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A. Roger Ekirch

At Day's Close: Night in Times Past First Edition

by A. Roger Ekirch (Author)

4.3 581 ratings

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"Remarkable.… Ekirch has emptied night's pockets, and laid the contents out before us." ―Arthur Krystal, The New Yorker

Bringing light to the shadows of history through a "rich weave of citation and archival evidence" (Publishers Weekly), scholar A. Roger Ekirch illuminates the aspects of life most often overlooked by other historians―those that unfold at night. In this "triumph of social history" (Mail on Sunday), Ekirch's "enthralling anthropology" (Harper's) exposes the nightlife that spawned a distinct culture and a refuge from daily life.

Fear of crime, of fire, and of the supernatural; the importance of moonlight; the increased incidence of sickness and death at night; evening gatherings to spin wool and stories; masqued balls; inns, taverns, and brothels; the strategies of thieves, assassins, and conspirators; the protective uses of incantations, meditations, and prayers; the nature of our predecessors' sleep and dreams―Ekirch reveals all these and more in his "monumental study" (The Nation) of sociocultural history, "maintaining throughout an infectious sense of wonder" (Booklist).

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ISBN-10

0393329011
ISBN-13

978-0393329018
Edition

First Edition
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

October 17, 2006
Language

English
Dimensions

5.5 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches
Print length

480 pages
See all details

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An enthralling anthropology of the shadow realms."
― John Leonard, Harper's

"Absorbing…fascinating…[Ekirch] has plundered an extraordinary range of cross-cultural sources for his material, and he tells us about everything from witches to firefighting, architecture to domestic violence…[A] monumental study."
― Terry Eagleton, The Nation

"This is an irresistibly fascinating book. It has a hypnotic, feverish pace that will have its readers up all night wondering, expectant."
― Ken Burns

"Perfect reading for insomniacs and star-gazers alike."
― Jonathan Spence, Sterling Professor of History, Yale University

"An absorbing social history…A wonderful revelation of a vanished age of darkness."
― Raymond Carr, The Spectator

"Engrossing…Ekirch's narrative is rooted in the material realities of the past, evoking a bygone world of extreme physicality and pre-industrial survival stratagems."
― Publishers Weekly

About the Author

A. Roger Ekirch is a professor of history at Virginia Tech and the award-winning author of At Day’s Close, Birthright, and American Sanctuary. He lives in Roanoke, Virginia.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; First Edition (October 17, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393329011
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393329018
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #215,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #44 in Anthropology (Books)
- #579 in Cultural Anthropology (Books)
- #5,092 in Unknown

Customer Reviews:
4.3 581 ratings

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A. Roger Ekirch

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4.3 out of 5

581 global ratings

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at day's close-----------quite an achievement

Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2013

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This book is like being led by glowing candlelight through the Ages. It is really an accomplishment.The layout and progression the book presents in telling its story, and Ekirch's obvious trove of sources and studies, made it hard for me to put down , simply leave it and go about my day . The book lingers with you. It is a companion piece to the multitudes who, have likewise, gone before us and lived their lives, and maybe not that much differently than our own, as far as the wonderment and fears Night brings. All the descriptions of night before our modern times are here. Yes, Ekirch at times jumps around from century to century in the course of a few sentences, sometimes a few words. But I marveled at this flickering through the ages and times past, as though a procession of souls spring to life to make their appearance and then recede quickly for the next person to spring forth and give their testament. The book is a memorial , an honor inscribed to the past. Not all was wonder, delight and star gazing out in the fields. Night gangs wandered the dark streets, the lack of light was its own impediment, and many is a mention of the the fears of the citizenry, and deaths by gruesome accident, or at hands of robbers , or mis-steps down a dark embankment and into the river.The many genuine fears of darkness are likewise all here. Sensual, evocative, enlightening, playful and deathly serious, this book is an odd, quirky, charming bit of History ----and a wonder and joy for anyone with an affinity for the history and knowledge of Night.

8 people found this helpful

If you like history and enjoy learning about the world before electric lights

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2024

Verified Purchase

I bought this book because of a show I was watching. And they interviewed this author and listed this book for that show. I was not let down. It really provided a lot of additional information not covered in the show. It was neat to learn about how folks dealt with the time before flashlights, electric street lights and such. If you are a history buff, would highly recommend this one. Would recommend it for just people wanting to know more about how our forefathers lived just day to day lives.

2 people found this helpful

Mystery Shopper

Another "Buy It" Recommendation from Daddy

Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2014

Verified Purchase

I've only read the first third or so of this book. There were a number of good reviews written about it, and I doubted I could add anything much of value to them, but after starting the book, I was so struck by how unfair and, frankly, inaccurate the negative reviewers (at least in my memory) had been that I decided to add my pittance to the pile. The writing of Mr. Ekirch isn't dull, isn't flat, isn't thick or heavy, ponderous or academic, or difficult "to get into" at all. It's like a very good travel book, but it's time travel, and that's the very best kind of travel book in my opinion. Here is a prose sample from paragraph one of the book's first chapter:

"Rather than falling, night, to the watchful eye, rises. Emerging first in the valleys, shadows slowly ascend sloping hillsides. Fading rays known as "sunsuckers" dart upward behind clouds as if being inhaled for another day. While pastures and woodlands are lost to gloom, the western sky remains aglow even as the sun draws low beneath the horizon."

And it only gets better!

Beautiful and poetic, at least so says I. Reminds me of Barbara Tuchman's writing. In particular her book, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century, And If you order At Day's Close and like it as much as I do, I'm sure you'll like hers as well.

The past that Mr. Ekirch presents is absolutely fascinating, strange, and heretofore unknown to me. I don't mean to come down hard on those who might disagree, but I'm very concerned that others might skip this offering, and I hate to think of anyone missing out on it. I've certainly encountered many books written by college professors about subjects I thought would be enjoyable to read about, but their writing sometimes has been daunting. I remember an essay (I've forgotten it's title) Flannery O'Connor wrote about her experience addressing a symposium in some Ivy League institution back East about Southern Fiction. After being asked a number of convoluted, deconstructionist type questions by faculty members, she stopped her speech and shaking her head said, "You know, sometimes you academics strain the soup a bit thin for my taste." So when I read the complaints about Professor Ekirch's prose, I admit I felt a little reluctant to order the book. I worried that I'd be, once again, wasting my money and time. Please don't worry about that. At Day's Close is an absolute delight.

Daddy says: "You'll love it. Buy it."

239 people found this helpful

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Dorval Fagundes

An amazing book

Reviewed in Brazil on August 1, 2022

Verified Purchase

All the people should read this book. Today, we don't have the same understanding about the nighttime that ours ancestors once had. Thus we need to read these fascinating stories to achieve a part of their conscience about nighttime. Surprisingly, the modern world took off us these ancient notions about nighttime. Please, read this book. Certainly, you will like it.

One person found this helpful

nietzscheman

Wonderful story on how our ancestors spent the nighttime

Reviewed in Spain on May 30, 2022

Verified Purchase

Full of delightful anecdotes, this book will make the day of anyone interested in the Middle/Modern Ages, and in how people lived the nighttime in particular.

Ille C. G

Buch über die Nacht

Reviewed in Germany on January 25, 2022

Verified Purchase

Hab ich immer schon gesucht, und nun in diesem Buch gefunden. Interessant, wie die Nacht durch die Zeiten gesehen wurde. Der Autor ist sehr erfahren.

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Mrs W.

A fascinating insight into a daily experience

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2021

Verified Purchase

The author takes us through the human race's response to nightfall, and the dark hours that follow. This is not a relationship which we often think about, nor the way it has changed through human history, particularly dramatically in the last 200 years with advent of gas and electric lighting. The insight given is a novel one. The reader's reaction to much of the information, both geographical, physical and historical is often, I have never realised that before.

An interesting view of a topic rarely tackled.

3 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Thanks.

Reviewed in India on April 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

thanks.

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