Book Review: A Geography of Time

A Geography of Time: On Tempo, Culture, and the Pace of Life, by Robert E. Levine, Format: Kindle Edition, Print Length: 280 pages, Publisher: Basic Books; 1 edition (May 31, 1997), ASIN: B001FSJ96M

Rating: 4.5 of 5 STARS

Source: Read about in Time by Eva Hoffman and reminded of it by a friend a few weeks ago

 

Sleep and time are two subjects that interest me very much. When a friend told me she was reading A Geography of Time on her Kindle, it reminded me that I had read about Levine's work in another book (Time by Eva Hoffman). So, with the instant gratification that the Kindle offers (*smile*), I added it to my digital library!

First, from a Kindle perspective: This was my first non-fiction title to try out electronically and I can't say I enjoyed it as much as novels. I think I'll give a non-fiction title one more go on the Kindle, but if I don't have a better experience the second time around, I think I'll stick to novels.  My main complaint was not being able to flip to the back of the book and read the footnotes easily. This particular book didn't have links that would take you straight to the footnotes and it was pretty awkward to go all the way to the end of the book to the 'notes' section each time there was one I wanted to read. Also, I just like being able to physically highlight things I find interesting in non-fiction books... quotes, things that are new to me, things I might want to use in a class or in something I'm writing... Yes. I know you can highlight with the Kindle but it just doesn't feel the same. 

Second, the book: Very, very good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Levine's research on the pace of life and how time is experienced in different places really made me think about the pace of my own life. I didn't give it a perfect 5 STARS because there were a couple of places I felt like he was just filling pages and not really saying anything new. Here are the chapter titles:

• Tempo: The Speed of Life
• Duration: The Psychological Clock
• A Brief History of Clock Time (My favorite chapter!)
• Living on Event Time
• Time and Power: The Rules of the Waiting Game
• Where is Life Fastest?
• Health, Wealth, Happiness, and Charity
• Japan's Contradiction
• Time Literacy: Learning the Silent Language (Least favorite!)
• Minding Your Time, Timing Your Mind

A couple of things I 'marked':

The trait of punctuality came to be associated with achievement and success.  Living on clock time became a defining characteristic of a new class of people on the move. 

Not until the late seventeenth century did the word 'punctual,' which formerly described a person who was a stickler for details of conduct, come to describe someone who arrived exactly at the appointed time. Only a century after that did the word 'punctuality' first appear in the English language as it is used today. 

The thing this book made me think about the most is how our exact measurement of time, to the seconds, minutes, and even hours, is a actually pretty new thing.  We plan to meet up at 10:15am for breakfast or get frustrated when someone is ten minutes late meeting us.... We are so driven and stressed by what our clocks have to say... Not that very long ago time was measured (approximated, actually) by where the sun was in the sky or by what part of the daily cycle farm animals were in (i.e. I'll see you when the cows come home). Seems much more laid back and peaceful, doesn't it, than what we do today? Now we have constant reminders (usually via our cell phones) of exactly what time it is, how late we are, or how much more time we have to spend on a certain activity before we must move on to the next. Clocks control our lives!! :-) I say we just get rid of them all! 

I highly recommend this book, bloggy friends. Well written, engaging, full of interesting information and insight. I'm just not so sure I'd say to read it on the Kindle!