One of the few practicing watchmakers left in the world chronicles the history of time and the creation of the watch through human history, interlaced with the author's own experiences with a vast array of watches. From here the book looks at how man has tried to keep track of the time, the days, the months, and how this helped in our development. Alongside this journey in time, Struthers has woven in tales from her own life and ruminates about what time truly means to us.

Informative, interesting, and fast paced, I especially appreciated the adventurous background of time markers. This is a very interesting introduction into the profession of horology, the study and measurement of time and a term I never knew existed before reading the book. It shows how timekeeping has underpinned, supported, or enabled a vast cross-section of historical events as wide-ranging as the French revolution and the moon landings - though the latter only garners a single short sentence. In sum, 'Hands of Time: A Watchmaker's History' is a triumph, a literary treasure that will ignite your fascination with watches and their intricate stories. Their enthusiasm leaps off the page so if, like me, you love getting someone talking about their special interest and you like to hear about watches or just areas of history and engineering that don't usually come up outside of textbooks then I highly suggest you grab this book.It reads like an autobiography, intertwining the history of time and watchmaking, and providing detailed insights into the creation of each component. Rather than just relaying the history, she makes this book personal through her own depth of knowledge. This engaging, rewarding book is full of mechanical complexities and wonderfully interesting details . If an 18th-century watch turned up on my workbench, I would struggle to tell whether it had belonged to a man or woman.

And despite being one of the most skilled and sought-after (not to mention highly-paid) practitioners in her field, she is constantly entreating the audience to see her as a victim for being, alternatingly, not like the other girls ( a girl who makes clocks, can you even imagine! They regulate our daily lives and have sculpted the social and economic development of society in surprising and dramatic ways. This is a testament to a great read; it has sparked numerous questions and topics I’m eager to delve into. Learn all about horology, the study and measurement of time and the art of making clocks and watches from a master craftswoman who weaves together history, science, technology, hand-crafts, and so much more about clocks and watches. In fact, I was considering canceling my Audible subscription, but fortunately, I had a remaining credit which I wisely used to prebook this gem.

And if you're an audiobook fan who likes to listen to your nonfiction, this was great on audio, with a fun narration by Anna Ploszajski.