Mapping Time

The Calendar and its History

E. G. Richards (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

460 Seiten

1999
Oxford University Press (Verlag)
978-0-19-286205-1 (ISBN)

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Containing chapters on the nature of calendars and on their astronomical background, on the history of writing and counting, on the week, and on the history of calendar reform, this book serves as an account for the general reader of the history and underlying basis of each of the most important calendars of the world.

Mapping Time is an account for the general reader of the history and underlying basis of each of the most important calendars of the world, from antiquity to modern times. There are descriptions of prehistoric calendars, of those devised by the Egyptians, the Mayans, the Aztecs, and other civilizations, of the short-lived French Republican calendar, which introduced a ten-day week, and of our present-day Gregorian calendar. This fascinating and highly entertaining book is the perfect guide to understanding the background of time in the run up to the millennium.

'an easily accessible mine of material'

TLS

'Richards makes even the most arcane complications arising from the accident of Earth's spin and orbit seem fascinating'

New Scientist

E. G. (Edward Graham) Richards was formerly a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biophysics at King's College, University of London. His interest in the calendar was sparked when he wrote and published computer programmes for converting dates from one calendar to another. An historical note on the various calendars included in the exercise was intended to accompany the programmes but as the author's appetite for knowledge about the calendars grew, so did the note. It eventually became, after many years of research, this book. Dr Richards and his wife live in London.

LIST OF TABLES, LIST OF ALGORITHMS, LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, PREFACE, INTRODUCTION, PART ONE: THE CALENDAR IN THEORY; PART TWO: THE CALENDARS OF THE WORLD; PART THREE: CALENDAR CONVERSIONS; PART FOUR: EASTER; APPENDICES 1. ASTRONOMICAL CONSTANTS; 2. THE NAMES OF THE DAYS OF THE WEEK; 3. THE NAMES OF THE DAYS OF THE YEAR IN THE FRENCH REPUBLICAN CALENDAR; GLOSSARY; FURTHER READING; INDEX.

Erscheint lt. Verlag	7.10.1999
Zusatzinfo	black and white plates and tables
Verlagsort	Oxford
Sprache	englisch
Maße	129 x 197 mm
Gewicht	484 g
Themenwelt	Geschichte ► Hilfswissenschaften ► Chronologie
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Astronomie / Astrophysik
ISBN-10	0-19-286205-7 / 0192862057
ISBN-13	978-0-19-286205-1 / 9780192862051
Zustand	Neuware