Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World download epub

by David S. Landes

Epub Book: 1961 kb. | Fb2 Book: 1129 kb.

David Landes is a splendid storyteller. Without doubt, this book will become a standard work in the history of timekeeping-and it's also fun to read.

David Landes is a splendid storyteller. Derek Howse Washington Post). David S. Landes is Coolidge Professor of History and Professor of Economics, Emeritus, Harvard University, and the author of The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.

Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World, is an influential history book by David S. Landes. Its focus is on the history of the measure of time and its interdependence with the evolution of the various civilisations over the centuries. The book was first published in 1983 by Belknap Press of the Harvard University Press (hardback. ISBN 0-674-76800-0, paperback.

Revolution in Time book.

David S. Landes was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 29, 1924. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1942. He received a master's degree in history in 1943 and a P. in history in 1953 from Harvard University.

In a new preface and scores of updated passages, he explores new findings about medieval and early-modern time keeping, as well as contemporary hi-tech uses of the watch as mini-computer, cellular phone, and even radio receiver or television screen. .The book deals with innovations and inventions that brought about modernization and technological developments in timekeeping in the whole world

Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World, is an influential history book by David S. The book deals with innovations and inventions that brought about modernization and technological developments in timekeeping in the whole world. It is considered to be one of the preeminent works on the history of horology.

More than a decade after the publication of his dazzling book on the cultural, technological, and manufacturing aspects of measuring time and making clocks, David Landes has significantly expanded "Revolution in Time.

In 1983, the Harvard economic historian David Landes wrote an influential book called Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World. Timepieces allowed us to measure time in accurate, uniform ways. The mechanical clock was self-contained, and once horologists learned to drive it by means of a coiled spring rather than a falling weight, it could be miniaturized so as to be portable, whether in the household or on the person.

David Landes, L'heure qu'il est. Les horloges, la mesure du temps et la formation du monde moderne, Paris . Les horloges, la mesure du temps et la formation du monde moderne, Paris, Éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque illustrée des histoires , 1987, 622 . XXVI planches hors texte, illustr. Volume 44 Issue 6 - François Sigaut.

The Importance of Time in Ethical Decision Making. Settimio Monteverde - 2009 - Nursing Ethics 16 (5):613-624. Time is run of clocks. Srečko Šorli - 2009 - TIME IR RUN OF CLOCKS IN TIMELESS SPACE. Interaction, Not Gravitation. Arnold Thackray - 1970 - Isis: A Journal of the History of Science 61:263-264. On Socialism and Freedom. Nan Xue - 2001 - Contemporary Chinese Thought 33 (1):63-69.

Clocks and the Making of the Modern World

Comments: (7)

Inth

I read the second edition of the book, which extends into the 1980s and mentions Swatch and the nascent resurgence of Swiss mechanical watches as luxury pieces. Apparently the first edition ends on a dour note about the quartz watch as the end of time.

Some reviewers are right that this is a weighty tome and may not be fast reading for everyone. However, the level of detail and research is outstanding.

The author is a Harvard professor of economics and history, and as such applies intellectual rigor which you just don't find in online blogs, books written by journalists, or PR from the watch industry. At the same time he keeps the prose flowing and has plenty of funny bits thrown in as well.

The book covers the period of 1300 - 1980. It concerns itself with three things:

1. How was time measured? How did the devices used to measure time evolve? The quest for precision is here.
2. Why did we want to measure time? How did our culture evolve? This is very interesting: religion, industry, railroads, etc.
3. How did the timekeeping manufacturing and industry evolve? From ancient tower clock smiths to the modern Swiss conglomerates.

The author focuses on the most fundamental advances and trends in all of these areas. As a result, he actually omits some brands and personages which loom large for modern watch lovers, such as Rolex, or more surprisingly, Breguet (they are mentioned mostly in passing). However, there is plenty of detail around the quest to measure longitude and the invention of the marine chronometer, and the evolution of watch escapements (this all was a British tour de force). Or the larger trends and interplay between British, French, Swiss, and later American and Japanese watch industries. Even Patek and Vacheron are written about mostly in the early industry discussions rather than as contributors to horology because, as it turns out, the first perpetual calendar was made by Mudge in Britain, who also invented the level escapement which is in most watches to this day.

Very highly recommended!

Larosa

"Revolutions in Time: Clocks and the making of the Modern World" by David Landes is a wonderful book on the history of clocks and watches and their impact upon modern day societies. The book is a mixture of history, discussions of why clocks were invented, how society changed clocks and how clocks changed society, why clocks/watches came to technological fruition on the European continent, and technological descriptions/diagrams of clock/watch movements and their advancement. It is easy to read, but be aware that this book has SO much information in it (the narrative portion of the book is 394 pages long with appendices and 73 pages of footnotes at the end) that it could be used as the textbook for a college level course on the History of Clocks. I do have two small quibbles:

1. The original publication date was 1983. As such, the Pictures in the book were good for that time. However, today a book of this type should have much better pictures, or better resolution pictures of the originals.

2. The book, at the end, roughly follows the making of clocks, then the making of chronometers, then a large portion of the book is on the making of watches. I think one area was woefully overlooked: the industrialization of clock making by American Companies in the 1800's (like Seth Thomas). This laid the groundwork for industrialization of the watch making trade which IS covered in the book.

But these are minor quibbles. Get the book, read it. Be aware that it may be a little dry at the start but stay with it and you won't be sorry. A recommended book

Whitescar

A very well accepted chronicle of the way changes in society and the demands of religion drove the development of improved timekeeping and how the development of improved timekeeping drove the progression (for better or worse) of society from the farm to the city. It's very much the chicken/egg riddle. It is hard to say which came first, but it is safe to say that society and timekeeping grew up together. At any particular time in history, the timekeeping method or device stood at the forefront or "state of the art" in science and/or mechanics or electronics. The closest analogy in our era is the effect of the space program and how the technical and mechanical requirements drove advances in nearly all areas of science, including the need to accurately tell time. Putting clocks into space traveling at great speeds, introduced a new potential source of error. Clocks traveling at high speeds "tick" slower than earth-based clocks and this relativistic error had to be accounted for and corrected. What farmer in the 12th century had to deal with such a small error! His sand or water based clock (if he even had a clock) was as accurate as he needed. More likely, that 12th century farmer needed only to know when days were long enough to safely plant without fear of frost. His need for accuracy was measured in days or months, not nanoseconds or picoseconds.
"Revolution in Time" if nothing else provides the reader with some great material for some very though-provoking conversations.

Legend 33

I have not finished the book but I have no reservation in recommending it. It is well written, extremely interesting, detailed without being boring and the author appears to have done a huge amount of research in his creation of this work. Having read only sporadically about the development of the modern concept of time, our present extreme need and addiction to knowing what o'clock it is anywhere, and the essential nature of time as a part of our understanding of life and of the universe -- I think this is a fascinating and superbly well done book. It does not overwhelm the reader with details which may be valuable to the scientist but difficult for the layman. If you are an average reader who enjoys history and trying to understand the complexity of our being and world this book will please you.

Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World download epub

Engineering

Author: David S. Landes
ISBN: 0670889679
Category: Engineering & Transportation
Subcategory: Engineering
Language: English
Publisher: Viking; 2Rev Ed edition (2000)
Pages: 544 pages

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