Downing, Michael: Spring Forward

  Amazon  

Michael Downing's Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time is one of two books about Daylight Saving Time that were published in 2005, the other being Seize the Daylight by David Prerau (see my review). Downing and Prerau cover much of the same ground in their respective volumes, both authors detailing the complex history of DST since its adoption in England and the U.S. during World War I. But there are, of course, differences between the two books. Downing's is a shade more conversational in tone than Prerau's, and Downing seems to be less sold on the benefits of DST than Prerau, his relative negativity toward the time shift perhaps signaled in the "Madness" of his subtitle. Another difference between the two books is that Prerau's approach to telling the story of DST is primarily chronological, while Downing adopts more of a thematic approach to the subject. He offers chapters on DST and sports, for example, on New York City's role in the DST debate, and on the oddities of time management--sidereal days vs. solar days, solar months vs. lunar months, and so on.

Certainly Downing provides information in Spring Forward that Prerau does not include in his book. Downing offers a fuller account of the 1966 U.S. legislation that regularized (more or less) DST, and he writes about the attempts of various Pacific island states to profit from the millennial celebrations by tinkering with their clocks. But on the whole Prerau's Seize the Daylight is the more thorough and informative of the two books. Prerau's approach to the subject is easier to follow and, frankly, his book is simply a more interesting read. If you have the time, as it were, by all means read both books. But if you're going to read just one book about DST, I recommend you make it Prerau's Seize the Daylight.

Review summary: Michael Downing's Spring Forward is one of two books about Daylight Saving Time published in 2005, the other being David Prerau's Seize the Daylight. Downing and Prerau cover much of the same ground in their respective volumes, but Downing's book is more conversational in tone, and he seems less convinced of the benefits of DST than is Prerau. Also, Prerau's approach is primarily chronological, while Downing adopts more of a thematic approach to the subject. Certainly Downing provides information that Prerau does not include in his book, but on the whole Prerau's book is the more thorough and informative of the two. It is also easier to follow and, frankly, simply a more interesting read. If you have the time, by all means read both books. But if you're going to read just one book about DST, make it Prerau's Seize the Daylight.