Michael Downing is obsessed with Daylight Saving, the loopy idea that became the most persistent political controversy in American history. Almost one hundred years after Congressmen and lawmakers in every state first debated, ridiculed, and then passionately embraced the possibility of saving an hour of daylight, no one can say for sure why we are required by law to change our clocks twice a year. Who first proposed the scheme? The most authoritative sources agree it was a Pittsburgh industrialist, Woodrow Wilson, a man on a horse in London, a Manhattan socialite, Benjamin Franklin, one of the Caesars, or the anonymous makers of ancient Chinese and Japanese water clocks. Spring Forward is a portrait of public policy in the 20th century, a perennially boiling cauldron of unsubstantiated science, profiteering masked as piety, and mysteriously shifting time–zone boundaries. It is a true–to–life social comedy with Congress in the leading role, surrounded by a supporting cast of opportunistic ministers, movie moguls, stockbrokers, labor leaders, sports fanatics, and railroad execs.

Vols. 24, no. 3-v. 34, no. 3 include: International industrial digest.

Benjamin Franklin conceived of it. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle endorsed it. Winston Churchill campaigned for it. Kaiser Wilhelm first employed it. Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt went to war with it, and more recently the United States fought an energy crisis with it. For several months every year, for better or worse, daylight savings time affects vast numbers of people throughout the world. And from Ben Franklin's era to today, its story has been an intriguing and sometimes-bizarre amalgam of colorful personalities and serious technical issues, purported costs and perceived benefits, conflicts between interest groups and government policymakers. It impacts diverse and unexpected areas, including agricultural practices, street crime, the reporting of sports scores, traffic accidents, the inheritance rights of twins, and voter turnout. Illustrated with a popular look at science and history, Seize the Daylight presents an intriguing and surprisingly entertaining story of our attempt to regulate the sunlight hours.

As part of Daylight Europe, the daylighting behaviour of 60 buildings was observed and measured during a three year period. Buildings of many different types, sizes and ages were included - from offices to museums, libraries, churches, houses, airports and factories; from Classical buildings to modern constructions, and from a small single room to an office of over 100,000 square meters. The results of the study of each building are presented, extensively illustrated in colour, with the unusual features and main lessons highlighted. The book also includes details of the monitoring procedures, the results of and comparisons with simulations, the outcome of post-occupancy evaluation, and a summary of the major findings. These show the extraordinary potential of daylighting techniques to improve amenity and energy performance for the benefit of the occupants and building managers. They also demonstrate how often opportunities are missed, and the frequency of problems of overheating or glare. Above all, they demonstrate the beauty, elegance and scope of daylight design.