The History of Time: A Very Short Introduction
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- Create Date：2021-09-05 07:53:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Leofranc Holford-Strevens
- ISBN：0192804995
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Summary
Why do we measure time in the way that we do？ Why is a week seven days long？ At what point did minutes and seconds come into being？ Why are some calendars lunar and some solar？
The organization of time into hours， days， months， and years seems immutable and universal， but is actually far more artificial than most people realize。 For example， the French Revolution resulted in a restructuring of the French calendar， and the Soviet Union experimented with five and then six-day weeks。
Leofranc Holford-Strevens brings us this fascinating study of time using a range of examples from Ancient Rome and Julius Caesar's imposition of the Leap Year to the 1920's project for a fixed Easter。 Those interested in time， history， and the development of the calendar will enjoy this absorbing exploration of an aspect of our lives that we all take for granted。
The organization of time into hours， days， months， and years seems immutable and universal， but is actually far more artificial than most people realize。 For example， the French Revolution resulted in a restructuring of the French calendar， and the Soviet Union experimented with five and then six-day weeks。
Leofranc Holford-Strevens brings us this fascinating study of time using a range of examples from Ancient Rome and Julius Caesar's imposition of the Leap Year to the 1920's project for a fixed Easter。 Those interested in time， history， and the development of the calendar will enjoy this absorbing exploration of an aspect of our lives that we all take for granted。
Reviews
Ida Marie Lund
，
Alt for mange informationer og for lidt pædagogik， så ikke voldsomt hyggelig læsning men ønsker man oprigtigt denne viden får man i hvertfald en masse。。。
Christine Doiron
，
I’ve now read several of these very short introductions and this is this far my least favorite。 The writing is relatively dry and uninteresting， and after reading the whole thing I don’t feel like I learned a whole lot。
Pramod Pant
，
For all those who look at the watch and the calendar ， assuming that they know about those but haven’t thought how these things actually work。
Cain S。
，
5/5A difficult， but riveting， book full of must-know nuggets about the history of time reckoning， evolving and conflicting historical definitions of minutes， hours， weeks， months and days across various cultures， and calendrical systems。 The chapter on Easter and how there is still contention over "moveable feasts，" which occur on different days every year， in different Christian denominational systems is a gem。 5/5A difficult， but riveting， book full of must-know nuggets about the history of time reckoning， evolving and conflicting historical definitions of minutes， hours， weeks， months and days across various cultures， and calendrical systems。 The chapter on Easter and how there is still contention over "moveable feasts，" which occur on different days every year， in different Christian denominational systems is a gem。 。。。more
verbava
，
оксфордські «дуже короткі вступи» зручні， але іноді – як із цим， скажімо， – здається， що редактори просять авторів розповісти про щось коротко， не додаючи， що це має бути ще і ясно。 а потім， коли автори приносять стислі головоломні тексти， уже якось незручно уточнювати технічне завдання， то їх так і публікують。коли я розумію， про що пише голфорд-стревенс， читати його приємно; коли не розумію – ну， принаймні є враження， що сам він знає， що хоче сказати。
Marts （Thinker）
，
A detail on historical time calculations and allocations。。。
N
，
Very misleading title， but accurate description。 Unfortunately I just picked it up based on the title， wanting a quick primer on the history of thought about time。 I'd recently finished James Gleick's Time Travel and was exploring a few ideas contrasting the different philosophies of time based on the cultural environment， for which I needed pointers to big names to compare， like St。Augustine and Parmenides and Newton etc。 This is not that book。 This is the history of calendars。 It starts off in Very misleading title， but accurate description。 Unfortunately I just picked it up based on the title， wanting a quick primer on the history of thought about time。 I'd recently finished James Gleick's Time Travel and was exploring a few ideas contrasting the different philosophies of time based on the cultural environment， for which I needed pointers to big names to compare， like St。Augustine and Parmenides and Newton etc。 This is not that book。 This is the history of calendars。 It starts off interesting， and then gets mired in a sludge of supremely boring particulars that I'm sure would be of mindblowing interest to obsessives but certainly not to some filthy casual like me who'd pick up something with the words very， short， and introduction。 From the section on Easter onwards， the reading got faster and faster as I bothered with less and less of the detail。 NotesSolon saw time as judge。 Court of time。 Link with the post-bicameral mind of Ancient Greece and the need for Solon to abstract principles of justice away from the erstwhile divine voices of god。Germanic/Celtics counted not days but nights。 Same with hotel booking。 Fortnight = 14 nightsDay starts with midnight， noon， or dawn like morgen， tomorrow， manana。 Hence noontime nap is siesta， 6th hour。Lunar calebdar， synodic for Greek conjunction， lunation full moon to full moon。 Every few years add a month to match solar calendar， intercalation or embolism。Count waxing waning moon dates separately。 1-15， 15-1 backwardsSolar calendar。 12*30。 5 extra epagomenal days。 Egyptian 'days upon the year'。Intercalation was unlucky so didn't happen during stressful times like punic war， gallic war， Caesar civil war。 46bc Caesar finally free to take one time correction of 445 day year。 Added 10 days to 29 day months made year 365。 Quinctilus （5th month， from march） became Julius。8bc， Augustus his heir defeated Antony Cleopatra so renamed sextilius to August。Julian calendar extra 1 day per 131yrs by vernal equinox count， used for Easter。 Gregory xiii made bull that suppressed 3 leap days per 400 years。 Non catholics took as much as 1968 to move from Julian。Bourgeois idlers sat sun banoshed by Soviet Union。 5 day weeks， everyday 1/5th would be on leave。 Generous leave， continuous production。 But just disrupted family religious life。 Peasants wanted Sunday。 Stalin eventually reintroduced 7 day week in 1940How to count year？ Eponymous: year Gaius became consul。 Ephor of Sparta。 Archon of Athens。 Difficult to compare。Regnal: needed to know chronology of kings。 Survived till 1962 in UK。Cycles， 4yr Olympiad。 12yr animal cycle in China 。。。more
Miguel Figueiredo
，
A bit too dry。 There are a lot， and I mean A LOT of references to names and dates in such a tiny book。 Although it is mesmerizing the amount of knowledge the author demonstrates to posess， the book leaves the reader with the impression that a lot of it is dispensible for a real understanding of the history of time。 However， it contains some good references to other books of the same domain， and gives an overall impression on the complicate and intricate evolution of the art of counting and keepi A bit too dry。 There are a lot， and I mean A LOT of references to names and dates in such a tiny book。 Although it is mesmerizing the amount of knowledge the author demonstrates to posess， the book leaves the reader with the impression that a lot of it is dispensible for a real understanding of the history of time。 However， it contains some good references to other books of the same domain， and gives an overall impression on the complicate and intricate evolution of the art of counting and keeping track of time。 。。。more
Robert Day
，
I feel that one star is generous for this book， but if I award it no stars then it just looks like I've forgotten to tick the box。 Ah well， never mind。This is not a history of time。 It has nothing to do with time。 It is merely a history of the ways that people have labelled time。 It's overly complicated language makes it a real pain to read。 Even the glossary; which is supposed to explain things， right？ contains so many complicated words that I found it to be useless。 In fact， the whole book was I feel that one star is generous for this book， but if I award it no stars then it just looks like I've forgotten to tick the box。 Ah well， never mind。This is not a history of time。 It has nothing to do with time。 It is merely a history of the ways that people have labelled time。 It's overly complicated language makes it a real pain to read。 Even the glossary; which is supposed to explain things， right？ contains so many complicated words that I found it to be useless。 In fact， the whole book was useless for me; I learned nothing of value Don't read this， full stop。 。。。more
Dennis Cuffel
，
This is a short book。 This reads more like a textbook。 The book is very well researched with a huge number of dates， facts and references。 I was looking for something that had more insight into the cultural impact of time。
Ljubomir
，
Not to be confused with "A Brief History of Time"， this book is actually a history of the different calendars and timekeeping methods humanity has used throughout its history。That's not a con for me， but keep in mind， that it's technical and to-the-point。 Not to be confused with "A Brief History of Time"， this book is actually a history of the different calendars and timekeeping methods humanity has used throughout its history。That's not a con for me， but keep in mind， that it's technical and to-the-point。 。。。more
Ευθυμία Δεσποτάκη
，
Did not finish – σελίδα 97 από 169。Βαρετό και μπερδεμένο。 Ο συγγραφέας μού θύμισε ένα σωρό καθηγητές μου στο Πανεπιστήμιο: προσπαθούν να διδάξουν， πεπεισμένοι ότι αυτά που λένε τα καταλαβαίνουν οι άλλοι， διότι， αφού τα καταλαβαίνω εγώ πώς μπορεί να μην τα καταλαβαίνεις εσύ。
Thaer
，
بعد قراءة هذا الكتاب سوف تنتبه ولفترة من الوقت الى التاريخ الذي تدونه فعام 2017 هو مبني على التقويم الغريفوري المستخدم عالمياالا ان هذا التقويم ليس الوحيد الموجود في العالم اليوم ولا حتى الوحيد الذي وجد في الماضيفرقم السنة ومن اي يوم تبدا و عدد الشهور ضمن السنة و عدد الايام ضمن الشهر وحتى في اي ساعة يبدا اليوم والى كم قسم يقسم اليوم كان مختلفا جدا ضمن ثقافات العالم وفي اليونان كانت لكل مدينة نظام تقويم مختلفان الاسباب الدينية والسياسية لعبت دورا كبيرا في تحديد وتشكيل انظمة التقويم حول العالم فعي بعد قراءة هذا الكتاب سوف تنتبه ولفترة من الوقت الى التاريخ الذي تدونه فعام 2017 هو مبني على التقويم الغريفوري المستخدم عالمياالا ان هذا التقويم ليس الوحيد الموجود في العالم اليوم ولا حتى الوحيد الذي وجد في الماضيفرقم السنة ومن اي يوم تبدا و عدد الشهور ضمن السنة و عدد الايام ضمن الشهر وحتى في اي ساعة يبدا اليوم والى كم قسم يقسم اليوم كان مختلفا جدا ضمن ثقافات العالم وفي اليونان كانت لكل مدينة نظام تقويم مختلفان الاسباب الدينية والسياسية لعبت دورا كبيرا في تحديد وتشكيل انظمة التقويم حول العالم فعيد الفصح وميلاد السيد المسيح وهجرة النبي محمد كلها كانت عوامل مهمة في وضع وتتغيير انظمة التقاويمبشكل اساسي كان هناك تقاويم شمسية تعتمد على السنة الشمسية او دورة للارض حول المشس وهناك التقاويم القمرية التي تعتمد على تكرارات لدوران القمر حول الارض والسنة القمرية اقصر من السنة الشمسية كما هو معروفمن الامور الطريفة انه في التقويم الغريفوري الحالي لاتوجد السنة 0 فالسنة 1 قبل الميلاد تتبعها 1 بعد الميلادمن الامور الهامة فعلا هو ان البابليين و المصريين القدماء كانو متقدمين في علم الفلك ولعله من المهم لنا نحن كسوريين ان نعرف لماذا اسماء الاشهر لدينا مختلفة عن اسمائها العالمية او حتى في بقية الدول العربية والسبب هو اننا نستخدم الاسماء البابلية للاشهرالكتاب الحقيقة يحتاج لجهد لمتابعة الكمية الضخمة من المعلومات والحسابات وانظمة التقويم المطروحة 。。。more
Jeremy
，
Fascinating but somewhat technical introduction to a complex subject: how we measure time。 Most of the book is concerned with the historical development of calendars， including an entire chapter on Easter as a case study of the complexities of calendrical calculations。
Ishmael
，
How make your subject boring: A Very Short Introduction
Linda
，
rather dry but broadly researched
Joseph Sverker
，
It wasn't exactly what I expected。 I simply picked this book up because I thought it would be about time from a the perspective of physics， but it was about the history of how time has been recorded。 There are a lot of eras and terms to keep track off。 But it is an interesting knowledge to have， how complicated it is to get the date correct。 It wasn't exactly what I expected。 I simply picked this book up because I thought it would be about time from a the perspective of physics， but it was about the history of how time has been recorded。 There are a lot of eras and terms to keep track off。 But it is an interesting knowledge to have， how complicated it is to get the date correct。 。。。more
Erika
，
This introduction is packed with information and， more especifically， math， numbers， and calculations。 In the past， there used to be tons of different calendars， each created by a different culture， such is its artificiality。 Today， for practical reasons， most people follow the Gregorian calendar。
Maria Freeman
，
This book was very hard for me to follow due to lack of definitions and assumptions about the reader's christian background/knowledge。 This book was very hard for me to follow due to lack of definitions and assumptions about the reader's christian background/knowledge。 。。。more
Relstuart
，
A history of how we measure time and the different systems that mankind has created to tell us where we are in time。 Dense and a bit dry but short。
Julian Walker
，
Hugely researched and highly informative， this was a bit academic for my taste， as I was expecting more of a Dava Sobel style of treatment。 It is nonetheless a quick， information-packed read， and the author gets across the magnitude and far reaching impact of the subject， which I had also naively thought to be a little less complicated。
Henrique Maia
，
I started reading this book thinking this was a historical exploration of the philosophical conceptions of time。 Maybe I’m not the only one to fall for this， for， as the author himself acknowledges in the introduction， the title may be a bit of a misnomer。 Even so， I was pleasantly surprised by the the content of this work。 For this is a history of the ways people kept track of time。 In this sense， yes， this is a history of time， but time in a weaker sense。 So what is this book actually about？ T I started reading this book thinking this was a historical exploration of the philosophical conceptions of time。 Maybe I’m not the only one to fall for this， for， as the author himself acknowledges in the introduction， the title may be a bit of a misnomer。 Even so， I was pleasantly surprised by the the content of this work。 For this is a history of the ways people kept track of time。 In this sense， yes， this is a history of time， but time in a weaker sense。 So what is this book actually about？ This is an exploration of how the different calendars were divised， its lengths， its relations and justifications within a particular culture， and how some of these notions， ideas， calculations and， even， mistakes， are still influencing our own ways of keeping track of time。 So， what do I keep from this？ Well， to be honest， just the loose impression that most peoples （if not all） in their need to keep track of time， end up being trapped within the cultural necessity of trying to make the universe conform to the calendar。 I know， sounds weird。 But we are still doing it。 For we rise when the clock ticks， and not when the Sun rises。 This， although not explicitly stated in the book， it’s something that permeates the whole message; at least when you start considering that all calendars are filled with incongruencies shaped by cultures offsetting the counting with the universal measure of Nature。Maybe you’ll like to know why your days are called the way they are。 Maybe you just like to know some random facts about calendars， Easter days， and why do we call it Summer。 Maybe you’re just glad do know how cutely random these defining features of our civilization truly are。 In any case， you’ll find something of interest worth of your time。 。。。more
Rob
，
The human establishment of time - common or otherwise - and a way of breaking down our lives into understandable units is quite a field， involving as it does the observation of two relationships: our revolving around the sun and the moon's revolving around the Earth。 The fact they are not exact means we have to adopt a form of intercalation （i。e。 adding a day every 4 years）， but that's just the beginning。 Different societies have opted for different ways of dealing with this situation and its ap The human establishment of time - common or otherwise - and a way of breaking down our lives into understandable units is quite a field， involving as it does the observation of two relationships: our revolving around the sun and the moon's revolving around the Earth。 The fact they are not exact means we have to adopt a form of intercalation （i。e。 adding a day every 4 years）， but that's just the beginning。 Different societies have opted for different ways of dealing with this situation and its application to a week， and in history often various systems have coexisted。 This book is a fairly learned look at the basic issues involved in this field of calculations， detailed enough to show that it is actually quite a complex field， which we often take for granted， but not wholly forbidding。Well， actually the approach is rather dry and occasionally obtuse。 Certain definitions are completely opaque， leading the reader to feel no more illuminated after finishing the sentence。 A good editor could have asked for more clarity。 The section on Easter is at times impenetrable and there is a serious lack of the kind of light touch that is essential in this type of endeavour - the cognoscenti， after all， have already graduated to other levels of detail - in which the reader is interested but unlikely to be schooled in these subjects。Is it worth reading？ There is plenty of information in here and it provides an overview of the issues involved。 Could it be improved？ I think so。 。。。more
Ahmad Sharabiani
，
The History of Time: A Very Short Introduction， Leofranc Holford-StrevensWhy do we measure time in the way that we do？ Why is a week seven days long？ At what point did minutes and seconds come into being？ Why are some calendars lunar and some solar？The organization of time into hours， days， months， and years seems immutable and universal， but is actually far more artificial than most people realize。 For example， the French Revolution resulted in a restructuring of the French calendar， and the So The History of Time: A Very Short Introduction， Leofranc Holford-StrevensWhy do we measure time in the way that we do？ Why is a week seven days long？ At what point did minutes and seconds come into being？ Why are some calendars lunar and some solar？The organization of time into hours， days， months， and years seems immutable and universal， but is actually far more artificial than most people realize。 For example， the French Revolution resulted in a restructuring of the French calendar， and the Soviet Union experimented with five and then six-day weeks。Leofranc Holford-Strevens brings us this fascinating study of time using a range of examples from Ancient Rome and Julius Caesar's imposition of the Leap Year to the 1920's project for a fixed Easter。 Those interested in time， history， and the development of the calendar will enjoy this absorbing exploration of an aspect of our lives that we all take for granted。تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز دوازدهم ماه مارس سال 2015میلادیعنوان: تاریخچه زمان؛ نویسنده: لئوفرانس هالفورد-استریونس （استرونز）؛ مترجم: شادی حامدی آزاد؛ تهران، بصیرت، 1393، در 210ص؛ شابک9786005492613؛ واژه نامه، موضوع: گاهنامه - تاریخ - از نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده 21معنوان: تاریخ زمان یک معرفی کوتاه ؛ نویسنده: لئوفرانس هالفورد-استریونس （استرونز）؛ مترجم: مریم عابدینی؛ تهران، سرای دانش، 1392، در264ص؛ مصور؛ شابک 9786001371349؛ مصور؛نقل از پیش گفتار （شاید عنوان این کتاب یادآور بررسی مسائلی در فلسفه یا فیزیک باشد: اینکه آیا زمان آغاز و پایانی دارد؛ اینکه آیا عملکرد قوانین «فضا ـ زمان» در سیاهچاله ها متوقف میشود؟؛ اینکه آیا میشود جریان زمان را معکوس کرد و گذشته را تغییر داد؟ اینها تخیلی بسیار مورد علاقه مردمی است که تصور میکنند امتیاز رفتن به گذشته، و تغییر دادن آن نصیب آنها خواهد شد، و فراموش میکنند، که شاید در آن گذشته ی تغییر یافته، خودشان هرگز بوجود نیایندالبته اینها پرسشهای خوبی اند، اما برای من مهمتر از اینها، تعریف زمان است؛ حدود سال 268میلادی، فیلسوف نوافلاطونی، «پلوتینوس»، به این نکته پی برد، که ما مدام طوری از زمان و سن حرف میزنیم، گویی از چیستیشان تصوری روشن داریم، با اینحال وقتی این پرسش را （که زمان چیست؟） با خودمان مطرح میکنیم، در پاسخش درمیمانیم؛ این نکته را یکصدوسی سال بعد «آگوستین قدیس» به اختصار دوباره مطرح کرد: «زمان چیست؟ اگر کسی از من نپرسد، پاسخش را میدانم؛ اگر به دنبال توضیحش باشم، نمیدانم»؛در این کتاب، قرار نیست تظاهر به دانایی بیشتر کنیم؛ اینکه زمان بُعد چهارم عالم است، یا تجردی جسمیت یافته، اینکه ماهیتی متوالی و پیوسته دارد، یا مقطّع و ناپیوسته، اینکه آیا ممکن است مستقل از حرکت وجود داشته باشد و سنجیده شود، اینکه آیا عبارتِ «پیش از» در «پیش از خلقت» یا «پیش از انفجار بزرگ» معنایی دارد، همه مسائلی برای دیگران هستند تا حلشان کنند؛ میگویند همان «آگوستین قدیس» وقتی در برابر این پرسش قرار گرفت که خدا پیش از خلقت عالم چه میکرد، این پاسخ طنز را ارائه داد که: «جهنم را برای مردمان فضولی مهیا میکرد، که چنین معماهای زیرکانه ای مطرح کنند»؛همچنین به این فکر نمیکنیم، که زمان به خط مستقیم جریان دارد، یا به صورت چرخه ای؟ این ماجرا هم درست نیست، که بگوییم مفهوم زمانِ خطی مفهومی خاص ادیان یهود و مسیحیت بود، که در برابر زمان چرخه ای عَلَم شد؛ زمان چرخه ای در شِرک «یونانی ـ رومی» نماد ماری ابلیس گونه بود که دُم خود را میبلعید؛ با اینحال، برخی از فلاسفه، از زمان چرخه ای صحبت کرده اند؛ این موضوع، مسائل مفهومی متعددی را ایجاد میکند، که قرار نیست درباره ی آنها حرف بزنم؛ در عوض باید خود را محدود کنم، به زمان در زبان معمولی، یا زبان مردم کوچه و خیابان، و باید بر روشهایی تمرکز کنم که گذر زمان، با آنها سنجیده شده اند؛ و هنوز هم میشوندواژه ی «زمان» در همه زبانها، کم و بیش به دوره ای تقریباً مشخص اشاره دارد؛ مثلاً وقتی میگوییم «زمانی کوتاه» منظورمان واقعاً مدتی نه چندان طولانی است، و وقتی میگوییم «زمان فراعنه»، منظورمان دوره ای تقریباً سه هزارساله است؛ همچنین ممکن است به «دوره پیوسته نامشخصی»؛ اشاره داشته باشد، که در آن همه ی رویدادها رخ داده اند، رخ میدهند، یا رخ خواهند داد؛ این مفهوم، که کانون سرگشتگی «پلوتینوس» و «آگوستین قدیس» بود، ظرفیتی رشد یافته برای تفکر انتزاعی دارد؛ نه تنها بسیاری از مردمان نخستین، به گزارش انسان شناسان، مفهومی دقیق از زمان در ذهن نداشتند، بلکه در اشعار حماسی منتسب به «هومر»، و متعلق به قرنهای هفتم و هشتم پیش از میلاد ـ که زمان بنیانگذاری تمدن یونانی است ـ واژه «کرونوس» فقط به گذر زمان دلالت دارد، نه به خود زمان، آنگونه که ما میشناسیم؛ با اینحال، این حس را در قانونگزار بزرگ «آتنی»، «سولون»، در ابتدای قرن ششم پیش از میلاد میبینیم، که به زمان، شخصیتی در قالب قاضی میدهد: «در دادگاه زمان»؛ از آن زمان، این مفهومِ مدتِ پیوسته بیکران، چنان مفهوم آشنایی در تمدن ما شده است، که نمیتوانیم غیبتش را، در هیچ فرهنگ پیشرفته ای تصور کنیم؛ در هر جامعه ای، جز ساده ترین جوامع، حتی اگر مردم از خود زمان آگاه نباشند، نیاز دارند که آن را به نوعی بسنجند؛ این کتاب هم درباره ی همین شیوه های گوناگون سنجش زمان، در گذشته، و امروز است。）؛ پایان نقلتاریخ بهنگام رسانی 24/03/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا。 شربیانی 。。。more
Daphne
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I gave this one a chance。 Two chances actually。 Listened to it twice through over the past week。 It wasn't the barration。 That part was actually done quite well imo。 The problem with this particular VSI is that it took a niche， but incredibly interesting topic of human history and made it immensely boring and jaggedly told。 My mind just refused to stop wondering。 There was no real narrative。 Just a vomiting out of facts。 I gave this one a chance。 Two chances actually。 Listened to it twice through over the past week。 It wasn't the barration。 That part was actually done quite well imo。 The problem with this particular VSI is that it took a niche， but incredibly interesting topic of human history and made it immensely boring and jaggedly told。 My mind just refused to stop wondering。 There was no real narrative。 Just a vomiting out of facts。 。。。more
Rosy
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This little book is lovely to hold and to look at （a Folio freebie）， but sadly， it's a bit of a yawner。 It offers a lot of potentially interesting information on many methods of counting time， but I think it's too compact and the information is all you get -- not to mention the undeniably dry style。I was so looking forward to early people observing the movement of the sun and the changing length of days; to courtiers competing in the style and accuracy of timepieces; to astronomers at their tele This little book is lovely to hold and to look at （a Folio freebie）， but sadly， it's a bit of a yawner。 It offers a lot of potentially interesting information on many methods of counting time， but I think it's too compact and the information is all you get -- not to mention the undeniably dry style。I was so looking forward to early people observing the movement of the sun and the changing length of days; to courtiers competing in the style and accuracy of timepieces; to astronomers at their telescopes。 This is not that book。 。。。more
Arnoud Visser
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The author did its best to structure the matter， but mankind needed quite a while before make a decision how to measure time。
Asad
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For a book aimed at the general public， this book is written in a shockingly dry and boring style， it feels like a condensed textbook rather than a light introductory text。 Two stars rather than one just because I found the subject matter interesting， despite the author's seeming attempt to convince his readers otherwise。 For a book aimed at the general public， this book is written in a shockingly dry and boring style， it feels like a condensed textbook rather than a light introductory text。 Two stars rather than one just because I found the subject matter interesting， despite the author's seeming attempt to convince his readers otherwise。 。。。more
Bettie
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Description: Why do we measure time in the way that we do？ Why is a week seven days long？ At what point did minutes and seconds come into being？ Why are some calendars lunar and some solar？ The organisation of time into hours， days， months and years seems immutable and universal， but is actually far more artificial than most people realise。 The French Revolution resulted in a restructuring of the French calendar， and the Soviet Union experimented with five and then six-day weeks。 Leofranc Holfor Description: Why do we measure time in the way that we do？ Why is a week seven days long？ At what point did minutes and seconds come into being？ Why are some calendars lunar and some solar？ The organisation of time into hours， days， months and years seems immutable and universal， but is actually far more artificial than most people realise。 The French Revolution resulted in a restructuring of the French calendar， and the Soviet Union experimented with five and then six-day weeks。 Leofranc Holford-Strevens explores these questions using a range of fascinating examples from Ancient Rome and Julius Caesar's imposition of the Leap Year， to the 1920s' project for a fixed Easter。 North Korea celebrates new time zone， 'Pyongyang Time' Inneresting， however somewhat dry。3* Ancient Egypt3* Paul4* Witchcraft3* The Book of Mormon4* Druids4* Forensic Psychology3* Forensic Science3* Socrates 3* The History of Time 。。。more
Ian
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