Non-fiction about the quest to develop a reliable method for measuring longitude. Solved the longitude problem Invented the chronometer Lunar Distance Method "Cook returned from his second voyage with bouquets of praise for the method of finding longitude by means of a timekeeper." In Longitude, Dava Sobel chronicles the world's quest to tame time. The author lays out the historical background and competing interests so that the reader can fully appreciate the challenges faced by John Harrison and his son William. Harrison, and the reader, get sucked into a whirlpool of royal and scientific politics, which can get very dirty. Possibly a model for a certain kind of non-fiction book, the type with very long sub-titles that are meant to cast light on a very short main title, the whole presumably being the original elevator pitch that the author made to the publisher. The tenth anniversary edition of the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest: the search for the solution of how to calculate longitude and the unlikely triumph of an English genius. Dava Sobel. Reasonably written. And yet time refuses to be bottled up like a genie stuffed in a lamp. It had never occurred to me how different latitude and longitude are. Yes, it is non-fiction. Latitude - 'the parallels' - had always been relatively simple to measure. An amazing book following the attempts to solve the longitudinal navigation problems. A former staff science reporter for The New York Times, she has also written for numerous magazines, including Discover, Harvard Magazine, Smithsonian, and The New Yorker.Her most unforgettable assignment at the Times required her to live 25 days as a research subject in the chronophysiology lab at Montefiore Hospital, where the boarded-up windows and specially trained technicians kept her from knowing whether it was day outside or night.Her work has won recognition from the National Science Board, which gave her its 2001 Individual Public Service Award "for fostering awareness of science and technology among broad segments of the general public." An amazing book following the attempts to solve the longitudinal navigation problems. In two parallel stories, the clockmaker John Harrison builds the marine chronometer for safe navigation at sea in the 18th Century and the horologist Rupert Gould … But longitude (circles which intersect at each pole - used to measure east/west distance) is much more of a challenge. Possibly a model for a certain kind of non-fiction book, the type with very long sub-titles that are meant to cast light on a very short main title, the whole presumably being the original elevator pitch that the author made to the publisher. This compromised the safety of all seafarers, and in one particular incident around 200 lives were lost of the Isles of Scilly. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time is a historical biography by Dava Sobel. This book was intended for the general reader. Also has a cameo appearance by everyone's favorite benignly insane monarch, George III. People who like science, or nautical themes, In Longitude, Dava Sobel chronicles the world's quest to tame time. She also received the 2004 Harrison Medal from the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in England and the 2008 Klumpke-Roberts Award from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for "increasing the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. I remember visiting Royal Museums Greenwich in London with my children several years ago. ENVÍO GRATIS en 1 día desde 19€. Thank you to my daughter who bought this for me at her school’s book sale. In particular Sobel highlights John Harrison's pursuit of the prize. Everybody knows about longitude but I guess not so many know the struggles and fights behind the tries to 'conquer' it, including myself. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. Skip it. Convert currency. Lacking the ability to determine their longitude, sailors were literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. In 1714, the English Parliament passed the longitude act. Inferior seamen were not allowed to keep their own calculations of maritime reckoning. To quote an esteemed LC history professor on the technical difficulties of pre-modern navigational technology: "Nowadays, you'd refer to that as being lost. I get that Dava Sobel was writing for a general audience and that I'm a scientist by training, but I would have really appreciated a few more sources or direct quotes from source texts and letters to connect with the historical figures described. The focus then shifts to a biography of John Harrison, the 18th century clockmaker who attempted to solve this problem based on timekeeping. Longitude is a wonderful story, wonderfully told.” ―Diane Ackerman, author of A Natural History of the Senses“The marine chronometer is a glorious and fascinating object, but it is not a simple one, and its explanation calls for a writer as skilled with words as the watchmakers were with their tools; happily such a writer has been found in Dava Sobel.” ―Patrick O'Brian, author of The Commodore and the Aubrey/Maturin series. But they are every bit as exciting and important. Longitude, a recommended book for our “Hope on the Horizon” summer reading challenge, is a classic true tale of persistence rewarded. As it was it very much felt like a summary or an abstract rather than the meat of a true historical account, with a s. Maybe Longitude suffered by comparison with my previous read, Amir Alexander's Infinitesimal, but this book felt very light and frothy. It's short and informative but actually quite on the dry side. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of. How the academic astronomers, kept trying to do down Harrison, who in the true British fashion of the gifted amateur (being neither a trained watch maker nor scientist but a carpenter) won in the end through persistence and hard graft. A 1964 graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, Ms. Sobel attended Antioch College and the City College of New York before receiving her bachelor of arts degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1969. This is a book about a self-taught village clock-maker who created a whole new breed of amazingly precise chronometers, which enable the accurate measurement of longitude, and the fight he had with astronomers to get his solution recognised (and rewarded). He was Sir Clowdisley, the admiral of the tragic fleet, and he had mistakenly steered his ships to disaster. To win the full prize, the method or device had to be accurate to within one-half degree on a trip from England to the West Indies. The kingdoms of Enlightenment Europe were basically racing against each other to find a way to calculate longitude that worked better than eyeballing the north star with a sextant on a pitching deck, which pretty much didn't work at all. He was barely conscious but alive. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The shipwreck of Sir Shovell's fleet, the fact that longitude was impossible to determine, and the term "bimetallic" is the limit of the author's analytical depth in this book. And since time sets its own tempo, like a heartbeat or an ebb tide, timepieces don't really keep time. Former New York Times reporter Sobel (coauthor, Arthritis: What Works, 1989, etc.) The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of one man's forty-year obsession to find a solution to the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--"the longitude problem. This is a book about a self-taught village clock-maker who created a whole new breed of amazingly precise chronometers, which enable the accurate measurement of longitude, and the fight he had with astronomers to get his solution recognised (and rewarded). I was reminded of this book today because in was on the PageADay Book Lover's Calendar for 3-31-2015. The cause of this catastrophe was the inability to determine longitude, a problem that beset mariners everywhere. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Since ancient times, seafarers had understood how to measure latitude (concentric circles parallel to the equator) based on the angle of the sun and the time of year. Had he resisted the urge to build a better clock before claiming the prize, he would have won the prize out right. Whether it flows as sand or turns on wheels within wheels, time escapes irretrievably, while we watch. But Dava Sobel goes beyond that obstacle, she turns the story of John Harrison and his first marine chronometer, into a race for glory and wealth. Still really great though! He was Sir Clowdisley, the admiral of the tragic fleet, and he had mistakenly steered his ships to disaster. About Dava Sobel. From: Bahamut Media (Reading, United Kingdom) Seller Rating: Add to Basket £ 2.72. In Longitude, Dava Sobel chronicles the world's quest to tame time. 0 Reviews. Th. 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." As it was it very much felt like a summary or an abstract rather than the meat of a true historical account, with a sense of disconnect from the events described. I do not recommend it. There was a problem loading your book clubs. UK Paperback Edition/First Printing. Microhistory: Social Histories of Just One Thing, Noble Obsession Charles Goodyear, Thomas Hancock, and the Race to Unlock the Greatest Industrial Secret of the Nineteenth Centur, Noble Obsession Charles Goodyear, Thomas Hancock, and the Race to Unlock the Greatest Industrial Secret of the Nineteenth Century, [Poll Book Tally] Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Great Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel 3 stars, [Poll Ballot] Longitude by Dava Sobel - 4 stars, Longitude:The True Story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by Dava Sobel 4 stars, [Listopia] Longitude: the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time – Dava Sobel - 4 stars, Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Shares His Reading Recommendations. Used. Libro nuevo o segunda mano, sinopsis, resumen y opiniones. About this Item: Harper Perennial, London, UK, 2011. But they actually thought they could get somewhere." It established the Board of Longitude and offered a prize of 20,000 pounds to anyone who could find a simple and practical method for … Turtleback, 1996 - Juvenile Nonfiction - 184 pages. For me that is the major problem. Refresh and try again. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2017. Instead it focused on description of John Harrison's quest to build an ocean chronometer. To help resolve this problem a prize of £20,000 was established to be awarded when a proven solution was established. Non-fiction about the quest to develop a reliable method for measuring longitude. Backing off to the early part of the exponential function, you'd find glacier speeds of innovations (from today's perspective). Well, clearly we didn't as Dava Sobel's magnificent history book/scientific exposition is an account of how one lone genius went and solved the most gigantic scientific dilemma of his era (no, not why Cornflakes go soggy after you… Just finished it and really enjoyed it. ... 'Rarely have I enjoyed a book as much as Dava Sobel's Longitude. Consequently it did not deal much with the details either of the astronomical or mechanical approaches to solving the problem of finding longitude on the high seas. Also, really short! Longitude by Dava Sobel. It is a very goo read. There's a problem loading this menu right now. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Paperback – Illustrated, November 5, 2007. Ships routinely missed their destinations, often taking excessive time to arrive or succumbing to reefs off fogbound shores. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. The publication of Longitude taught me that a book can actually improve by virtue of being read. In 1714, the English Parliament passed the longitude act. This genius is credited with producing the first marine machine to accurately calculate longitude. The author’s research covered several hundred years of partial success and many failures. The Board of Longitude, which would be primarily comprised of astronomers, was set up to award the money. Not told in a fictionalized sense at all, but more a recital of fact, placements, and progression. Especially interesting was the English contest for solving the problem. I don’t use it that much personally, because I don’t tend to go anywhere, but I’m sure all this technology I love to use makes use of GPS. Financial Times "A true life thriller, jam-packed with political intrigue, international warfare, personal feuds and financial skullduggery." In 1714 the British Parliament set a £20,000 reward for whoever could solve the problem. I get that Dava Sobel was writing for a general audience and that I'm a scientist by training, but I would have really appreciated a few more sources or direct quotes from source texts and letters to connect with the historical figures described. As Sobel himself says, it is written as an informative not an academic book and it succeeds well. Especially interesting was the English contest for solving the problem. It would do well to be required reading in our schools actually as there's so much to be gained in perspective. Please try your request again later. GPS might not be great at giving directions, but that doesn’t mean you’re lost. The trials of Harrison, and the jealously of others in his attempts made for a good story.. Dava Sobel (born June 15, 1947) is the author of Longitude, Galileo's Daughter, The Planets, and A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos. 1-Page Summary of Longitude Friedman’s book, Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11 (2002), is a collection of diary entries he published in The New York Times. Pretty much everything in the book is based on researched facts and records. Unitil the mid 1700s the world lacked the science to know where ships were at sea - with often tragic results. This story is sort of a biography about a person whom the author explains there is not much known. As far as popular science writing, or popular history of science writing (take your pick) goes, I've read better books. Or, it requires very accurate measurement of time. Such facts might merely seem the stuff of trivia games, but Dava Sobel’s LONGITUDE is an intriguing biography. It established the Board of Longitude and offered a prize of 20,000 pounds to anyone who could find a simple and practical method for the precise determination of a ship's longitude. Although latitude is fixed by the earth and Columbus could sail a "straight line" in 1492 relative to a fixed latitudinal parallel, longitude made sailors feel they were on a train and looking at another train, trying to determine which one just began moving. 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