Kreitzman, Leon

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Kreitzman, Leon

PERSONAL: Male. Education: Earned M.Sc. and D.Sc. degrees.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Profile Books 58A Hatton Garden, London EC1N 8LX, England.

CAREER: Maturity Marketing, Inc., London, England, director, 1997-. Former consultant director to the Henley Centre.

WRITINGS:

(With Russell G. Foster) The 24-Hour Society, Profile Books (London, England), 1999.

(With Russell G. Foster) Rhythms of Life: The Biological Clocks That Control the Daily Lives of Every Living Thing, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 2004.

Contributor of articles to newspapers and magazines.

SIDELIGHTS: Trained in biology, Leon Kreitzman is the co-author of two books written with Russell G. Foster. The first, The 24-Hour Society, is about the temporal nature of human community. The co-authors rethink how we observe and use time, including discussions of doing away with the traditional constraints associated with night and day or week and weekend. Kreitzman and Foster write about society heading toward a new approach to time because of factors such as the worldwide phenomena of around-the-clock Internet shopping and global businesses that work on just-in-time deadlines. The authors also discuss how people may have to rearrange such things as their sleeping patterns and even their internal body clocks in a world that never sleeps. Writing in the Manchester Guardian, Carrie O'Grady called Kreitzman "no visionary" but noted that "he is sound on the societal and industrial consequences of changing our habits so drastically."

In Rhythms of Life: The Biological Clocks That Control the Daily Lives of Every Living Thing Kreitzman and Foster carry on their discussion of a "24/7" society and its effects on humans. This time, however, they focus on the daily rhythms of life known as the circadian rhythms and how they impact all animals, from simple bacteria to humans. The authors explore such topics as how bees tell time and how reindeer know when to migrate. They also delve into questions about why more heart attacks occur early in the morning and why teenagers like to sleep late. Along with their scientific exploration of the biological clock, the authors discuss how modern life is impacting our natural rhythms that involve sleeping, eating, working, and practically all activities of daily living. For example, research has shown that people who work odd hours, especially late at night, are more prone to illness and earlier death.

In their book the authors also describe new research showing that certain drugs work better given at specific times of the day. Writing in the Times Literary Supplement, John Tyler Bonner noted that "not all the parts of Rhythms of Life are easy going" and added, "most of it, however, is very readable and will be accessible to all." A Science News contributor referred to the book as "a thorough analysis of a broad field," while Anne Underwood, writing in Newsweek, dubbed it "fascinating."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Boston Globe, November 21, 2004, Anthony Doerr, review of Rhythms of Life: The Biological Clocks That Control the Daily Lives of Every Living Thing, p. K6.

Guardian (Manchester, England), Carrie O'Grady, review of The 24-Hour Society, p. 11.

Newsweek, October 11, 2004, Anne Underwood, review of Rhythms of Life, p. 46.

Publishers Weekly, August 16, 2004, review of Rhythms of Life, p. 54.

Science News, November 6, 2004, review of Rhythms of Life, p. 303.

Times Literary Supplement (London, England), May 13, 2004, John Tyler Bonner, review of Rhythms of Life.