Clocks and Culture: 1300-1700

By Carlo M. Cipolla

Book Overview

How did a time-keeping device affect the growth of crafts guilds and the scientific research that led to the Industrial Revolution? Clocks and Culture is a brief history of the changes wrought by and on Europe over four hundred years due to technological advances in timekeeping and the rise of a time-aware culture. In his introduction, Anthony Grafton, Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University, puts this classic book in perspective.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393008665
• ISBN13: 9780393008661
• Release Date: January 1978
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.8" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

A brilliant social history of clocks

It's surprising to learn that English was not Cipolla's first language. The language of this book is beautiful and terse, and able in a few words to capture entire eras and centuries. Speaking as a practicing horologist, I'm particularly impressed by the depth and width of Cipolla's research and the fluency with which it is all brought together. Like his "Guns, Sails and Empire", this is one of the best books written on the subject. Cipolla's ability to take a long view spanning centuries is unequaled and memorable.

My dad loves it

My dad's always been interested in clocks; when I saw this book, I bought it for him for his birthday. I've received TWO emails telling me how much he's enjoyed it. :)

Fascinating and enlightening

This book was a real surprise - the title doesn't sound very promising, but it was fascinating. The development of reliable time-keeping devices had a revolutionary impact on society, and we're unlikely to grasp the significance from our perspective on this side of the revolution without a book like this. It was a good read, and an enlightening one.

How man invented time...

This is a great book on the evolution of time measuring machines. But its real value is in the large amount of bibliographic references.