"Marking Modern Time" by Alexis McCrossen

Alexis McCrossen is a professor of history at Sothern Methodist University who cannot only tell you what time it is but tell you something about time, itself.Her book, "Marking Modern Time" is a history of clocks, watches and other timekeepers in American life.She notes that the public clock era flourished in the United States between the 1870s and the 1930s. That was a period, she told Steve Tarter where, after the Civil War, cities across the country sought to build the biggest and best public clocks possible."The public clocks were a symbol of order, of legitimacy. Showing the wrong time might have suggested there were other problems about the enterprise displaying that clock," she said.Clocks entered American homes as decorative pieces that had the ability to tell time."Connecticut clockmakers that used brass and other materials became very wealthy. Clocks became wildly popular after the Civil War," said McCrossen.Watches came on during World War I but didn't really sweep the market until after World War II, she said.