The master of time

Writing a history of time means viewing human genius through the prism of the steady mastery of a crucial technology. The patient, long-term conquest of accuracy has been the result of successive advances from sundial to wristwatch up to the recent exploits of the heirs to this age-old quest, namely master horologists of the twenty-first century.

The Mastery of Time relates the story of the measurement of time, from the dawn of mankind to the present day. Timekeeping devices have had a major impact on the organization of life in society and on agricultural and industrial production and trade. In turn, they have reflected the advances and needs of their time while nurturing great discoveries.

Dominique Fléchon juggles historical, scientific, and human approaches to look at watchmaking as both a science and an art, dedicating this book to the genius of man, who never ceases to create instruments of ever increasing complexity and beauty in his untiring quest for precision. He retraces the story from the first attempts to divide time based on the observation of celestial bodies to the most advanced measuring devices (mechanical, electronic and atomic clocks). In so doing, he establishes the link between this story and that of mankind's progressive mastery of a world upon which the Sun of Reason will never set again.

This profusely illustrated panorama is accompanied by teaching tools that will make this book a working reference for specialists as well as a source of discovery for novices.