My Own Right Time

...this book should become one of those relatively few texts which become classics in their field * NAWCC Bulletin * ...Woodward is a retired professional mathematician with a most unusual talent - he can make his work understandable. This he has achieved not only by his clarity of expression and precision of language, but also by his carfeul use of analogies and excellently presented and captioned figures. * NAWCC Bulletin * believe me, this book is exciting.... * NAWCC Bulletin * REading this book, one comes to share Woodward's folly: in a fine clock, his story shows, the clockmaker's pulse beats as strongly as the impersonal drum-beat of time. * The Sciences * he manages in clear and simple words to describe the main types of escapement mechanisms in clockwork right to the latest developments in mechanical art ... we have here a study of great depth of the problems of how to overcome the generally non-conservative damping forces we meet in practice * Paul Foulkes, Nature, Vol. 378, November 1995 * a story of an obsession. How accurately can a swinging pendulum be made to keep time? This problem led the author to construct several unique clocks, with astonsihing reults. The delicate and scrupulous operations necessary are illustrated by exquisite drawings. * New Scientist * fascinating reading for the horologist who is not totally immersed in traditional designs and concepts ... This is without doubt a book that will be appreciated by the horologist with an interest in precision timekeeping, who wishes to be led through the mathematical and scientific theory of the subject in an informative and stimulating manner. It could open new vistas to those who have to date not given serious thought to this aspect of horology. * Rita Shenton, Clocks, Vol. 18, October 1995 * `... a splendid account... clear and simple words...' Nature, 2 November 1995