The History of Time : A Very Short Introduction

Why do we measure time in the way that we do? Why is a week seven days long? At what point did minutes and seconds come into being? Why are some calendars lunar and some solar?The organisation of time into hours, days, months and years seems immutable and universal, but is actually far more artificial than most people realise. The French Revolution resulted in a restructuring of the French calendar, and the Soviet Union experimented with five and then six-day weeks. Leofranc Holford-Strevens explores these questions using a range of fascinating examples from Ancient Rome and Julius Caesar's imposition of the Leap Year, to the 1920s' project for a fixed Easter.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Product details

• Authors: Leofranc Holford-Streven, Leofranc Holford-Strevens, Leofranc (Oxford University Press) Holford-Strevens, Holford-Strevens Leofranc
• Publisher: Oxford University Press Trade
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 19.08.2005
• EAN: 9780192804990
• ISBN: 978-0-19-280499-0
• Dimensions: 111 mm x 174 mm x 10 mm
• Series: Very Short Introductions; A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION; A Very Short Introductions; A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION; Very Short Introductions; A Very Short Introductions; Very Short Introduction
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > General, dictionaries; Humanities, art, music > History > Contemporary history (1945 to 1989); Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Mathematics; popular science, SCIENCE / Time, Time (chronology), time systems & standards, Time (chronology), time systems and standards