Time by Shireen Holman —BEST OF SHOW AWARD!

This book explores how we think about time, from the perspectives of art, religion, literature, and science. Ordinarily we think of time in terms of our lifetimes, moving in one direction. We try to create ways of measuring time concretely, with clocks and calendars. Sundials measure time by their own shadows. Time casts long shadows; we are all subject to its inevitable ravages. Time can be fleeting, eternal, or elastic. It is unstable. When you try to pinpoint a moment to understand it, it has gone. The book's images fade in and out of focus, as does our grasp of the meaning of time. In Hinduism time is thought to be a necessary condition of growth and decay, and is considered cyclical. Time is also seen as a manifestation of God. In Western science, time is not independent, but is part of a four-dimensional space-time continuum. Perhaps time itself had a beginning and will have an end. People try to conquer time by creating works that last well beyond their lifetimes. —BEST OF SHOW