Keeping Watch: A History of American Time - Hardcover

O'Malley, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 067082934X ISBN 13: 9780670829347

Publisher: Viking, 1990

Synopsis

Provides a historical look at the role time has played in civilization, from the local measure ruled by nature's seasons, to an abstract standard governed by machinery which divides days and facilitates transportation, commerce, and labor management

About this title

About the Author

Michael O'Malley is assistant professor of history at George Mason University.

From Publishers Weekly

O'Malley here identifies an epic theme: the shift in American consciousness from a "natural" to an "artificial" accounting of the hours. How did Americans wean themselves from insisting that clocks and time-reckoning scrupulously follow the sun, instead accepting "standard" time, the "time zone" concept, and notions of "time as commodity"? The author's answers illuminate and are illuminated by central trends in U.S. history: urbanization, an increasingly interdependent national economy, and the triumph of secular humanism all exerted influence. New York University professor of history O'Malley argues that litigation, special-interest legislation and bitter labor-relations struggles also contributed to the commoditization of American time, while the "scientific management" movement and development of motion-picture syntax serve as vital markers. He penetrates the historical record with a painstaking eye, which is complemented by his caution in rendering judgment. Although original and important, the book rests on an aggregation and reiteration of sometimes dry detail--and, much like a textbook, is all too easy to set aside.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 067082934X
• ISBN 13: 9780670829347
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 384