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Revolution in time: Clocks and the making of the modern world Hardcover – 1998

by David S Landes (Author)

21 customer reviews

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The mechanical clock was one of the technological advances that brought Western civilisation to a position of world leadership. The book details how and why this breakthrough occurred through an historical journey.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

A wonderful book...It's richly detailed and illustrated, extremely informative, and thoroughly enjoyable. (Los Angeles Times Book Review)

David Landes is a splendid storyteller...The book abounds with anecdotes about people, not only those who made the clocks and watches but also those who bought and used them...Without doubt, this book will become a standard work in the history of timekeeping--and it's also fun to read. (Derek Howse Washington Post)

The text scintillates with wise and witty aphorisms...Landes notes that clocks are the product of 'ingenuity, craftsmanship, artistry and elegance': so is this book. (David Cannadine London Review of Books)

[Landes] has an eye for the odd, amusing detail and manages to convey a great enthusiasm for his subject...His book contains a wealth of piquant information that left me musing when I closed it. (Tracy Kidder New York Times Book Review)

Stunning...Revolution in Time fairly radiates the author's own delight. Like the classic clocks it so lovingly describes, it is an exhilarating monument to human ingenuity. (Jim Miller Newsweek)

The book is a pleasure to read, for the quality of the author's thinking, for the slightly acid perceptiveness of his observations, and for the often enchanting aptness of his quotations and examples. (E. J. Hobsbawm New York Review of Books) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

David S. Landes is Coolidge Professor of History and Professor of Economics, Emeritus, Harvard University, and the author of The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Hardcover: 482 pages
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books (1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0760710740
ISBN-13: 978-0760710746
Package Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 21 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #741,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #336 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems > Manufacturing

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Must have for watch and clock lovers

December 18, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I read the second edition of the book, which extends into the 1980s and mentions Swatch and the nascent resurgence of Swiss mechanical watches as luxury pieces. Apparently the first edition ends on a dour note about the quartz watch as the end of time.

Some reviewers are right that this is a weighty tome and may not be fast reading for everyone. However, the level of detail and research is outstanding.

The author is a Harvard professor of economics and history, and as such applies intellectual rigor which you just don't find in online blogs, books written by journalists, or PR from the watch industry. At the same time he keeps the prose flowing and has plenty of funny bits thrown in as well.

The book covers the period of 1300 - 1980. It concerns itself with three things:

1. How was time measured? How did the devices used to measure time evolve? The quest for precision is here.
2. Why did we want to measure time? How did our culture evolve? This is very interesting: religion, industry, railroads, etc.
3. How did the timekeeping manufacturing and industry evolve? From ancient tower clock smiths to the modern Swiss conglomerates.

The author focuses on the most fundamental advances and trends in all of these areas. As a result, he actually omits some brands and personages which loom large for modern watch lovers, such as Rolex, or more surprisingly, Breguet (they are mentioned mostly in passing). However, there is plenty of detail around the quest to measure longitude and the invention of the marine chronometer, and the evolution of watch escapements (this all was a British tour de force). Or the larger trends and interplay between British, French, Swiss, and later American and Japanese watch industries. Even Patek and Vacheron are written about mostly in the early industry discussions rather than as contributors to horology because, as it turns out, the first perpetual calendar was made by Mudge in Britain, who also invented the level escapement which is in most watches to this day.

Very highly recommended!

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Twhite99

Fascinating if you like clocks, watches, or time measurement

October 2, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is the only book I've ever run across that covers horology (study of time measurement), and is therefore quite interesting. Covers time measurement three ways: (1) How did we get better and better at measuring time - how do mechanical clocks and watches work and what were the innovations that made them better? (2) Who made these devices and why - major clockmakers and 'houses', people who innovated, politics and national competition, rivalries, etc. and (3) Why did we decide to measure time at all, and what are many of the diverse impacts this has had on society, especially as we measure and control time and our own personal punctuality?
I've read this book several times, and enjoyed it each time.
Cons: It only really covers mechanical time measurement, although there is one chapter on modern timekeeping with quartz crystals, atomic clocks, and so on. This is history, not a study of the current state. But that's fine; no one but physicists really understands the frontier of current time measurement.

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Harold Holcombe

Great book, absolutely fascinating.

November 24, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I have not finished the book but I have no reservation in recommending it. It is well written, extremely interesting, detailed without being boring and the author appears to have done a huge amount of research in his creation of this work. Having read only sporadically about the development of the modern concept of time, our present extreme need and addiction to knowing what o'clock it is anywhere, and the essential nature of time as a part of our understanding of life and of the universe -- I think this is a fascinating and superbly well done book. It does not overwhelm the reader with details which may be valuable to the scientist but difficult for the layman. If you are an average reader who enjoys history and trying to understand the complexity of our being and world this book will please you.

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J. Anderson

Great Reference - but then again I am a clockmaker.

May 29, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

A very well accepted chronicle of the way changes in society and the demands of religion drove the development of improved timekeeping and how the development of improved timekeeping drove the progression (for better or worse) of society from the farm to the city. It's very much the chicken/egg riddle. It is hard to say which came first, but it is safe to say that society and timekeeping grew up together. At any particular time in history, the timekeeping method or device stood at the forefront or "state of the art" in science and/or mechanics or electronics. The closest analogy in our era is the effect of the space program and how the technical and mechanical requirements drove advances in nearly all areas of science, including the need to accurately tell time. Putting clocks into space traveling at great speeds, introduced a new potential source of error. Clocks traveling at high speeds "tick" slower than earth-based clocks and this relativistic error had to be accounted for and corrected. What farmer in the 12th century had to deal with such a small error! His sand or water based clock (if he even had a clock) was as accurate as he needed. More likely, that 12th century farmer needed only to know when days were long enough to safely plant without fear of frost. His need for accuracy was measured in days or months, not nanoseconds or picoseconds.
"Revolution in Time" if nothing else provides the reader with some great material for some very though-provoking conversations.

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Bill King

Intriguing material presented in rather dull style.

March 21, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Full of useful information you can find nowhere else.
But I find Landes' style overly precise and technical. His fans (legion) might describe it differently: sharply exact, accurate and delimited.

Typical sentence: "Multiplicity of function entailed variation in nomenclature".

OK, we all understand that sentence but how much do we enjoy it?

I believe the samples on the 'look inside' feature at Amazon presents a fair example of what to expect (pages 15 and following).

The footnotes are at the back of the book.
The illustrations and figures not easy to make out.
Excellent index and appendices.

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