No comments about The Clock Repairer's Manual (Manual of Techniques).

2 comments about Clock Repair: Basics.

1. This book was given out at a clock repair course I took and I found it to be very helpful and informative to me since I was an absolute beginner in clock repair.



2. I found this book to be invaluable tool in my endeavor to learn about clock repair. Steven Conover's book covers the basic areas the every person needs to know to repai clocks with good descriptions and many photos and drawings. A must have for anyone entering into the field of clock repair.

1 comments about The Carriage Clock: A Repair and Restoration Manual.

1. The book is a technical manual, giving helpful information on carriage clock repair for both the beginner as well as the experienced clock repair artist. The book has several pages of photographs and numerous illustrations referencing the technical guidance information. I recommend the book for anyone that has an interest in Carriage Clock maintenance and repair, or has an interest in Carriage Clocks. The book provides insight to the function of platform escapements, going trains, barrel springs, hammer functions, flits, hammer strike, gong striking mechanics, different time functions, grand sonnerie striking function, hour strike and much more. Information on dismantling and returning the clocks back to operating condition. The book has sections for the experienced. If a carriage clock is the first clock for a beginning repair artist, this is the book to read, and prepare for what is ahead. The book gives information on tools required, lathes, burnishing, trouble shooting problems, adjustments and lots more. The author provides insight on repair but is not bashful to tell when professional help maybe required. Excellent information in this book.

5 comments about Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World, Revised and Enlarged Edition.

1. I'm a lawyer- my time is billable in increments of one tenth of an hour. At larger law firms (I don't work for a firm) lawyers are expected to BILL- BILL- in excess of 2100 hundred hours a year. To "bill" an hour basically means that you not only work the hour, but record the manner in which you spent it. Nowadays, we have computer programs to facilitate this task- but the act of keeping records of how you spend your time- it is deeply unatural, and my expereience as a lawyer has caused me to have a minor interest in the relationship between time and the development of modernity.
   
   How important was the invention of the mechanical clock in the middle ages? Very, for you see... it was the first mechanical clock that gave us... the beat.
   
   "The achievment of the genius who built the first mechanical clock was not that he used an escapment as that he had made use oscillatory motion to divide time into countable beats."
   
   Do you get it? IT'S THE BEAT.
   
   Anyway, I found the actual organization to be overly schematic. In Landes' words, "It is a triptych: a study in cultural history; in the history of science and technology, and in social and economic history. I now offer you one sentence summaries of this book and those subjects, so that you will not have to read a 360 page book.
   
   The first segment of the book answers the question "Why did Europe invent the mechanical clock, as supposed to the Chinese." The Chinese (and the Islamic) world were using sophisticated water driven clocks while Europe was being sacked by the Vikings. However, they never moved on to the mechanical clock- which is superior in design- mostly because um... water clocks are big and immovable.
   
   The second segement of the book looks at the technological/scientific improvements that brough the clock into the shape we know and love today. So we're talking fifty pages on the builiding of tower clocks in the early middle ages, the development of portable clocks in the later middle ages, the development of the marine chronograph- a device that allowed sailors to navigate longitutde accurately without reference to the night sky. The chapters on the marine chronograph was as boring a text as I've read all year.
   
   The final segment briefs the development of the watch industry- as in- the post industrial revolution watch industry. Clockmakers are interesting in that they were making technologically sophisticated devices long before most Europeans ever used a machine, but their industry- because of its early development- retained many of the hallmarks of pre-industrial commerce long after "the handwriting" was on the wall. Thus, the English were supplanted by the Swiss in the 18th and 19th century, the Swiss were challenged by the Americans, both were surpassed by the Japanese. I actually found the information about the Swiss watch making industry to be interesting- a bunch of poor mountain folk taught themselves how to be the best watch makers in the world AND how to sell those watches "world" wide in the course of a generation.
   
   The chapters on the Swiss watchmakers almost makes me want to go to Geneva and the Jura region- but not quite.



2. Everything you ever wanted to know about time and especially the devices created by man to measure it. David S. Landes lovingly traces the history of timepieces, from the earliest Chinese clepsydra (water clocks) to the first spring operated clocks to the most recent quartz watches, in great detail and penache: he obviously is fascinated with his subject and easily conveys that enthusiasm to the reader. He writes with ease and style, and even when the topics become somewhat technical he is able to bring the reader through the rough waters with grace and authority. Landes has the rare but always admirable ability to be both fully knowledgeable and entertaining at the same time. It's a fascinating book from first page to last, a most laudable accomplishment in that it is not just the definitive account of the subject of clocks and timepieces, but also one of the most stylish and entertaining techno/history books ever written.



3. If you love clocks you will love this book, but if you are merely just interested in them, you may find this book a hard slog. David Landes loves clocks - a fact that comes through loud and clear, but to some degree, I felt that this love actually was detrimental to the book because it caused him to dwell too much on minutia at the expense of a more coherent discussion of the subject. There are numerous drawings of the workings of clocks, but they were not clear enough for me. (I am not that interested in clocks, but if I were and had more background in horology, I would have probably been able to decipher the drawings more readily.)
   
   This book covers all aspects of clocks, from the need for them, to their manufacture and the economics of producing them, to the development of electronic clocks. As such, it was quite interesting. I especially liked the early sections, which discussed the historical need for clocks and those sections that dealt with the impact of external historical events, such as the persecution of French Huguenots. Unfortunately, I did not find some of the middle sections, which dealt with the question of the evolutions of the internal workings of mechanical clocks, to be sufficiently clear for me. This is an area where those who are more familiar with the details of escapement mechanisms will find the book easier to follow than I did. I also found that the details of who made what change in the escapement mechanism to be a bit more information than I needed. All in all, this is a very good book for those who love clocks and know a bit about their workings, but others who are more historically minded, without a particular love of clocks, may find themselves looking to see how much more they had to go. If I could, I would have given this book five stars for those who love clocks, but only three stars for those, like myself, who are more interested in the historical aspects of the subject.



4. The guy who wrote this seems to like using big words just for the sake of using them. I have never seen the information in this book anywhere else. It is a great history of timekeeping. If you're fascinated with clocks or watches and would like to get some true education, pick up a copy of this book. Just be warned that it is not a book that most people can just breeze through.



5. I read this book in it's first incarnation, when I first became interested in horological collecting. Mr. Landes writes an informative and educational treatise on horological development and history, and in the process creates an illuminating case study of the impact of competitive pressures on established industry. It is fascinating to take one of original "high tech" industries and see how technological change and marketplace behavior affect entire companies and national industries. The long-term history described in this book perfectly illustrates Santayana's "remember the past" concept. There are amazing parallels to technological and marketing revolutions we still see developing today. A good read, which I would recomend heartily for horological afficianados and students of business and technology.

3 comments about Encyclopedia of Antique American Clocks, Second Edition.

1. compared to the first book, which is a wonderful book, this one was a waste of time -- i wish i had a chance to look at it before i bought it -- i would not have bought it -- j.d.h.



2. Brand new, year 2001 encyclopedia for clock enthusiasts. It features 352 pages and more than 700 black and white photos and a special full color section. There's plenty of informative text with data on clock types, clock making, leading clock makers, clock histories, wall and classic clocks, shelf clocks and novelty clocks. The pictures provided are large and sharp, making identification easy. Clock lovers will find this a useful work.



3. The Encyclopedia Of Antique American Clocks offers collectors and dealers with a superbly illustrated and comprehensive guide to American clocks. Organized by clock type and category, this authoritative guide offers detailed entry descriptions and current market values, as well as being enhanced with more than 700 photographs including a 16-page color section). The Encyclopedia Of Antique American Clocks is an essential pictorial reference to this specialized category of nostalgic collectibles and includes informative chapters on clock types, the history of clock making, and collectible clocks from the smaller clock makers as well. A glossary, bibliography, photo index, and resources list also contribute to making The Encyclopedia Of Antique American Clocks thoroughly "user friendly" and highly recommended.

No comments about History of the Hour: Clocks and Modern Temporal Orders.

5 comments about Chronograph Wristwatches: To Stop Time.

1. excellent book for the pro or just for the interested amateur. great pics,descriptions and info. worth every penny.



2. This is a great book for those interested in chronograph watches. The pictures are very good and the detail on the movements is exceptional. The format of the book is rather large, but not too thick. Quality printing and binding. Nearly a must-have for watch collectors and horologists.



3. This book is geared to the watch collector and repairer, which is exactly what I was looking for. It has an excellent description of the major dials and movements with nice large pictures. The information is detailed, in-depth and informative. A professional book. It is large format, not too thick, but the glossy pages (which is a good thing) make it heavy. For the collector / repairer of chronographs, this is a must-have book.



4. Overall an excellent book on chronographs, which is a cross between a coffee table book and a reference work. As a collector, I refer to it a lot.

   Unfortunately, the translation is poor, and there are many inconsistencies which can make it hard to follow descriptions: for example, the same component in the chronograph mechanism may be referred to by several different names. Also, the final editing of the English version leaves a lot to be desired, especially in a book of this price. Having said this, it's still a very good book, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.




5. This book illustrates the intricacies of chronograhs in great detail and with much attention given to not-so-well-known facts. Master Watchmaker Gerd-Ruediger Lang is the founder and manager of Chronoswiss Uhren GmbH in Munich, Germany and his attention to detail can both be found in this book and in his watches, which are famous throughout the world.

2 comments about Richard Brown's Replica Watch Report: Volume 1.

1. I found the book more than generally helpful. Much of the information can be found on the web, however, you would have to spend a great deal of time hunting for it. It is written well and to the point.



2. A let down. Although it had some decent content, nothing you couldn't find on a quick internet search, the overall layout of the book was bad. All pages had the appearance of cheap photo copies, all pictures were black and white grainy copies. If your looking for a reference book or table book on watches this isn't it. It did have a few good tips on identifying replicas on certain makes and models but overall a let down.

No comments about Practical Watch Adjusting.

No comments about Men's Watches.