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Longitude
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
The thorniest scientific problem of the 18th century was how to determine longitude. Many thousands of lives had been lost at sea over the centuries due to the inability to determine an east-west position. This is the engrossing story of the clockmaker, John "Longitude" Harrison, who solved the problem that Newton and Galileo had failed to conquer, yet claimed only half the promised rich reward. --Amazon.com
Pride and Prejudice
Review date: 2008-09-26 Rating: 6 out of 10
Harrison seems to have been one of those people who is his own worst enemy; too proud to be successful.
Sobel is almost as prejudiced in his favour as some of those who opposed him were prejudiced against him. So it's difficult to feel you have read this and got the true picture. It seems that the astronomical methods were more successful than she admits for most of the book.
Nevertheless this is a helpful read which puts the development of clocks into context and reminds us just how difficult it was to navigate the seas safely in the days before GPS.
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Reviews
Tick Tock
Review date: 2007-08-27 Rating: 10 out of 10
The epic story on the search for the holy grail of maritime navigation, how to calculate longitude? This is the story and the unlikely triumph of an English genius who more or less solved the age old problem of obtaining accurate longitude position fixes by the use of chronometers.
Anyone alive in the 18th 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 quest for a solution had occupied scientists and their patrons for the better part of two centuries when, in 1714, Parliament upped the ante by offering a king's ransom (GBP20,000) to anyone whose method or device proved successful. It is amazing to think that some highly intelligent individuals came out with some of the most preposterous suggestions imaginable.
However in the main the intellects of the day were on the right path. Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton and most of the European scientific community had mapped the heavens in both hemispheres in their dogmatic pursuit of a celestial answer to the problem. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution by using chronometers. He designs and constructs the most amazing time pieces of the era in his quest for accuracy and sets out on a series of sea trials to prove his point. This he eventually did but it took over two decades and more than a few arguments with the governments of the day.
A detailed, descriptive read full of interesting facts and features which basically is a concise historical narrative on astronomy, navigation and clock making. Without sounding like an 'anorak' I found the descriptions on clock making and testing really interesting.
A very interesting single sitting read!
Very Good
Review date: 2007-07-06 Rating: 10 out of 10
Longitude does not at the outset seem a very interesting idea for a book but this is a mistaken assumption. It is very well written, not overly technical plus has a pace to it which keeps the reader intrested. All in all a very good book.
We cannot 'keep' time - only record its passing
Review date: 2006-11-17 Rating: 10 out of 10
A well researched, beautifully written history of the race to measure longitude. I get the feeling from this book that Harrison was probably the most altruistic of all the rearchers looking for this'Holy Grail' of the sea. For me, Sobel has once again triumphed as she did in 'Galileos Daughter'.
Neither here nor there...
Review date: 2006-10-25 Rating: 8 out of 10
Dava Sobel writes with such clarity and passion for her subject that I found myself easily drawn into this engaging subject.
I am especially interested in the history of sea-faring navigation. Her tale reminded me of my own perilous journey to England. It was on board Segnor Torres' yacht from Club Reggato in Valencia all the way to the British Legion, Clacton-on-Sea, back in 1973.
Now, whilst James Cook had the advantage of Harrison's latest chronometers we were less well prepared. Our plan to combine a wax-coated lead fathometer with dead-reckoning to track our Eastward drift, spectacularly failed when cloudy skies persisted throughout the 17 day voyage. Hopelessly adrift around 30 degrees North-West of Portugal, my desperate suggestion to release the precious cage of Ravens and observe their behaviour met with distain.
Nevertheless I remain inspired by John Harrison's dogged persistence. Inspired by Sobel's book in supportive of the underdog, and in honour of George III, I recently undertook a visit to the Maritime Museum at Greenwich. Although the steep hill leading up to Flamstead House necessitated recruiting help with my wheelchair, we made it to the top without incident.
I was kindly carried up the narrow winding staircase to the exhibition on the first floor by two ageing Sea Cadets. I was pleased to be able to return the favour by providing them with the telephone number of the Disability Claims Helpline of the War Pensions department, c/o `HMS Liverpool'; although the ships current deployment in the Adriatic may delay things somewhat. Nevertheless, they generally respond quickly to my annual bonus winter-payment enquiries, now that I've fully mastered Morse code.
To sum up: Sobel demonstrates with aplomb how the seminal Longitude Act of 1714 was a seismic sea-change (sic) in global navigability; a precursor to our global travel industry of today. Her fictional-prose style of factual writing is thoroughly absorbing, and I commend this book to you.
FS.
Product Details/Specifications
Authors:
Dava Sobel
Recording label: HarperPerennial
Manufacturer: HarperPerennial
EAN: 9780007214228
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 0007214227
Number of pages: 192
Publication date: 2005-09-05
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Unknown)