Review by Choice Review
It is common knowledge that we are approaching the end of a century and also of a millennium. But how many know when and how such reckonings arose, how the day and the week, the month and year came to be? Beyond the numbering of years as per the Christian era, how many people have even heard of other systems, past and still extant? In Richards's very interesting, informative, and relevant book, the reader will find answers to these and related questions. Time reckoning is as ancient as human civilization, and the sheer variety of calendars and eras is testimony to the fact that at one time, science was governed by local history and genius. They also remind us of the inquisitiveness and efforts of our ancestors to observe the skies and discover patterns, and to formulate general principles. The author has clearly delved into the lore and language of different peoples, and he presents a inclusive quilt that meaningfully reflects our cultural diversity. There are some technical discussions too, as in the chapters on calendar conversions. The names of the days of the week in various languages of the world are included. Glossary; extensive bibliography. Heartily recommended to all homes and libraries. All levels. V. V. Raman; Rochester Institute of Technology
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Babylonian astronomers, Mayan priests, Roman emperors, Chinese oracles, and medieval monks have all needed to mark the cadence of the months and years. Richards celebrates the human ingenuity that has given them the remarkable invention necessary to do so: the calendar. He recounts the feats of science and mathematics that have given us the modern Gregorian calendar, now so essential to commerce, politics, and religion. He details the complexities of rival calendars (including the Islamic, the Saka, and the Chinese) still used by millions. And he explains how early cultures--including the Hebrew, the Hindu, and the Celtic--devised their own surprisingly exact calendars many centuries ago. For readers interested in converting dates from one calendar to another, Richards provides the necessary algorithms, as well as the alternate month and day names. His analyses also permit readers to assess the proposals for reforming the Gregorian calendar, including those briefly implemented during the French Revolution and those put forward by the World Calendar Association. But behind the varying versions of the calendar dividing faiths, cultures, and social movements, we glimpse a universal craving for chronological order to make holy days certain and social transitions predictable. Many readers will turn to this book to understand and to satisfy that craving. --Bryce Christensen
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Both of these books are devoted to the question of how the world came to agree on what day it was. Both are written for a general audience although Richards is an academic, and his book is the more scholarly. Richards also has a more global perspective, whereas Duncan focuses on the calendar in the West. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The approach of the millennium has generated a spate of books on the history of our calendar. Here's an especially good one. According to Richards, the calendar originated in humanity's desire to track the natural phenomena on which life in primitive society depended. Seasonal cycles of crop growth and animal migrations relate to the sun; tides relate to phases of the moon; and the cycle of dark and light caused by Earth's rotation makes itself manifest every day. But the relationships among these three astronomical phenomena cannot be expressed simply. Much of the history of calendars has to do with compromises made in trying to juxtapose these three cycles. At the same time, in almost every culture, the religious impulse has imposed its overlay on the calendar. Days of the week (an arbitrary but convenient division of time) were given names related to ancient gods or to planets associated with them spiritually; each of the major religions boasts its own calendar, with its own succession of seasons and holy days. After outlining the science of calendar-making, Richards describes many calendars used over the ages, including the Mayan and Aztec, and the French Revolution's attempt to divorce timekeeping from religion. The mathematics of calendars is given due attention, especially the calculation of the day of the week for past dates, and conversions between calendars--e.g., from our Gregorian calendar to the Jewish or Mayan counterparts. A final section discusses problems caused in Western calendars by the shifting date of Easter, estimated by a complex formula, and a major bone of contention among the various denominations. Appendices provide useful astronomical constants, the names of the days of the week in sundry languages, the French Revolutionary calendar, and a glossary of technical terms. Clearly written and filled with detail, this will be a strong contender in the calendar-book sweepstakes. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
