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About Time

A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks
By David Rooney
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
About Time by David Rooney delves into the fascinating history of clocks and timekeeping, exploring how these inventions have influenced human history, culture, and society. Rooney intertwines personal anecdotes, historical accounts, and scientific insights to reveal the profound impact of clocks on our everyday lives and global affairs. It is an engaging exploration of time's crucial role in shaping civilisation.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by the ways clocks have influenced human culture and history. It explores how timekeeping has been pivotal in various aspects of life, touching on scientific, economic, and social dimensions. Fans of Science & Nature books that delve into historical perspectives will find it particularly engaging.

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About Time

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A horological history of human civilisation, told through twelve world-changing clocks.

The measurement of time has always been essential to human civilisation, from early Roman sundials to the advent of GPS. But while we have one eye on the time every day, are we aware of the power clocks have given governments, military leaders and business owners, and how they have shaped our lives and our world?

In this spectacularly far-reaching book, David Rooney narrates a history of timekeeping and civilisation in twelve concise chapters. Over their course, we meet the most epochal inventions in horological history, from medieval water clocks to Renaissance hourglasses, and from stock-exchange timestamps to satellites in Earth's orbit. We discover how clocks have helped people navigate the globe and build empires, but also, on occasion, taken us to the brink of destruction.

This is the story of time, and the story of time is the story of us.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

About Time by David Rooney is lauded as a dazzling and definitive history of timekeeping, exploring time's influence across ancient and modern cultures. Reviewers highlight Rooney's engaging narrative style, as he combines fascinating historical tales with thought-provoking insights on how clocks shape humanity's perception of time. The book is praised for its breadth, covering timepieces from sundials to atomic clocks, and for revealing the profound societal and symbolic roles timekeeping instruments have played.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241370513

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 February 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 234g

Pages: 336

Collections

David Rooney Education & Reference Engineering, Technology & Agriculture Global History History & Military Non-Fiction Penguin Books Science & Nature

About the Author

David Rooney is a historian and museum curator. Born in north-east England, he moved to London in 1995 to take a traineeship at the Science Museum, where he first encountered the aeroplane that completed the Big Hop in 1919. Over an almost thirty-year career, David has curated timekeeping, transport and engineering collections at institutions from the National Maritime Museum to the Science Museum, bringing historical stories vividly alive. He is the author of About Time- A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks (2021), which has been translated into eleven languages. About The Big Hop, David says- 'It is 30 years since I first walked beneath the canvas wings of the Vimy biplane and wondered what must have possessed two young men to fly it across the Atlantic. Writing this book is my way of paying tribute to the pioneers of aviation - men and women from all walks of life - who risked everything- for freedom, for progress, and for us.'

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