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Marking Time: The Epic Quest to Invent the Perfect Calendar
If you lie awake worrying about the overnight transition from December 31, 1 b.c., to January 1, a.d. 1 (there is no year zero), then you will enjoy Duncan Steel's Marking Time.--American Scientist
""No book could serve as a better guide to the cumulative invention that defines the imaginary threshold to the new millennium.""--Booklist
A Fascinating March through History and the Evolution of the Modern-Day Calendar . . .
In this vivid, fast-moving narrative, you'll discover the surprising story of how our modern calendar came about and how it has changed dramatically through the years. Acclaimed author Duncan Steel explores each major step in creating the current calendar along with the many different systems for defining the number of days in a week, the length of a month, and the number of days in a year. From the definition of the lunar month by Meton of Athens in 432 b.c. to the roles played by Julius Caesar, William the Conqueror, and Isaac Newton to present-day proposals to reform our calendar, this entertaining read also presents ""timely"" tidbits that will take you across the full span of recorded history. Find out how and why comets have been used as clocks, why there is no year zero between 1 b.c. and a.d. 1, and why for centuries Britain and its colonies rang in the New Year on March 25th. Marking Time will leave you with a sense of awe at the haphazard nature of our calendar's development. Once you've read this eye-opening book, you'll never look at the calendar the same way again.
""No book could serve as a better guide to the cumulative invention that defines the imaginary threshold to the new millennium.""--Booklist
A Fascinating March through History and the Evolution of the Modern-Day Calendar . . .
In this vivid, fast-moving narrative, you'll discover the surprising story of how our modern calendar came about and how it has changed dramatically through the years. Acclaimed author Duncan Steel explores each major step in creating the current calendar along with the many different systems for defining the number of days in a week, the length of a month, and the number of days in a year. From the definition of the lunar month by Meton of Athens in 432 b.c. to the roles played by Julius Caesar, William the Conqueror, and Isaac Newton to present-day proposals to reform our calendar, this entertaining read also presents ""timely"" tidbits that will take you across the full span of recorded history. Find out how and why comets have been used as clocks, why there is no year zero between 1 b.c. and a.d. 1, and why for centuries Britain and its colonies rang in the New Year on March 25th. Marking Time will leave you with a sense of awe at the haphazard nature of our calendar's development. Once you've read this eye-opening book, you'll never look at the calendar the same way again.
- GenresHistoryScienceNonfiction
432 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1999
11 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Duncan Steel
12 books1 followerDr Duncan I. Steel, BSc, MSc, DIC, PhD, FRAS is a British/Australian scientist. He is a world-renowned space science authority who has worked with NASA to assess the threat of comet and asteroid collisions and investigate technologies to avert such impacts. He was Associate Professor in space technology at the Joule Physics Laboratory, University of Salford (1999–2003). He is also the author of several science books on space, and regularly writes for The Guardian and various other newspapers and magazines. He was the discoverer of the main-belt asteroid 9767 Midsomer Norton, plus another eleven minor planets.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 9, 2017
The full title of this book is Marking Time: The Epic Quest to Invent the Perfect Calendar. Have you ever wondered how we arrived our current calendar? Not just why the months were named, but why we have 12 months, and 365 days, and 7 days a week, and leap year? This book details it all, with lots of wonderful history woven in and expanded upon.
There's so much information here that I didn't know. Like the fact that the Romans used an 8 day week. Or that other ancient civilizations used even longer weeks. Did you know that the British calendar and differed from the European calendar up until the 1800's? This was an excellent and interesting book. I will warn you, however - Duncan Steel sometimes goes off the beaten path and talks about related history. He must be a history lover and couldn't help himself. So this book is about 30% longer than it really needs to be. Still, it's a fascinating read.
There's so much information here that I didn't know. Like the fact that the Romans used an 8 day week. Or that other ancient civilizations used even longer weeks. Did you know that the British calendar and differed from the European calendar up until the 1800's? This was an excellent and interesting book. I will warn you, however - Duncan Steel sometimes goes off the beaten path and talks about related history. He must be a history lover and couldn't help himself. So this book is about 30% longer than it really needs to be. Still, it's a fascinating read.
August 30, 2007
A fascinating look at the calendar and time, written in laymen's terms with the techie stuff in the appendices.
July 1, 2007
Detailed and technical history of the calendar, filled with all sorts of "Gee-whiz" isms.
Read
April 9, 2021Interesting from beginning to end.
February 16, 2023
It is very informative, well researched and written in relatively understandable language. There are many interesting stories about easter and various calendars. You will not regret.
February 23, 2020
The amount of research across such a wide range of topics in this is just amazing and one for true history lovers. Even though I was really interested in the topic, I did find it very difficult to get through. Probably one of the more intellectually challenging science books I've read. It really needed a tighter edit. With so much fascinating detail in the calendar machinations through history, there was no need for all the author's personal asides.
5 stars for the research and intellectual endeavour, 3 stars for readability = 4 stars overall.
5 stars for the research and intellectual endeavour, 3 stars for readability = 4 stars overall.
March 8, 2017
Very detailed history
A very thorough insight into why and how the calendar we know came about. The author also covers the many other calendars used throughout history as well as some others in use today. He tends to crunch a lot of numbers, so this book may not be recommended for those who dislike math, but his history is solid and well researched. It drags in spots so it took a bit of effort to get through, but learning the history made it worth the effort.
A very thorough insight into why and how the calendar we know came about. The author also covers the many other calendars used throughout history as well as some others in use today. He tends to crunch a lot of numbers, so this book may not be recommended for those who dislike math, but his history is solid and well researched. It drags in spots so it took a bit of effort to get through, but learning the history made it worth the effort.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews