Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
About Time : A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks, Hardback Book

About Time : A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks Hardback

Hardback

Item not Available

Description

A SMITHSONIAN BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2021'An utterly dazzling book, the best piece of history I have read for a long time' Jerry Brotton, author of A History of the World in Twelve Maps'Not merely an horologist's delight, but an ingenious meditation on the nature and symbolism of time-keeping itself' Richard HolmesSince the dawn of civilisation, we have kept time.

But time has always been against us. From the city sundials of ancient Rome to the era of the smartwatch, clocks have been used throughout history to wield power, make money, govern citizens and keep control.

Sometimes, also with clocks, we have fought back. In About Time, time expert David Rooney tells the story of timekeeping, and how it continues to shape our modern world.

In twelve chapters, demarcated like the hours of time, we meet the greatest inventions in horological history, from medieval water clocks to monumental sundials, and from coastal time signals to satellites in earth's orbit.

We discover how clocks have helped us navigate the world, build empires and even taken us to the brink of destruction. Over the course of this global journey Rooney demonstrates how each of these clocks has shone a spotlight onto human civilisation, and shows us the very real effects clocks continue to have on everything from capitalism, to politics, to our very identity. This is the story of time. And the story of time is the story of us.

Information

Other Formats

Save 22%

£16.99

£13.15

Item not Available
Item not Available
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information