It is difficult today to imagine life before standard time was
established in 1884. In the middle of the nineteenth century, for
example, there were 144 official time zones in North America alone. The
confusion that ensued, especially among the burgeoning railroad
companies, was an hourly comedy of errors that ultimately threatened to
impede progress. The creation of standard time, with its two dozen
global time zones, is one of the great inventions of the Victorian Era,
yet it has been largely taken for granted.
In Time Lord, Clark Blaise re-creates the life of Sanford Fleming,
who struggled to convince the world to accept standard time. It's a
fascinating story of science, politics, nationalism, and the determined
vision of one man who changed the world. Set in a time marked by
substantial technological and cultural transformation, Time Lord is
also an erudite exploration of art, literature, consciousness, and our
changing relationship to time