James Arthur, an engineer and collector of timepieces, surveys how people have divided and kept time, from the night watches of the Old Testament, the sundials of Pompeii and the Chinese water clock to Japanese clocks and modern pendulum clocks, ending with the astronomical foundation of time itself. He notes wryly that an age of invention had brought only minor improvements to the clock.
A compact, curious history for clock lovers and anyone who has wondered what a minute really is. Download the free EPUB.