Longitude: Illustrated Edition |
 |
 click here for more details, find new or used items |
Dava Sobel
|
|
Pages: 240 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 1857027140
Pub: Fourth Estate
Pub date: 1998-10-29
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 243330
Editorial Review:
When Dava Sobel's Longitude was published to universal acclaim in 1996, readers voiced only one regret: that it was not illustrated. Now William Andrewes, the man who organised and hosted the Longitude Symposium that inspired her book, has joined Sobel to create a richly illustrated version of her classic story.
The Illustrated Longitude recounts in words and images the epic quest to solve the world's thorniest scientific problem of the 17th and 18th centuries. Throughout the great age of exploration, sailors attempted to navigate the oceans without any means of measuring their longitude. All too often, voyages ended in total disaster when both crew and cargo were captured or lost upon the rocks of an unexpected landfall. Thousands of lives and fortunes of seafaring nations hung on a resolution.
To encourage a solution, governments established major prizes for anyone whose method or device proved successful. The largest reward, of £20,000, was offered by the British Parliament in 1714. The scientific establishment--from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton--had been certain that a celestial answer would be found and invested untold effort in this pursuit. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, imagined and built the unimaginable: a clock that solved the problem by keeping precise time at sea, today called the chronometer. His trials and tribulations to win the prize throughout a 40-year obsession are the culmination of this remarkable story.
Reader Reviews:
Massively overrated (10/24 people found this helpful)
This is an absurdly overrated book. Dava Sobel has found an interesting story that she is simply incapable of doing justice to.
Anybody with any background knowledge (or in fact a scientific background) will be unsatisfied by this.
You wont read a better book (4/12 people found this helpful)
This is one of the most competently told stories I have ever read. And itis a truly inspiring story. Really, make time to read it. I am a trainedastro-navigator, but until I read this book I never really fullyapreciated the impoortance of my cheap plastic wristwatch. In the days ofGPS it is easy to forget what went before.
Brilliant.
What a great little book! (10/13 people found this helpful)
Just to prove that the most wonderful stories can be produced from true life, this science book for the layman tells the irresistable tale of John Harrison, winner of the English Parliament's prize for the determination of longitude in 1770.
This is a tiny book in the paperback version, and makes for a rapid but extremely satisfying read. Political intrigue, fascinating science and excellent incidental anecdotes abound. (My favourite occurs right at the beginning - the tale of a haughty admiral who has an uppity sailor hanged for daring to question his navigation, and who receives his comeuppance in the most deliciously ironic way.... and it's all true!)
Most of all, it brings into focus the concept of a "life's work" - John Harrison's dogged faithfulness to producing the world's most accurate chronograph in a practical, portable package. The sheer thought of spending 19 years perfecting just one variation of it is inconceivable; that he spent over 40 years refining his concept to the eventual prizewinning piece just boggles the mind.
This is a delightful read.
The real time machine (10/13 people found this helpful)
There are many lessons that can be learnt from reading Dava Sobel's wonderful novel, and they aren't all to do with the science of clocks. For many writers of science and history, the temptation to overwhelm the reader with an abundance of words seems a compulsion. In the case of Longitude, Sobel has dispensed with the weighty doorstop approach and instead provides us with one of the most dashing, informative and highly enjoyable strolls into the world of genius ever.
Written with a flare for the dramatic, Longitude expounds not only the incredible quest undertaken by John Harrison, but also serves to tell of a period of history generally assumed to be without a value in Hollywood.
The intrigue, backstabbing, deadlines and clock construction take place slowly, but not without sizzling across the page. As Harrison seeks to claim the £20,000, forces behind the scenes conspire against him. But the true hero here is the storyteller. The only disappointment is that your search for another non-fiction book of such brilliance will be so frustrating.
there's a lot the average person does not realise.... (1/1 people found this helpful)
...about how the modern world came to be and how men were persecuted for trying to advance our understanding. Dava Sobel has educated me not just about history (I am essentially ignorant) but also about human nature - how easily we refuse to move forward. I suggest if you read this and feel the same, try reading "Galileo's Daughter" and "To Father".
Similar Products
Galileo's Daughter: A Drama of Science, Faith and Love
Longitude [1999]
The Story of Art
Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> Science, Mathematics & Technology -> Science
Books -> Subjects -> Science & Nature -> Experiments, Instruments & Measurements -> Time -> Horology
Books -> Subjects -> Science & Nature -> Engineering & Technology -> Production, Manufacturing & Operational -> Materials & Industries -> Precision Instruments
Books -> Subjects -> Science & Nature -> Engineering & Technology -> Automotive -> Shipbuilding
Books -> Subjects -> Science & Nature -> Engineering & Technology -> Marine & Nautical -> Navigation
Books -> Subjects -> Science & Nature -> Popular Science -> Authors A-Z -> S -> Sobel Dava
Books -> Subjects -> Scientific, Technical & Medical -> Engineering -> Industrial Chemistry & Manufacturing Technologies
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Hardcover
Books -> Refinements -> Condition (condition-type)