history

Best discourse on how we have culturally arrived at both arbitrary and practical concepts on time; this book needs to be read in conjunction with Stephen Hawking's Brief History of Time. McCluskey shows the theological underpinnings for the division of days into practical sub units and their relationship to theology and mathematics. In order to fully appreciate this work, one should play some Benedictine chants and approach it from a pastoral or idyllic setting, with telescope at hand.

This book is a very complete review of the use of astronomy in the early middle ages, tracing the links of classical theories to the re-birth of astronomy as a science in the twelfth century. The book is quite technical, and certainly is not for the faint of heart or those new to the concepts and origins of astronomical practice. It could use more illustrations demonstrating the concepts presented. The work is, however, second to none in its detail and cogent interpretation of primary sources.