Nighttime again

Following up Peter Brown's comment on this blog about what sounds like an intriguing book from Roger Ekirch called At Day's Close: a History of Nighttime' I came across this review of it which I found thought provoking - both in terms of what we've lost but also perhaps in terms of what we've gained. For many of those in service for instance the 'nighttime hiatus' referred to must have been one of the few times they could call their own.