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About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks
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About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks Hardback - 2021

by David Rooney

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Reader reviews for About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks

Review summary

This seller has earned a 3.00 of 5 Stars rating from internet customers.
3.00 / 5 (1 total reviews)

Readers report a mixed experience: Rooney’s expertise and the chapters Empires and War earn praise for technical clarity, while the book draws criticism for under-editing and a tonal drift between history and personal commentary that can feel preachy; some wished for more technical explanations of clocks alongside the historical narrative.

Readers say this book is:
mixedinsightfulunevenoccasionally preachytechnically engagingunder-editedniche appealinformativestandout chaptersmore technical detail desired

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From the publisher

For thousands of years, people of all cultures have made and used clocks, from the city sundials of ancient Rome to the medieval water clocks of imperial China, hourglasses fomenting revolution in the Middle Ages, the Stock Exchange clock of Amsterdam in 1611, Enlightenment observatories in India, and the high-precision clocks circling the Earth on a fleet of GPS satellites that have been launched since 1978. Clocks have helped us navigate the world and build empires, and have even taken us to the brink of destruction. Elites have used them to wield power, make money, govern citizens, and control lives--and sometimes the people have used them to fight back.

Through the stories of twelve clocks, About Time brings pivotal moments from the past vividly to life. Historian and lifelong clock enthusiast David Rooney takes us from the unveiling of al-Jazari's castle clock in 1206, in present-day Turkey; to the Cape of Good Hope observatory at the southern tip of Africa, where nineteenth-century British government astronomers moved the gears of empire with a time ball and a gun; to the burial of a plutonium clock now sealed beneath a public park in Osaka, where it will keep time for 5,000 years.

Rooney shows, through these artifacts, how time has been imagined, politicized, and weaponized over the centuries--and how it might bring peace. Ultimately, he writes, the technical history of horology is only the start of the story. A history of clocks is a history of civilization.

Details

  • Title About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks
  • Author David Rooney
  • Binding Hardback
  • Pages 288
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher W. W. Norton & Company
  • Publication date 2021-08-17
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Dust Cover, Illustrated, Index
  • ISBN 9780393867930 / 0393867935
  • Weight 1.13 lbs (0.51 kg)
  • Dimensions 10.14 x 5.29 x 1.01 in (25.76 x 13.44 x 2.57 cm)
  • Category History - General History
  • Library of Congress subjects Civilization, Time - Social aspects - History
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2021025193
  • Dewey Decimal Code 681.113

Media reviews

Citations

  • Booklist, 07/01/2021, Page 9
  • Kirkus Reviews, 07/01/2021, Page 0
  • Library Journal, 08/01/2021, Page 80
  • Library Journal Prepub Alert, 03/01/2021, Page 68
  • Publishers Weekly, 06/07/2021, Page 0
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About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks
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