Time has many facets and dimensions, and all are explored by experts in the "Encyclopedia of Time". Macey, author of several previous books about time, is a professor at the University of Victoria (Canada) and immediate past president of the International Society for the Study of Time. Gathered together here are articles by some 200 scholars, primarily U.S., Canadian, and British, but also from around the world, including Japan and Turkey. Their specialties range from philosophy, psychology, and astrophysics to geology, music, and medicine. This is the first encyclopedic volume to document the whole interdisciplinary field of time studies that has emerged in recent years. While time is readily apparent in some entries, such as those on clocks and calendars, it is implicit in all entries, as contributors stress aspects of their subject that are related to time
Entries begin with "Age of the Oldest Stars and the Milky Way" and end with "X-Ray Universe" and vary in length from less than a page to more than nine pages. All are signed, have brief lists of further readings, and frequently have "see also" references to other entries. An amazing array of topics is found, from persons (Foucault, Emerson, Dickens, Petrarch, and F. W. Taylor) to medical ("Cardiovascular Chronopharmacology"), religious ("Judeo-Christian Traditions on Time"), literary ("Clock Metaphor", "Stream of Consciousness"), astronomical ("Anasazi Archaeoastronomy", "Star and Galaxy Formation"), sports ("Racing Sports and the Stopwatch") to such entries as "Time for the Family", "Mathematics of Musical Time", and "Tidal Rhythms in Marine Organisms". Because many topics are discussed in specific entries, a list of articles by major disciplines allows one to find related entries quickly. For example, "Horology" lists "Clocks: America and Mass Production, 1770-1890"; "French Clocks and Watches, 1660-1830"; and "Precision Timekeeping, 1790-1830" among its 14 entries. "Time's Measurements and Divisions" includes "Aztec Calendar"; "Calendar: Chinese and Japanese"; and "Standard Time: Time Zones and Daylight Saving Time" among its eight entries. Neither the sundial nor flextime has its own entry, but an index provides quite detailed access and both of these topics are found there. Illustrations include formulas, tables, diagrams, drawings, and black-and-white photographs
The "Encyclopedia of Time" is a fascinating volume for browsing that also supplies readable scholarly information concerning all facets of this topic. Not just science libraries, but all academic and large public libraries, even some high-school libraries, may find it a valuable addition to their collections.
The compiler of Time: A Bibliographic Guide (Garland, 1991) used that reference "to locate the subjects which have been energized by a concern with time, to identify their relationships with other such subjects, and to help in identifying appropriate articles and potential authors." The result is this accessible encyclopedia which contains some 360 signed, time-related articles exploring topics in the areas of aging, archaeoastronomy, archaeology, art, film, and telecommunications, astronomy, biology, economics, geography, geology, history, horology, law, literature, mathematics, medicine, music, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, sociology, sports, time management, and time's measurements and divisions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
"Fascinating volume...not just science libraries, but all academic and large public libraries, even some high school libraries, may find it a valuable addition to their collections." — Reference Books Bulletin
"Unique encyclopedia...an impressive board of advisors... written with clarity and breadth of coverage...fascinating volume written by a broad range of scholars. Recommended for all libraries." — Reference Books Review
