Measurement of time has fascinating aspects

Hawking wrote about time. Falk writes about the measurement of time, from ancient Europe to modern America and every continent and island group in between.

Measuring time once meant tracking the sky. Mariners were lost without an accurate means to determine their position. Some of the best minds throughout history dedicated themselves to improving the accuracy of time measurement.

The story of our calendar’s development is well-known, but Falk marks the dates in greater detail than previously seen in a book for the general public. He reveals how societies separated by religion still vary in the way they measure time; how the complex date-setting for Easter was influenced by anti-Jewish sentiment; and how modern professional clock-watchers obsess over every fraction of a second.

There’s more to time than you think. None of us have enough, but those with a few hours to spare shouldn’t give a second thought to avoiding this book because they fear it’s overly technical. Some of it is technical, but most of the text flows within the realm of understanding.

— J.E. McReynolds