by taking over/occupying part of people's minds. 2 humans fall in love and don't want the aliens involved but eventually can't stop them. The aliens will only let them be in a relationship if they can experience it too. The aliens want to know what sex is like. Disastrous consequences.

4. A space station floating in the middle of nowhere. A dead woman (or baby?). Someone floating off into nothingness with no hope of rescue. The sense of being totally alone. Sorry I can't be more specific - it was obviously the feelings of this one that got my teen self!

I'd love it if anyone has an idea on this Thanks all

I am now 46 and so it's been bugging me for over 30 years - time to try and do something about it. The collection was in my lower school library (UK). It was a thick black hardback book and I believe there was at least one more book in the series. Many of the images have stayed with me so vividly and it was the book that got me into science fiction. Here are snapshots of some of the stories - the first 2 are the ones I'd like to track down most:

1. Time travel is commonplace especially for leisure purposes. A group of people go back to the time of Jesus' crucifixion. Their appearances are modified so they blend in with the crowd and they are told what to do in order not to alter history. The experience is as exciting as they hoped until the moment when Pilate asks them to choose between Jesus and Barabbas - of course they shout for Barabbas, but the protagonist suddenly realises the whole crowd is made up of time travellers and the people of the time are hiding voiceless...

2. A new way of controlling criminals is to inject them with a drug that slows their bodies down to a fraction of that of normal humans. They exist alongside the world at normal speed but can't perpetrate any further crimes as they are so slow. Their speech is so slow it is incomprehensible. I seem to remember a reporter or similar decides to take the drug, either to meet a friend or just as an experience but gets trapped as the drug is routinely readministered as 'he must be a criminal'. Time passes so fast.

3. Aliens have taken over the world and are experiencing what it is like to be human by taking over/occupying part of people's minds. 2 humans fall in love and don't want the aliens involved but eventually can't stop them. The aliens will only let them be in a relationship if they can experience it too. The aliens want to know what sex is like. Disastrous consequences.

4. A space station floating in the middle of nowhere. A dead woman (or baby?). Someone floating off into nothingness with no hope of rescue. The sense of being totally alone. Sorry I can't be more specific - it was obviously the feelings of this one that got my teen self!

I'd love it if anyone has an idea on this Thanks all