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Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time Hardcover – January 28, 2005

by David Prerau (Author)

14 customer reviews

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Benjamin Franklin conceived of it. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle endorsed it. Winston Churchill campaigned for it. Kaiser Wilhelm first employed it. Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt went to war with it, and more recently the United States fought an energy crisis with it. For several months every year, for better or worse, daylight savings time affects vast numbers of people throughout the world. And from Ben Franklin’s era to today, its story has been an intriguing and sometimes-bizarre amalgam of colorful personalities and serious technical issues, purported costs and perceived benefits, conflicts between interest groups and government policymakers. It impacts diverse and unexpected areas, including agricultural practices, street crime, the reporting of sports scores, traffic accidents, the inheritance rights of twins, and voter turnout. Illustrated with a popular look at science and history, Seize the Daylight presents an intriguing and surprisingly entertaining story of our attempt to regulate the sunlight hours.

Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time

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Product Details

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press (January 28, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1560256559
ISBN-13: 978-1560256557
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #897,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #190 in Books > Science & Math > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Time
- #4637 in Books > Science & Math > History & Philosophy
- #6278 in Books > Science & Math > Technology

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Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars

5 star		72%
4 star		21%
3 star		7%
2 star		0%
1 star		0%

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Top Customer Reviews

The better book of two that just came out.

By Bruce R. Gilson on May 2, 2005

Format: Hardcover

Just days apart, two books came out on the same subject. This book competes with Michael Downing's "Spring Forward" and, in my opinion, wins the competition.

For one thing, the background history of timekeeping goes back further in Prerau's book than in Downing's. And it is placed in a more logical place in the book. Additionally, this book is, in my opinion, better written, reading in a way that holds my interest better. Prerau also uses maps and illustrations intelligently.

In addition, Downing seems not to have thoroughly proofread his book, occasionally writing "east" instead of "west" and "latitude" instead of "longitude."

For all these reasons, although both books pretty much cover the same material, unless you have a great desire to have both books in your library, this one is the one to buy.

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As informative as it is interesting

By Debra Hamel VINE VOICE on February 11, 2007

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

I grew up hearing as an explanation for Daylight Saving Time that it was "good for the farmers." It turns out that this is a widespread misconception, and it also turns out not to be true: farmers have in fact historically opposed the adoption or expansion of DST because of the inconveniences it imposes on them. Another childhood illusion put to bed, if decades late.

Since 1986 the U.S. has observed DST from the first Sunday of April to the last Sunday of October. Beginning in 2007, DST is to be expanded by three weeks (in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005). It will now begin on the second Sunday of March and extend until the first Sunday of November. Given this change I figured it was high time for me to find out what Daylight Saving Time is all about.

I review below David Prerau's Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time. It's the first of two DST-related books that have been weighing down my TBR shelves. Both books were published in 2005--the idea of exploring DST apparently being very much in the air in the first years of the new millennium.

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Benjamin Franklin proposed in 1784, when he was serving as the American minister to France, that Parisians conserve energy--in the form of candle wax and tallow--by changing their habits, rising with the sun rather than sleeping in with their shutters closed against the daylight. The idea never caught on, and it is at any rate impractical as it would depend on the alteration of individual habits on a large scale for it to have any chance of working for a community. Over a hundred years later, in 1905, a certain William Willett devised an alternative plan for increasing the number of usable daylight hours during England's summer months.Read more ›

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A grudging five stars

By D. S. Bornus on August 4, 2005

Format: Hardcover

This is a very well-written book that thoroughly details the history behind timekeeping, as society evolved from each city observing local "sun time" (high noon = sun at highest point in the sky) and the increasing need for synchronization brought on by the industrial revolution and advancing technology such as railroads and telegraphs. Beginning with Benjamin Franklin and William Willett, various arguments are advanced for the idea of moving the clock forward in the summertime in order to cause society to be more active during morning daylight, in order to reduce the need for artificial lighting. This practice is haphazardly observed by various countries until WWI and WWII illustrate the practical utility of the idea. In the US, daylight saving time (DST) is haphazardly implemented, until legislation eventually standardizes the observance in the 1960's.

The reason that I give a "grudging" five stars is that I still personally disagree with DST. Biological circadian rythms do not easily go backward, and I believe that one day research will describe the deleterious effects (sleepy drivers, morning heart attacks, reduced productivity in schools and workplaces, etc.) that can be directly traced to disrupted biological rythms that take weeks or months to recover from the artificially disrupted schedule. These effects, when fully identified, may more than fully counteract any marginal beneficial economic advantage from energy conservation. If DST is such a good idea let's move the time zones one hour forward and then leave them there rather than shift back and forth twice a year. This book does not even address the issue of circadiam rhythyms, except for a one-sentence mention on the second to last page. A full evaluation of DST must include this important factor, as anyone who drags out of bed for weeks after "spring forward" day, sipping cup after cup of coffee just to awaken, can personally attest.

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A Detailed Review of an Interesting Subject

By George Poirier on August 12, 2005

Format: Hardcover

I never realized that Daylight Saving Time (DST) had such a controversial and turbulent history. I believe that the author has done an excellent job in detailing DST's evolution, often in excruciating detail, right up to the current, yet still fluctuating, situation. The writing is clear and engaging making the book very easy to read. The book also contains many caricatures that were published over the years clearly expressing people's views on this most contentious issue. I highly recommended this book to anyone, especially those interested in recent history. The fact that this subject has recently made the news makes this book very timely.

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an overview of "on time" and how it came to be

By macjedi on April 5, 2011

Format: Paperback

Before reading this book I did not know that daylight savings time started and ended on a different schedule each year; I did not know that Arizona and Indiana don't participate; I did not know that it was the work of the devil. This book tells the story of the development of synchronized time around the world, and particular in the United States along with a detailed look at all aspects of daylight saving time. While at times the book seems repetitive (because the arguments for and against daylight saving time are, in fact, repetitive) it was interesting and easy to read.

This is an excellent book for the student and researcher, but also well-written for the casual reader who is just curious about how we ended up being "in time" with everyone else.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Good read

Very informative

Published 21 months ago by W. Kohser

They got used to it.

The first thing I learned from Prerau’s excellent little book is that it is not mere pedantry to call it Daylight “Saving” Time instead of Daylight “Savings” Time, as I have my... Read more

Published on February 7, 2014 by Hamilton Beck

Detailed, but has the annoying tone of a PR piece

Most people today would be surprised to learn that daylight saving time (DST) was for most of the 20th century a controversial issue that divided many countries, U.S. Read more

Published on May 5, 2012 by bellczar

Daylight Savings

Everybody talks about Daylight Savings Time. This book tells an interesting story about it and timekeeping.

Published on November 21, 2007 by Todd Roth

Excellent History of DST

This book really opened my eyes to the story of "Daylight Saving Time".

It was a fast read and I recommend it to anyone who is involved in DST. Read more

Published on February 16, 2007 by Robin Browning

Timely Topic

Prerau has done a fine job chronicling the history of DST. Every reader is certain to find something here he didn't know (Example: Having been overseas 1973-75, I was completely... Read more

Published on February 22, 2006 by Roadrunner

Great review of DST

I thought this was a superbly written book. It gave an incredible history of DST, complete with interesting stories and anecdotes that made the subject even more enjoyable. Read more

Published on July 19, 2005 by Jenn

Indiana wants me

The subject is very interesting if you are a trivia and history person. I am. The problems caused by time lines, shifting the clocks forward or back are many and well documented. Read more

Published on July 8, 2005 by Sue R

A great summer read

I picked this book up for a quick summer vacation read. It is packed with historical trivia and very entertaining. Read more

Published on May 7, 2005 by G. Gregory