The Wonders of Time
The history and mystery of time explained
Published on 23. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
48 pages
978-1-5263-1825-1 (ISBN)
Description
It's time for a mind-blowing look at the history and mystery of time with the masters of timekeeping - travelling across the globe and even to the far reaches of space!
The Wonders of Time is written by the expert Curator of Time at the home of timekeeping, Royal Observatory Greenwich. The book uncovers the history and mysteries of time: its beginnings, the methods of measuring it, how we experience it, different philosophies of time and the potential of time travel. Readers explore the timeline of timekeeping, looking at the evolution of our understanding from the Big Bang to today.
Just some of the astonishing contents of The Wonders of Time:
- The beginning of time in the Universe, on Earth and measuring time on other planets in the solar system
- The shape of time (is it a circle? a line? a spiral?) and our natural body clocks
- The invention of timekeeping straight through to quartz and atomic clocks
- Coordinating timezones across the world
- Record-breakers in time: lifespans in humans and animals
- Considering our human urge to capture moments in time (take a photo! bury a time capsule!)
- Take a tour of seven amazing clocks from around the world
This is the third book in a series published by Wayland in association with Royal Observatory Greenwich exploring the wonders of science, illustrated by the super-creative Jan Bielecki. Other books in the series include: Wonders of the Night Sky and The Future of the Universe by Professor Raman Prinja.
The Wonders of Time is written by the expert Curator of Time at the home of timekeeping, Royal Observatory Greenwich. The book uncovers the history and mysteries of time: its beginnings, the methods of measuring it, how we experience it, different philosophies of time and the potential of time travel. Readers explore the timeline of timekeeping, looking at the evolution of our understanding from the Big Bang to today.
Just some of the astonishing contents of The Wonders of Time:
- The beginning of time in the Universe, on Earth and measuring time on other planets in the solar system
- The shape of time (is it a circle? a line? a spiral?) and our natural body clocks
- The invention of timekeeping straight through to quartz and atomic clocks
- Coordinating timezones across the world
- Record-breakers in time: lifespans in humans and animals
- Considering our human urge to capture moments in time (take a photo! bury a time capsule!)
- Take a tour of seven amazing clocks from around the world
This is the third book in a series published by Wayland in association with Royal Observatory Greenwich exploring the wonders of science, illustrated by the super-creative Jan Bielecki. Other books in the series include: Wonders of the Night Sky and The Future of the Universe by Professor Raman Prinja.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Hachette Children's Group
Target group
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 9 years
Dimensions
Height: 285 mm
Width: 218 mm
Thickness: 7 mm
Weight
250 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5263-1825-1 (9781526318251)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2023
1st Edition
Wayland
€3.99
Available for download
Persons
Emily Akkermans (Author)
Emily Akkermans is Curator of Time at Royal Museums Greenwich. She manages the horology collection, which has close links to astronomy, navigation, science and society. After studying horology at The Vakschool in Schoonhoven, she specialised in the restoration of antique clocks during an apprenticeship in Breda, the Netherlands. She then completed undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Conservation and Restoration at the University of Antwerp. After graduating, Emily moved to London to work in metals conservation at the National Maritime Museum. She participated in a doctoral partnership between the National Maritime Museum and the University of Edinburgh, on a project that combined maritime history, horology, scientific instruments, and history of science and technology. Her PhD looked at how chronometers were used on board early nineteenth-century voyages of exploration and how they relate to other navigational practices.
Jan Bielecki (Illustrator)
Jan Bielecki is a Polish-Swedish illustrator and designer living in London. He mainly works with children's books and has illustrated fiction, picture books and non-fiction. Some of the topics he has covered include human anatomy, wrestling trolls, the scope of the Universe and slimy monsters.
Emily Akkermans is Curator of Time at Royal Museums Greenwich. She manages the horology collection, which has close links to astronomy, navigation, science and society. After studying horology at The Vakschool in Schoonhoven, she specialised in the restoration of antique clocks during an apprenticeship in Breda, the Netherlands. She then completed undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Conservation and Restoration at the University of Antwerp. After graduating, Emily moved to London to work in metals conservation at the National Maritime Museum. She participated in a doctoral partnership between the National Maritime Museum and the University of Edinburgh, on a project that combined maritime history, horology, scientific instruments, and history of science and technology. Her PhD looked at how chronometers were used on board early nineteenth-century voyages of exploration and how they relate to other navigational practices.
Jan Bielecki (Illustrator)
Jan Bielecki is a Polish-Swedish illustrator and designer living in London. He mainly works with children's books and has illustrated fiction, picture books and non-fiction. Some of the topics he has covered include human anatomy, wrestling trolls, the scope of the Universe and slimy monsters.
Content
- 1: WHAT IS TIME?
- 2: TIME AND THE UNIVERSE
- 1: THE BEGINNING OF TIME
- 2: THE SOLAR SYSTEM
- 3: TIME IN SPACE
- 4: MOON AND THE STARS
- 3: NATURAL TIME
- 1: THE SHAPE OF TIME
- 2: DIVIDING THE YEAR
- 3: BUILDING BLOCKS OF TIME
- 4: BODY CLOCKS
- 4: MEASURING TIME
- 1: EARLY TIMEKEEPING
- 2: MECHANICAL TIME
- 3: DIVIDING THE DAY
- 4: TIME REDEFINED
- 5: COORDINATING TIME
- 1: WHAT'S THE TIME?
- 2: A SPEEDY WORLD
- 3: AGREEING TIME
- 4: TIME ZONES
- 6: WONDERS OF TIME
- 1: LIFETIMES
- 2: THE GOOD TIMES
- 3: THE WONDERS OF TIME
- 4: AROUND THE WORLD IN 7 CLOCKS
- 7: GLOSSARY
- 8: FIND OUT MORE
- 9: INDEX