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Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time - Neil Armstrong, Dava Sobel
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time
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3.73 250
On its 10th anniversary, a gift edition of this classic book, with a forward by one of history's greatest explorers, and eight pages of color illustrations. Anyone alive in the eighteeth century would have known that "the logitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--and had... show more
On its 10th anniversary, a gift edition of this classic book, with a forward by one of history's greatest explorers, and eight pages of color illustrations. Anyone alive in the eighteeth century would have known that "the logitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of nations, hung on a resolution. The scientific establishment of Europe--from Galileo to Sir Issac Newton--had mapped the heavens in both hemispheres in its certain pursuit of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep percise time at sea, something no clock had ever been able to do on land. Longitude is a dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer. Full of heroism and chicanery, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking, and opens a new window on our world.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9780802714626 (0802714625)
Publisher: Walker & Company
Pages no: 192
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
Elentarri's Book Blog
Elentarri's Book Blog rated it
2.5 Longitude by Dava Sobel
TITLE: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time AUTHOR: Dava Sobel DATE PUBLISHED: 2005 FORMAT: Hardcover ISBN-13: 9780802714626 __________________________ DESCRIPTION: "Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known tha...
Brian's Book Blog
Brian's Book Blog rated it
4.0 Longitude
In the 18th century, plenty of ships were lost at sea due to not knowing their longitude and either going massively off course, or hitting rocks and islands that appeared when sailors had veered off course.The quest to find a means around this led to a large bounty being offered by various heads of ...
Linhtalinhtinh
Linhtalinhtinh rated it
A lovely account about timekeeping. I'm easily obsessed with old machines and especially clocks and watches, so, yeah, I like it.
halfmanhalfbook
halfmanhalfbook rated it
Finding the latitude in the 17th century was straightforward, but finding the longitude was extremely difficult. This compromised the safety of all seafarers, and in one particular incident around 200 lives were lost of the Isles of Scilly.The admiralty of the day decided to set up a Longitude board...
travelin
travelin rated it
4.0 Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time
I can't remember if I read the book first or saw the television series first, but some combination of the two was like a long, calm, very safe ocean voyage.
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