In Search of Time

A study of how humanity has sought to understand time throughout the ages—“Falk’s book is what Hawking’s Brief History should have been” (The Ottawa Citizen).

“In this thoroughly readable, broad-sweeping, and thought-provoking book, Falk . . . poses some fascinating questions.” —New Scientist

In his latest book, award-winning science writer Dan Falk chronicles the story of how humans have come to understand time over the millennia, and by drawing from the latest research in physics, psychology, and other fields, he shows how that understanding continues to evolve.

In Search of Time begins with our earliest ancestors’ perception of time and the discoveries that led to the Gregorian calendar, atomic clocks, and “leap seconds.” Falk examines the workings of memory, explores the possibility of time travel, and looks at the quest to comprehend the beginning of time and how it—and the universe—may end. Finally, he examines the puzzle of time's “flow,” and the remarkable possibility that the passage of time may be an illusion.

Entertaining, illuminating, and ultimately thought provoking, In Search of Time reveals what some of our most insightful thinkers have had to say about time, from Aristotle to Kant, from Newton to Einstein, and continuing with the brightest minds of today.

“An engaging writer who fearlessly tackles potentially brain-freezing topics.” —San Francisco Chronicle