- Hardcover: 216 pages
- Publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd.; 1st edition (29 Oct 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1857027140
- ISBN-13: 978-1857027143
- Product Dimensions: 26.2 x 23.6 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 357,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Longitude
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk 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.
Review
Dava Sobel has written a gem of a book…one of the best reads for the non-scientific writing to come along for many a moon." Financial Times
"A true life thriller, jam-packed with political intrigue, international warfare, personal feuds and financial skullduggery." Daily Mail
"Rarely have I enjoyed a book as much as Dava Sobel's Longitude. She has an extraordinary gift of making difficult ideas clear." Daily Telegraph
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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!
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
While Longitude is, on the surface of it, a book about scientific endeavour, its appeal is due to the story of a man's struggle against the prevailing thought of the time and the board set up to judge the award for the discovery of a method of determining longitude which was full of people with vested interests. The determination and drive of Harrison is awesome; if it was a novel you would find it difficult to believe. This is arguably the one book that has driven the much quoted trend towards science based books. While the media asks if this signals renewed interest in things scientific, the real answer is more likely that stories such as this are successful because they are about real people with real obstacles to overcome. Well worth a read; it won't take you long!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Story of a Forgotten Genius
Longitude is a brilliant weaving of science, history and biography all in one. Dava Sobel has created a first class look at the life of a forgotten English genius, and how his life... Read more
Published 3 months ago by D. Evans
A complex problem made easy to understand
As a trained navigator, I found this book easy to read and understand. The author is a good story teller. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Inkadinka
Wrong Product Description
This edition (ISBN-10: 1857027140) is SOFTcover not HARDcover as claimed. In all other respects the product description is accurate. But be warned!!
Published 5 months ago by eldeworth
Lacklustre
This is one of those lovely little books you just want to pick up and cuddle, but sadly the style outdoes the substance. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mark Hurst
Fascinating story of the man who solved the most challenging...
This is a very well written account of the efforts of a man to solve the most difficult navigation problem of all times. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Carno Polo
A timely piece of work
John Harrison's struggle to produce an accurate timepiece against the difficulties of official committees, envious engineers and the engineering itself is detailed very well in... Read more
Published 8 months ago by RR Waller
Longitude determined
A fascinating account of the real life saga of the attempts to determine longitude for ocean going vessels. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Bobk
`The `longitude problem' was the thorniest dilemma of the 18th...
This is the story of John Harrison (1693-1776) a self-taught Yorkshire clockmaker, and his quest to claim the prize of £20,000 offered by the British Parliament in 1714 for solving... Read more
Published 15 months ago by J. Cameron-Smith
A concise guide to a lost Legend
I grew up in Barrow On Humber where John Harrison spent much of his early life and as such he is in my opinion a forgotten Legend. Read more
Published 15 months ago by UrbanMrFox
longitude
Thed idea of changing the origional book to a illustrated version was a true masterstroke as the 180 illustrations of instruments,maps and people brings the book to starting... Read more
Published 17 months ago by G. I. Forbes
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