Longitude
Dava Sobel
30th May 1997 at Nicki's House
Synopsis
Anyone alive in the eighteenth 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 (£20,000)
to anyone whose method or device proved successful. Countless
quacks weighed in with preposterous suggestions. The scientific
establishment throughout Europe - from Galileo to Sir Isaac
Newton - had mapped the heavens in both hemispheres in its
certain pursuit of a celestial answer. In stark contrast,
one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution
- a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no
clock had ever been able to do on land.
Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic
scientific quest, and of Harrison's forty-year obsession with
building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer.
Full of heroism and chicanery, brilliance and the absurd,
it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation,
and clockmaking.
Published reviews
Beautifully written.
Entertainment Weekly
A perfect marriage of art and words.
Chicago Sun-Times
This is a gem of a book.
The New York Times
Our comments
This is a fascinating book. The description of the longitude
problem itself and early disasters at sea is particularly
good. And you really start rooting for Harrison and his clocks.
I would have liked more detail on the historical context,
some of the other characters and Harrison himself, but as
a neat readable account, this book is as good as its hype.
N.B. The
Channel 4 (UK) production for television with Michael Gambon
and Jeremy Irons was brilliant.
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