Saving the Daylight
Saving the Daylight About Saving the Daylight David Prerau Daylight Saving Time Buy Saving the Daylight

About the Author

David Prerau


Dr. David Prerau
has been called the world's foremost authority on Daylight Saving Time (summer time). He is the author of the highly acclaimed and definitive book on the story of DST, Saving the Daylight: Why We Put the Clocks Forward.

Saving the Daylight is the culmination of his many years of research into the history, science, and politics of daylight saving time. It is filled with lively anecdotes, engaging history, as well as the stories of DST's many colorful heroes and opponents, who fought often-bitter battles over control of the clock.


In addition to his in-depth research into the history of DST, Dr. Prerau was a key contributor to the largest technical study ever performed on the effects of DST. He has coauthored three major U.S. Government reports to Congress on the effects of daylight saving time.

Dr. Prerau has recently acted as a consultant on DST to the United Kingdom Parliament and also has been a consultant to the U.S. Congress on a law extending daylight saving time. He holds a Ph.D. from M.I.T.

As an expert on daylight saving time, Dr. Prerau has appeared on BBC TV One's BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio Four's You and Yours, BBC Radio Five's Radio Five Live, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Ulster and many other BBC broadcasts, Euranet Radio throughout the European Union, The NBC Nightly News, NBC's Today Show, ABC's Good Morning America, CNN NewsNight, CNN Headline News, PBS's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, CNBC's Morning Call, Fox Business Network's Money for Breakfast, Bloomberg TV's Bloomberg on the Economy, MSNBC's Countdown, NECN's Wired, NPR's Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Weekend America, Talk of the Nation, and Bryant Park Project, Canadian CBC-TV's Your Call, Australian Broadcasting's NightLife, Life Matters and several other ABC broadcasts, Radio New Zealand's Morning Report, and over one hundred other radio and television programs in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and elsewhere.

Dr. Prerau has written Op-Ed pieces on daylight saving time for newspapers including the New York Times and articles on DST for magazines such as BBC's Who Do You Think You Are Magazine and Discover. He has been interviewed by newspapers and magazines in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Japan, including The Economist, Financial Times, the Associated Press, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Congressional Quarterly, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Toronto Star, Yomiuri Shimbun, and over one hundred others.

He has given numerous talks about daylight saving time, including an invited lecture at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, UK.

Dr. Prerau first became involved with daylight saving time when he worked as a researcher for the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT). At the DOT, he was a major contributor to the most extensive analysis of daylight saving time ever performed. This study examined the effect of daylight saving time on energy usage, motor vehicle accidents, crime, and many other areas.

While immersed in the detailed analysis of daylight saving time, he became intrigued by the subject. No one seemed to know much about the history of DST, and he determined to find out more about it. As he delved deeper into the story of daylight saving time, he found that DST had caused a great deal of passion and contention in the political and scientific worlds for many years. And in addition, he discovered a large number of remarkable DST incidents and fascinating anecdotes.

Saving the Daylight is the result of Dr. Prerau's many years of research—gathering information relating to daylight saving time from numerous sources, including newspaper articles, government records, legal documents, personal histories, and even cartoons, songs, and poetry—yielding a enjoyable and exciting book that presents an eye-opening look into all the many reasons why we spring ahead and fall back each year.

When the U. S. Congress last was considering an extension of the daylight saving time period as part of an Energy Policy Act, Dr. Prerau acted as a consultant to the U.S. Congressmen who sponsored the DST measure. The law, including the DST extension, was passed. Most of the U. S. Representatives and Senators who hammered out the final version of the DST provision of the law had one Dr. Prerau's books with them.

Dr. Prerau has also met with several members of the United Kingdom's House of Commons and House of Lords to advise them concerning possible bills in Parliament to extend British Summer Time. And when a Summer Time extension was considered in Parliamentary debate, Dr. Prerau and Saving the Daylight were cited several times.

Beyond. his long association with and deep interest in daylight saving time, Dr. Prerau is a senior computer scientist and knowledge engineer, specializing in artificial intelligence. He is the author of two books and numerous technical papers on artificial intelligence. He lives in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, U.S.A..


For media requests,:
contact prerau@savingthedaylight.com

For further information on Saving the Daylight, email info@savingthedaylight.com.

Click here to join the Mailing List


All material © David Prerau 2016