A Brief History of Timekeeping: The Science of Marking Time, from Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks
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- Create Date：2022-02-14 16:21:34
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Chad Orzel
- ISBN：1953295606
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Brittney
，
Super interesting but also dry as a bone and deeper into physics than I was looking for。
Subodh
，
For a long time I was looking for two books: one that would cover the history of timekeeping devices from sundials to quartz clocks; and the other tracing the history of humanity's search for patterns in the sky leading to astronomy， astrology， Ptolemaic model， Copernicus， Tycho Brahe and Kepler。 While these people were focused on the heavens， Galileo was looking into the movement of earthly objects。 Finally the two streams met in the grand synthesis of Newton。I was lucky to find this book that For a long time I was looking for two books: one that would cover the history of timekeeping devices from sundials to quartz clocks; and the other tracing the history of humanity's search for patterns in the sky leading to astronomy， astrology， Ptolemaic model， Copernicus， Tycho Brahe and Kepler。 While these people were focused on the heavens， Galileo was looking into the movement of earthly objects。 Finally the two streams met in the grand synthesis of Newton。I was lucky to find this book that served both objectives。 It is lucidly written and parts of it are as captivating as a detective novel。 There are technical matters， but the author has taken care to flag them to allow non-technical readers to skip。 It has been one of the most satisfying reads in a long time。I have a few cribs， however。 While the work of Tycho Brahe and Kepler is covered in great detail， Copernicus is glossed over。 Mayan astronomy is covered in depth， but there is not much about Indian astronomy。 Finally， an appendix containing a timeline of important milestones would have been very useful。Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in these subjects。 。。。more
Jessica Samuelson
，
This nonfiction book explores the history of how humans have measured time from solar days to hourglasses to mechanical timepieces to quartz chronometers to atomic clocks。 A few things I found interesting:*How some societies/cultures favor solar calendars while other prefer lunar calendars。*The Mayans had a very intricate calendar system。* Pendulum clocks don’t work while at sea。*Railroad companies had a big influence over time standardization in the U。S。*The official reason Arizona doesn’t foll This nonfiction book explores the history of how humans have measured time from solar days to hourglasses to mechanical timepieces to quartz chronometers to atomic clocks。 A few things I found interesting:*How some societies/cultures favor solar calendars while other prefer lunar calendars。*The Mayans had a very intricate calendar system。* Pendulum clocks don’t work while at sea。*Railroad companies had a big influence over time standardization in the U。S。*The official reason Arizona doesn’t follow Daylight Savings is that having an extra hour of daylight during summer in the desert does not conserve energy。Chad Orzel is a physics professor at Union College in Schenectady， New York and he used one of his classes as a framework for this book。 As such， you can expect lots of historical figures and ideas from astronomy and physics as well as descriptions of physics concepts that can be applied to measuring time。 Be prepared to spend some quality time with Albert Einstein， Isaac Newton， Tycho Brahe， and the Mayans。 。。。more
Peter
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Fantastic exploration of the history of timekeeping。 Orzel is a terrific guide to unfamiliar terrain - personable， even-handed， and deeply knowledgeable。 Not surprisingly， as the book progresses， the science gets more intricate and less familiar to general readers。 But that’s why you’re here， right？ To learn something new？ Finishing the book feels like completing a college course taught by one of your favorite profs。 And there’s no final exam！
Courtney
，
I received an advance copy of this book from Net Gallery in exchange for an honest review。 Boy， do I have mixed feelings about this book。 I picked it up because I enjoy trade books about science and learning about parts of science in which I am not an expert。 However， I drastically underestimated the extent to which my enjoyment of this book would rely on interest in astronomy and physics。 In retrospect， sure， it makes sense that those would be important elements of the story of the history of t I received an advance copy of this book from Net Gallery in exchange for an honest review。 Boy， do I have mixed feelings about this book。 I picked it up because I enjoy trade books about science and learning about parts of science in which I am not an expert。 However， I drastically underestimated the extent to which my enjoyment of this book would rely on interest in astronomy and physics。 In retrospect， sure， it makes sense that those would be important elements of the story of the history of timekeeping， but I didn't recognize that going in， and there wasn't really anything that would've warned me of it before launching in。 Sadly， it turns out that my interest in astronomy and physics was not nearly sufficient to sustain me through this book， so that it felt like a duty， like self-imposed homework--and not the kind I could look forward to-- to finish。 If I hadn't committed to review it， I'd have bailed。 That said， it's not a bad book。 It's well-written and informative; I learned a lot。 The author is engaging。 Someone who *were* interested in astronomy and physics would probably really enjoy this book。 I'm just not the right audience for it。 。。。more
Jessica
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Do you like Doctor Who and other hard science fiction that really gets into the physics of time and space？ Then you will love this book。 The real history of timekeeping is just as interesting as SF。 Orzel also writes in a manner that I， as someone who isn't a student of physics， can understand。The book begins with a discussion of ancient monuments， and the ways those told time， and moves all the way through atomic clocks and other current experiments。 He does a great job of explaining how astron Do you like Doctor Who and other hard science fiction that really gets into the physics of time and space？ Then you will love this book。 The real history of timekeeping is just as interesting as SF。 Orzel also writes in a manner that I， as someone who isn't a student of physics， can understand。The book begins with a discussion of ancient monuments， and the ways those told time， and moves all the way through atomic clocks and other current experiments。 He does a great job of explaining how astronomical bodies， including the earth， were the traditional basis for timekeeping， but now the second is defined by atomic vibrations。 He relates the importance of time to travel， in that without it accurate latitude and longitude were not possible on ships， and that railroad travel forced consistency with time zones in the US。 I love thinking about time as a human construct， but this book elucidates so many things that had never occurred to me。 I would highly recommend this book to anyone with a curious mind， but especially those who love science and science fiction。 It is accessible， and the figures really help explain topics。 It's long， but not difficult to read。 。。。more
Cat
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Thank you to NetGalley and BenBella Books for the chance to read an early copy of this book！This book is just about the most fun I've ever had reading serious non-fiction。 It's a delightful and immensely readable journey through the history and science of marking time， from the Mayan calendar to standardized time zones to GPS。 Even the footnotes are a joy to read， often featuring delightful asides。 Highly recommended to anyone at all intrigued by the topic。 Thank you to NetGalley and BenBella Books for the chance to read an early copy of this book！This book is just about the most fun I've ever had reading serious non-fiction。 It's a delightful and immensely readable journey through the history and science of marking time， from the Mayan calendar to standardized time zones to GPS。 Even the footnotes are a joy to read， often featuring delightful asides。 Highly recommended to anyone at all intrigued by the topic。 。。。more
Sierra
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This was fun！ Orzel struck a good tone between technical details and history， making this book relatively accessible to a somewhat general audience， although I definitely expected less scientific details。 I absolutely loved the first half， but the modern history of timekeeping is held up by modern physics and chemistry， so he had to go through all those developments， which were less engaging。 The sections about changing calendars to keep them in line with seasons is so interesting - seems alien This was fun！ Orzel struck a good tone between technical details and history， making this book relatively accessible to a somewhat general audience， although I definitely expected less scientific details。 I absolutely loved the first half， but the modern history of timekeeping is held up by modern physics and chemistry， so he had to go through all those developments， which were less engaging。 The sections about changing calendars to keep them in line with seasons is so interesting - seems alien to us but like，，，leap day is just that but codified I can't believe we know what year the Egyptian calendar started being used！ （view spoiler）[ 2782 BC， almost five thousand years ago！ （hide spoiler）]ARC provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Brandon Bierley
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I finally gave up around 70%。 I kept trying to restart and just couldn't take anymore。This book started out strong and interesting， then devolved into a tired， generic retelling of the history of physics that I hard an extremely hard "time" connecting to anything to do with timekeeping。 This seems like a classic case of "I had a good idea， but not enough to write an entire book on it。" When the author started name-dropping alumni from his college connections during his side-bars into the irrelev I finally gave up around 70%。 I kept trying to restart and just couldn't take anymore。This book started out strong and interesting， then devolved into a tired， generic retelling of the history of physics that I hard an extremely hard "time" connecting to anything to do with timekeeping。 This seems like a classic case of "I had a good idea， but not enough to write an entire book on it。" When the author started name-dropping alumni from his college connections during his side-bars into the irrelevant and referencing other books with suspiciously similar titles， I began to wonder if my time might be better spent on one of those books。An editor could have taken out several hundred pages。。。 and possibly had the author add a few that were on topic。Audiobook copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Pauline Stout
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*Free copy of book provided in exchange for an honest review*As with most non-fiction works， this book is about exactly what the title says it is。 This book is a comprehensive look at the history of timekeeping and the various methods and devices that people have used to track the passage of time over history。 It goes into the theory behind why these devices and methods worked as clocks/time keeping methods and how people came to discover/use them。 It also goes into all of the things that an acc *Free copy of book provided in exchange for an honest review*As with most non-fiction works， this book is about exactly what the title says it is。 This book is a comprehensive look at the history of timekeeping and the various methods and devices that people have used to track the passage of time over history。 It goes into the theory behind why these devices and methods worked as clocks/time keeping methods and how people came to discover/use them。 It also goes into all of the things that an accurate knowledge of time makes possible。The main reason that this book interested me so much is that I am time blind。 For anyone that doesn't know what that means， I am almost completely unable to perceive the passage of time around me。 It is nearly impossible for me to remember when events in my past have happened （even if it was a major life changer） and I have a very difficult time keeping up with how quickly time elapses on a daily basis。 It is also very difficult for me to keep track of the time scale of things that are going to happen in the future。 As a result time and the various ways it can be kept track of has always been an interest of mine。I really liked the first I'm going to say 75% of this book。 I loved reading about this history of solstice markers and the beginnings of astronomy/astrology。 Water clocks and the start of mechanical clocks was fascinating。 As was the history of map making。 Things started going downhill for me when the topic changed to physics， relativity， and the modern atomic clock。 I told a couple of my friends that I went from being super entertained to feeling like I was sitting through a high leveled physics lecture。 It goes very in depth into the topic and I'm not ashamed to admit that most of it went very far over my head。 I think that this section would be much more enjoyable for someone that already has a background in science and physics in particular。 As someone who doesn't know much about the topic this was my least favorite section of the book。Even though I have issues with the more science heavy sections of the book toward the end， I genuinely loved reading this。 It is very well researched and written。 I learned a lot of things that I had no idea about before I found this book。 Overall I highly recommend this for non-fiction readers and fans of scientific books also。 。。。more
elisabook
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What a great book！ It takes you all the way from the very first recorded celestial observations to advances in quantum physics and special relativity， discussing how humans have studied and measured time。 Orzel argues convincingly that timekeeping is a universal pasttime， functioning as a means to "impose order and predictability onto an otherwise capricious and confusing universe"。 He also shows how timekeeping has changed from a foray of a small group of elites to something accessible to all o What a great book！ It takes you all the way from the very first recorded celestial observations to advances in quantum physics and special relativity， discussing how humans have studied and measured time。 Orzel argues convincingly that timekeeping is a universal pasttime， functioning as a means to "impose order and predictability onto an otherwise capricious and confusing universe"。 He also shows how timekeeping has changed from a foray of a small group of elites to something accessible to all of us， with various indirect advantages we likely don't think about， such as the use of accurate timekeeping for GPS navigation。The chapters are ordered - appropriately enough - chronologically， and cover developments in different cultures， though are more weighted towards Europe/North America （especially in the modern sections）。 We see astronomical observations suggested by ancient tombs， water clocks used in ancient Greece and China， advances in medieval Europe， and modern-day labs working with atomic clocks。 Lots of questions are answered: Why does February only have 28/29 days？ Why is the Chinese New Year out of sync from the Gregorian New Year？ Why did people think that the Mayans predicted 2012 to be the apocalypse？ How did the current system of timezones come about？ And is that stuff in sci-fi films about ageing at different rates real？Orzel has a gift for explaining complicated phenomena clearly。 He makes the odd joke here and there without it feeling at all forced， and doesn't shy away from explaining core physics concepts in detail （don't be fooled by the title - this is a fairly long read）。 Personally， I studied physics to age 18 and loved it， so was thankful for refreshers and new knowledge。 If you are less into physics， you may prefer to skim-read sections （Orzel himself suggests skipping the more detailed information in the text boxes， and you can miss the footnotes if you are not interested （but I recommend them if you are！））。 I also really appreciated how Orzel provides relevant information about social and politic developments that affected the history of science; these serve both to spice up the text and contextualise （the lack of） developments。 A small note: If you have a choice， I would recommend looking for a physical copy。 I read the ebook and while the formatting is very good （and the illustrations are a nice touch）， some of the diagrams （e。g。 Loc 380 on equinoxes） were too faint / had too small text to make out without somehow zooming in。I read a free ARC ebook copy， received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Dylan Schnabel
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NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a review copy。 A Brief History of Timekeeping: The Science of Marking Time， from Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks by Chad Orzel is a top-level overview of the ways humanity has kept track of time， primarily in chronological order。 Orzel clearly knows what he's talking about。 From the broad overviews down to the specific examples， his history of clockwork and timekeeping is well-researched。 His knowledge really shines， though， when we get to the back half o NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a review copy。 A Brief History of Timekeeping: The Science of Marking Time， from Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks by Chad Orzel is a top-level overview of the ways humanity has kept track of time， primarily in chronological order。 Orzel clearly knows what he's talking about。 From the broad overviews down to the specific examples， his history of clockwork and timekeeping is well-researched。 His knowledge really shines， though， when we get to the back half of the book and move from discussions about calendars and astrological date keeping to mechanical clocks and the science of time。 His experience as a physicist really comes off the page。That being said， I really thought the book took a step down once it got into the science of timekeeping。 The science portion is still relevant to the history of timekeeping， yes， and it's decently interesting stuff， but the whole tone changes。 We go from a broad overview of the history of how and why people kept time and the differences in their methods and motivations to a detailed and focused look into the science of how recently modern and modern clocks keep time。 There's a difference in tone and a difference in subject。 This portion of the book， primarily the last few chapters， felt weaker to me than the early parts of the book。 Orzel does a solid job of both presenting the methods and history of how time was kept as well as presenting likely motivations for competing systems。 The best example of this is his time spent writing about calendrical systems used by humanity throughout the past and how they came to be。 The political and religious motivations were explained in a fascinating way， as well。Overall， if you have questions about a specific era and how exactly people， from the rich to the poor to the urban to the rural， kept time， you may want to look for something more specific。 If you want a decent outline of how timekeeping evolved， as well as thoughts and conceptions of time itself， this is a good book to pick up。 。。。more
Barbara
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My husband is a clock freak so I thought it would be fun to learn about the history of time keeping so we could chat。 Sadly I DNFed this book。 I know it sounds cliched but it’s me， not the book。 I simply couldn’t warm up to the topic。 The author is super knowledgeable but the info is presented very academically。 I like my history and non-fiction to have a little more narrative。 Bonus points however for putting all the hardcore science info in shaded sidebars and encouraging non-science readers t My husband is a clock freak so I thought it would be fun to learn about the history of time keeping so we could chat。 Sadly I DNFed this book。 I know it sounds cliched but it’s me， not the book。 I simply couldn’t warm up to the topic。 The author is super knowledgeable but the info is presented very academically。 I like my history and non-fiction to have a little more narrative。 Bonus points however for putting all the hardcore science info in shaded sidebars and encouraging non-science readers to pass them by。 The author clearly understood not everyone is as into physics and math as he is。 Over all， I’m sure the book will be interesting to a certain audience。 Just not me。 。。。more
Ana
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I received a free eARC from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 A Brief History of Timekeeping is a fascinating micro history looking at time keeping from ancient times up to the present。 It starts with pre-historic humans keeping track of the seasons for agriculture - when to plant and harvest crops- by using cues taken from the sun and moon （how high the sun is in the sky and lunar phases）。 Orzel takes us on a journey， and we see the sweep of history in this bo I received a free eARC from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 A Brief History of Timekeeping is a fascinating micro history looking at time keeping from ancient times up to the present。 It starts with pre-historic humans keeping track of the seasons for agriculture - when to plant and harvest crops- by using cues taken from the sun and moon （how high the sun is in the sky and lunar phases）。 Orzel takes us on a journey， and we see the sweep of history in this book。 We get to explore sundials， astronomical sites such as Stonehenge and Mayan buildings， as well as the creation and maintenance of calendars from all over the world。 We also look at time keeping devices such as clocks， watches， and electronic devices such as phones。 He also explores how the act of keeping time influences culture （like workdays etc）。 In general the writing was simple and easy to understand， with sidebars explaining the more technical or theoretical aspects that are more difficult to understand。 However， as the book went on these sidebars got longer and longer， and more difficult to understand， especially when he gets into the science of atomic clocks and quantum physics。 Still， this is an excellent overview of human attempts to keep track of time， and despite the pace slowing a bit at the end， I would recommend this to readers who are interested in science， history， timekeeping， and micro-histories。 。。。more
Maudaevee
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I loved this book！！ It took something mundane on the surface and made it into a fascinating story。 It was very readable and I had a hard time putting it down。 I can’t wait to order a physical copy and give it a reread。
Gary Barnes
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Thanks to Netgalley and BenBella Books for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review。I'm a self-confessed sucker for books titled "A Brief History of。。" although my track record of fully understanding the treated topic ranges from fairly appreciable to almost negligible。 The latter proved the case when I attempted to read "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking exactly 25 years ago。 With this in mind and in view of the near identical title， it was with slight trepidation th Thanks to Netgalley and BenBella Books for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review。I'm a self-confessed sucker for books titled "A Brief History of。。" although my track record of fully understanding the treated topic ranges from fairly appreciable to almost negligible。 The latter proved the case when I attempted to read "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking exactly 25 years ago。 With this in mind and in view of the near identical title， it was with slight trepidation that I started out on "A Brief History of Timekeeping" by Chad Orzel。 It proved to be a tremendously enjoyable read providing a broader treatment of the topic than I'd initially expected。 The evolution of humanity's endeavour to observe and track time is intimately intertwined with the concomitant development of science through the ages。 The evolution of science led to ever more precise ways of timekeeping and more precise timekeeping in turn aided the evolution of science。 This book tracks the development of the concept of time， which was initially based on the asynchronous rotations of the sun and/or the moon。 The corrective modifications each method's imprecisions constantly required were initially solved when timekeeping was divorced from the heavenly bodies and brought down to earth on the influences of Newtonian physics。 The birth of Einstein's special and general theories of relativity lead to ever more precise methods of measuring the singular ticking of the concept of time。 This book proved to be a wonderful journey through the history of science behind timekeeping and ended with a glance into the future。I must admit that the astronomy and physics at times can seem a bit overpowering， unless you tackle the characteristics of cesium atoms， and general and special relativity on a frequent basis。 Even though all topics are fairly clearly explained and illustrated （or can be glossed over as you get to the general idea of the matter）， I think a basic understanding of physics is definitely helpful when tackling this book。 #ABriefHistoryofTimekeeping #NetGalley 。。。more
Stephen Meyers
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I chose to read this book thinking its focus was history。 What I did not realize until about the second third of the book was that it would also get into a great deal of astronomy and physics。 Perhaps I should have delved further before reading to learn the author was a college professor and physicist who based the book on a course he teaches。The book is a history， starting with prehistoric efforts to track seasons for purposes of crop planting and harvesting， with astronomy and the locations of I chose to read this book thinking its focus was history。 What I did not realize until about the second third of the book was that it would also get into a great deal of astronomy and physics。 Perhaps I should have delved further before reading to learn the author was a college professor and physicist who based the book on a course he teaches。The book is a history， starting with prehistoric efforts to track seasons for purposes of crop planting and harvesting， with astronomy and the locations of heavenly bodies used to ascertain the time of day （e。g。 sun overhead）， time of year （e。g。 sun doesn't rise as high in the sky）， time of month （e。g。 the size of the moon in the sky）， and how other heavenly bodies were used to keep time。 Orzel takes us from sundials， to the present， explaining ancient Mayan structures， Stonehenge and other early efforts to time the seasons， how calendars were created and their evolution， as well as timekeeping at the level of our clocks， watches， cell phones and other electronic devices。 Lots of enlightening discussion of early efforts to keep time。From the earliest civilizations he describes efforts to measure the time of day， including sundials， water clocks （which work on cloudy days）， hourglasses， and the development of mechanical clocks， then on to electronic clocks using quartz crystals， atomic clocks and future， more advanced atomic clocks。 While much of this is enjoyable， the text is full of references to principles of astronomy and physics， explained in the text and further in detailed asides。 The many illustrations were very helpful in conveying some of these scientific concepts， but once Orzel got into the theories of general and special relativity and how time bends near heavenly objects exerting strong gravitational forces， things got beyond my ready comprehension。The last third of the book， in particular， includes a great deal of science that explains how timekeeping has advanced。 Unless one has recently taken a course in astronomy or physics， much of this will be dense and slow going。 I for one was not interested in the basics of cesium atomic clocks nor the future of laser clocks。 But I did enjoy learning about how our GPS system relies on highly accurate timekeeping， which in turn is aided by the atomic clocks on the many GPS satellites orbiting our home planet。 If you are a science buff， you will likely love this book。 If you are more of a history buff or simply have an interest in timekeeping， you will find this book slow going but one can skip the detailed science and focus on the history。Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for providing an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an objective review which I have hopefully provided。 。。。more
Steve's Book Stuff
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A Brief History of Timekeeping is both history and science， and so is the kind of book I gravitate to。 Author Chad Orzel starts with a strong statement in his introduction - "we [humanity] are and always have been a species that builds clocks"。 He then goes on to do a pretty good job justifying that statement with the rest of the book， which takes us from Neolithic megastructure timekeeping to today's atomic clocks that keep the time on our cellphones current， and the （historically extremel A Brief History of Timekeeping is both history and science， and so is the kind of book I gravitate to。 Author Chad Orzel starts with a strong statement in his introduction - "we [humanity] are and always have been a species that builds clocks"。 He then goes on to do a pretty good job justifying that statement with the rest of the book， which takes us from Neolithic megastructure timekeeping to today's atomic clocks that keep the time on our cellphones current， and the （historically extremely accurate） quartz watches many of us wear on our wrists。Orzel is a scientist himself - holding a PhD in Chemical Physics - and also a Professor at Union College in Schenectady， NY。 He's the author of several other pretty well received popular science books， such as the humorously titled How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog and How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog。In this book Orzel promises to keep the content "approachable and engaging for as broad an audience as possible"。 To do so， he separates out more technical discussions into sidebars set off from the main text。 You can choose to delve into the sidebars， or skip them knowing you'll still get the gist of what he's talking about。 This approach works pretty well in the early chapters of the book （and yes， of course I read the sidebars）。 But later in the book as he gets into quantum physics and atomic clocks the main text gets pretty darn technical and the sidebars grow to multiple pages。 I'm not too proud to admit that most， if not all， of the chapter on Quantum Clocks was way over my head。 Well， my college days are far behind me， and it's apparent that I've hit that age where I've forgotten more than most college kids know。In general though I found the book enjoyable。 There is plenty of history here I didn't know about， and some things， like the advanced water clocks of China， that I was aware of but learned much more about。 He's spends a fair amount of time on the Aztecs and their cosmology and calendar system， which I thoroughly enjoyed。My personal preference in a history of science book like this one is that the author go heavy on the history and keep the science to the "explain it to me like I'm a fifth grader" level。 This book is apparently adapted from a course Orzel teaches in the Physics Department at Union， and so perhaps for that reason the science throughout was a bit "heavier" than I would have liked。 So for that reason I give A Brief History of Timekeeping Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐。NOTE: I received an advanced reviewer's copy of this book through NetGalley and BenBella Books in exchange for a fair and honest review。 The book will be generally available on January 25， 2022。 。。。more
Paul
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Solstice caves。 Gregorian compromise。 "Give us our 11 days！" Mayan calendar ends （order your refills！）。 tictictic， the measure of time。 Orzel writes really clearly， even when the story is convoluted。 The Julian calendar worked for 15 centuries before its rounding-error affected everyday life。 I've read on this change in many books， but Orzel's is by far the best。 But he also explains the Hebrew and Islamic moon-based calendars。 One I never understood and the other was rare in my life until recen Solstice caves。 Gregorian compromise。 "Give us our 11 days！" Mayan calendar ends （order your refills！）。 tictictic， the measure of time。 Orzel writes really clearly， even when the story is convoluted。 The Julian calendar worked for 15 centuries before its rounding-error affected everyday life。 I've read on this change in many books， but Orzel's is by far the best。 But he also explains the Hebrew and Islamic moon-based calendars。 One I never understood and the other was rare in my life until recently。 Chronometers， for surveying and particularly for locating yourself east-to-west on the high seas， in search of treasure。If you dig time， you must read this。 Easily the best I have ever seen。 。。。more
Waverly
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Author Chad Orzel draws upon his experience as a professor to teach readers about the methodology of timekeeping on the largest and very smallest scale that we can conceive for now。 Calling it a "brief" history brings to mind that the experience of time is relative， and this was a very slow read for me。 The book is probably more engaging and accessible on the printed page based on a description of side bars in the introduction， which did not display as intended in the e-arc sent to my kindle。 Author Chad Orzel draws upon his experience as a professor to teach readers about the methodology of timekeeping on the largest and very smallest scale that we can conceive for now。 Calling it a "brief" history brings to mind that the experience of time is relative， and this was a very slow read for me。 The book is probably more engaging and accessible on the printed page based on a description of side bars in the introduction， which did not display as intended in the e-arc sent to my kindle。 。。。more
Audrey （Warped Shelves）
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