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

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DESCRIPTION:

"Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude 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 precise 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 clock-making, and opens a new window on our world.

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. "

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REVIEW:

Sobel has written a short, superficial but informative book about the quest to discover/invent a means of determining longitude at sea.  This is a popular history book, and as such does not have enough technical details of either the astronomical or mechanical approaches to the longitude problem for my taste.  The writing was plain and the tale told underwhelming.  Someone needs to write a more fleshed out book on this subject.

*Bookish meme created by Moonlight Reader

I came home from the Cub Scout winter lock-in/camp out achy from sleeping on concrete floor and VERY tired. Woke up Sunday with a sore throat...and by Tuesday I developed headaches and cough. I'm ridiculously sick and life is throwing me one huge ass lemon everywhere I turn. Stick a fork in me, I'm so done. So very little reading got done this week. I DNF'ed The Turning of Anne Merrick because I couldn't get into the story and it already seemed overly long and very winding and I just couldn't see myself enjoying the book. 

I picked up A Call to Conscience from the library today and already enjoying it, despite the Nyquil fugue state I'm in. That one should be easy to knock out along with Three Fearful Days, which I am at 30% done. That leaves The Glass Universe for Monday's reading, but honestly I'm not getting what I want out of the book (too much focus on the male scientists and rich society ladies who donated tons of money to them and not enough on the women computers and scientists). I'm giving it to the end of the third chapter before I decide to DNF or keep going. 

Now I'm going to my blanket fort and not coming out until Tuesday. Have a great weekend everyone!

Monday, January 7, 2019

Read: Nothing yet.

Currently Reading: Cheer Up, Love: Adventures in Depression With the Crab of Hate by Susan Calman

Challenge: 1) in six words: tea drinking, rain bringer, library lover (via Twitter); 2) IG photo of the book I'm currently reading

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Read: Nothing yet.

Currently Reading: I read to the 75% mark in Cheer Up, Love. 

Challenge: 1) Dinner Party 2) no IG photo today.

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Read: Still nothing.

Currently Reading: Cheer Up, Love. Didn't read much of this because I had book reviews to write.

Challenge: Nothing.

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Read: Nada.

Currently Reading: Cheer Up, Love. Very little read. More book reviews written.

Challenge: Nothing.

Friday, January 11, 2019

Read: Cheer Up, Love was completed right before we left for the lock-in.

Currently Reading: Nada.

Challenge: 1)IG photo of favorite cover color.

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Read: Nothing.

Currently Reading: Started The Glass Universe....and feeling meh about it so far. Started The Turning of Anne Merrick, which moved quicker than TGU.

Challenge: Nothing.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Read: Nothing.

Currently Reading: Continuing with Saturday reads, plus started Three Fearful Days.

Challenge: Nothing.

Wrap Up

# of Pages Read: 

# of Books Read: 

# of Challenges Completed:

Thoughts

I get to spend tonight with my kids' Cub Scouts in a lock-in/winter camp out. So not a whole lot of reading will take place tonight or tomorrow morning. I also want to attend the base gym's Pilates-Yoga-Stretch Workshop on Sunday. So I am keeping it light this weekend with finishing Cheer Up, Love for BoB (the only book I read for this cycle). I also want to at least start The Glass Universe, as it is my substitute for another science book I had planned to read this month...and then another patron at the library borrowed it. 

This books gives a historical overview of the astronomy work at Harvard done and funded by women starting in the mid nineteenth century. It basically describes how some of the directors were forward-thinking enough to hire women first as computers and then (eventually) as outright astronomers and some of the steps taken to ensure that women were at least eligible for some of the awards that were eventually funded. Sadly, being eligible seems like a pretty low bar, but you have to start somewhere, right?

It was interesting albeit a bit dry in parts, and I'm not sure that audio was the best format for a book like this although the narrator, Cassandra Campbell, was quite good. It cuts off in the 1950s, although it references some of the discoveries made and awards won later on.