Longitude

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 (0/1 people found this helpful)

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.

Neither here nor there... (2/8 people found this helpful)

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.

Enjoyable, but only part of the picture. (6/6 people found this helpful)

This is an enjoyable book, but it is a pity that in making a good tale, the author has given such an unbalanced account. The Harrison chronometer was far from being the "solution" to the Longitude problem that Sobel implies. When Captain Vancouver sailed from England to the Pacific North West of America in the 1790's his two Harrison chronometers were showing times forty five minutes apart by the time he got there, making them useless. The "lunar distance method" gave the necessary correction. Captain Cook and his officers used lunar distances successfully in Australia, and when Joshua Slocum made his famous single handed voyage around the world, he carried a cheap alarm clock rather than chronometers because he used lunar distances. Enjoy the book, but look further, and look beyond crude hero and villain stereotypes!

Anniversary edition of a surprise best seller (39/42 people found this helpful)

Dava Sobel's description of the search for an accurate means to measure longitude was a surprise best seller when first published. This latest, celebratory edition is prefaced by an introduction by Neil Armstrong. Does it add to the package?

Sobel took what was once an intractable problem - finding a means to work out precisely where you are - and turned it into a very readable account, making the history and science readily accessible to a popular readership. Working out latitude is not particularly difficult - the equator is a fixed point and observation of sun, stars, and length of day make it relatively easy to determine how far north or south you are.

But longitude? Because the earth spins (more or less) on a north/south axis, the two poles act as fixed points in space. There are no such fixed points on the equator - every point on the equator undergoes a complete revolution every twenty four hours. Longitude has always been problematic, and for the seafarer, that problem could easily prove fatal.

The solution came in the creation of clocks which would keep good enough time at sea, and the man responsible for their invention, Harrison, emerges from Sobel's book as a determined, driven man.

It's a fascinating little book, written in a highly accessible style. It's quite a quick read. It's a highly enjoyable read. It's also a stimulating read, and must have encouraged a few people to delve further into history and science.

But does it deserve a new edition? Well, the cachet of Armstrong's introduction is a reminder that long distance sea travel was once as dangerous as current space travel. It's unnecessary. Sobel's story is exciting enough, and will absorb you with or without an introduction. It remains an excellent little volume and a worthy publishing success - maybe it's time you read it again!

Dava Sobel

Reader Reviews:

Tick Tock (3/5 people found this helpful)

Very Good (0/1 people found this helpful)

Neither here nor there... (2/8 people found this helpful)

Enjoyable, but only part of the picture. (6/6 people found this helpful)

Anniversary edition of a surprise best seller (39/42 people found this helpful)

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