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Timekeepers

Garfield, Simon2016
Books
Not so long ago we timed our lives by the movement of the sun. These days our time arrives atomically and insistently, and our lives are propelled by the notion that we will never have enough of the one thing we crave the most. How have we come to be dominated by something so arbitrary? The compelling stories in this book explore our obsessions with time. Timekeepers is a vivid exploration of the ways we have perceived, contained and saved time over the last 250 years, narrated in the highly inventive and entertaining style that bestselling author Simon Garfield is fast making his own. As managing time becomes the greatest challenge we face in our lives, this multi-layered history helps us tackle it in a sparkling new light.
Main title:
Timekeepers / Simon Garfield.
Imprint:
Edinburgh : Canongate books, 2016.
Collation:
349 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
1.The Accident of Time -- i).Leaving the Ground -- ii).The Shortness of Life and How to Live It -- 2.How the French Messed Up the Calendar -- 3.The Invention of the Timetable -- i).The Fastest Thing You Ever Did See -- ii).Was Ever Tyranny More Monstrous? -- 4.The Beet Goes On -- i).The Way to Play the Ninth -- ii).Just How Long Should a CD Be? -- iii).Revolver -- 5.How Much Talking Is Too Much Talking? -- i).In the Time of Moses -- ii).Talking It Over -- 6.Movie Time -- i).How You Get to the Clock -- ii).Oncoming Train -- 7.Horology Part One: How to Make a Watch -- i).A Very Difficult Floor -- ii).Just What Is It about the Swiss? -- 8.Roger Bannister Goes Round and Round -- 9.Vietnam. Napalm. Girl -- i).The Split Second -- ii).`I am Muybridge and this is a message from my wife' -- 10.The Day Shift -- i).We Will Crush, Squash, Slaughter Yamaha! -- ii).The Boss from Hell -- 11.Horology Part Two: How to Sell the Time --Contents note continued: i).Vasco da Gama Special Edition -- ii).Welcome to Baselworld -- iii).Uh-oh -- iv).In Which We Name the Guilty Man -- v).The Most Valuable Watch on the Planet -- 12.Time Tactics That Work! -- i).The Berry Season -- ii).The Lean Email Simple System -- 13.Life Is Short, Art Is Long -- i).The Clock Is a Clock -- ii).White People Are Crazy -- 14.Slowing Down the World -- i).A Place Where Time Stands Still -- ii).Living Frenchly -- iii).Faster Food -- 15.The British Museum and the Story of Us -- i).The Book of Hours -- ii).Doomed and Marooned -- iii).Those Who Feel Differently.
ISBN:
9781782113195
Dewey class:
529
Language:
English
BRN:
291375
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