Time Capsules: A Cultural History [Paperback]

William E. Jarvis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786412615 | ISBN-13: 978-0786412617 | Publication Date: November 14, 2002

Time capsules have been used for thousands of years to store for posterity a selection of objects thought to be representative of life at a particular time. Such vessels have the dual purpose of causing participants to ponder their own cultural era and think about those to come.

This work is a cultural history of five thousand years of time capsules and other related time-information transfer experiences. It examines both the formal and the popular culture aspects of the time capsule, from its roots in ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian building foundation deposits to the present utilization of spacecraft probes and other extreme locations. The deposits of 3000 BCE deliberately had no definite date and time to be opened; in 1876 CE came the idea of target-dated deposits. Also discussed are how "real" time capsules work, notional and archaeological time capsules, the height of the time capsule’s popularity from 1935 to 1982, the preservation of writings in time capsules, keeping time in a perpetual futurescape, and turn of the century hype surrounding millennium time capsules.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A landmark in cultural history...an exceptional piece of research...a model of...documenting cultural history." -- Dr. Robert Ascher, professor emeritus, anthropology, theatre, film and dance, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

"An expansive view...covers thousands of years...diverse...many illustrations...interesting...recommended" -- Choice

"An informative (and highly readable) history of a fascinating and enduring aspect of human behavior" -- Richard Gid Powers, professor of history, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

"Brilliant...it’s been a long time since I enjoyed a scholarly work so much." -- Dr. Bill Katz, Professor (Emeritus) Albany–SUNY, School of Public Service, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy

"Definitive" -- Seattle Weekly

"Extensive scholarly treatment...wonderfully detailed...the best place to get an overall sense of the time capsule experience." -- Libraries & Culture

"Provides a serious analysis of the history, function, and image of time capsules...certainly the definitive reference on the topic" -- Richard J. Cox, professor, archival studies, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh

"Recommended" -- Public Library Quarterly

"Remarkable compilation...with an enthusiastic and often breathless running analysis...a good read...extraordinarily useful for cultural studies courses." -- Journal of Popular Culture

About the Author

William E. Jarvis, is an Associate Professor (Library Faculty) Washington State University Libraries in Pullman, Washington.

Product Details

• Paperback: 329 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (November 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786412615
• ISBN-13: 978-0786412617
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,740,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time aplenty, April 12, 2008

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R. B. Cathcart (Glendale, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Time Capsules: A Cultural History (Paperback)

There is no other book-length treatment of this topic available anywhere. And, this author treats the subject academically and in depth, with ample documentation. He writes well and the illustrations are captivating. When someone writes about something that holds his interest for a long time, the result can often be very enchanting intellectually. This is such a product!