As the subtitle says, this is a book about calendars, clocks, and cultures. Aveni is both an astronomer and an anthropologist and has studied pre-Columbian cultures extensively. The central part of the book explains where our Western European calendars and methods of keeping time came from and then examines the way other cultures such as the Maya developed their calendars and how they experienced time. A good and readable book for those interested in the subject. Well illustrated.