This book takes you across the full span of recorded history to examine the ways in which people and events forged the calendar that we have today. Starting with Stonehenge and the first written records of the year and the day by the Sumerians around 3500 B.C., astronomer Steel charts the calendar's ever-changing, erratic trajectory--from the Egyptians' reliance on the star Sirius to the numbering of the years linked to the celebration of Easter in Christian churches. A provocative history lesson and a unique, entertaining read rolled into one, Marking Time will leave you with a sense of awe at the random, hit-or-miss nature of our calendar's development--a quality that parallels the growth of civilization itself. What results is a truthful, and, above all, very human view of the calendar as we know it. You will never look at the calendar the same way again.--From publisher description.
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