The Calendar: Measuring Time (New Horizons)

The Calendar: Measuring Time (New Horizons)

by JacquelinedeBourgoing (Author)

Synopsis

We take the measurement of time for granted, yet our lives are punctuated by dates: Christmas, Passover, New Year, Mother's Day, birthdays, pay-day. Some events are world-wide holidays, while others are celebrated by only a few. At what point in history did mankind begin to organize time? How did the patterns of the sun, moon and stars influence the way in which we mark our hours and day? When and how did we establish the cycles of time that make a season, a decade, a century or a millennium? The calendar is an indispensable tool for civilized life, allowing people to order the past, present and future and to record events. Many cultures - including the ancient Greeks, Romans and Chinese, the Maya, Aztec and other religions - have developed independent calendar systems. The modern western calendar, accepted today as the global standard, is the fruit of a long and tumultuous history. This book traces the scientific, technical and political history of calendars.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
Edition: 1
Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd
Published: 01 Oct 2001

ISBN 10: 0500301069
ISBN 13: 9780500301067
Book Overview: This richly illustrated book traces the fascinating scientific, technical and political history of calendars - the story of time itself

Media Reviews
'Intensely readable ... de Bourgoing weaves a rich, anecdotal line' - Antiques Magazine
Author Bio
Jacqueline de Bourgoing holds degrees in geography and serves on the faculty of the Institute of Political Studies in Paris. She is active with French television's History channel, for which she has produced a series on the history of the calendar.