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Longitude

the True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
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1 to 16 of 16 items
Feb 14, 2024ackpht rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Fascinating intersection of technology, world trade, and one man's obsession with accuracy.
Jun 01, 2023MisterWhiskers rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
An interesting and well-written book.
Oct 27, 2019
previous edition: Walker & Co; First Edition 1995 ISBN-10: 0802713122, SBN-13: 978-0802713124 hc, 184 pages author reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dava_Sobel
Jan 11, 2019gumboot_tea rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A compelling read for someone who had very little interest in the subject, but became fascinated in how sailors explored the oceans before the technology was fully developed. The persistence of the man who really pushed the technological…
Sep 08, 2018
Written by Dava Sobel, this book is about one of the greatest problems that baffled people for centuries: the problem of longitude. Centuries ago, sailors were unable to navigate the seas with the ease and effectiveness as today’s people.…
Jan 09, 2018xiaojunbpl12 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A lone genius he was, with no equal in our time. The book covers not only his (lunar distance) rivals, but also the more successful "entrepreneurs" having inspired to customize and popularize his timepiece, they may be similar to the lucky…
May 23, 2017ryner rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
While calculating latitude had historically come relatively easy to ancient scientists and navigators by measuring the height of the sun and stars, there was no comparatively straightforward way to determine longitude -- bad news for ship…
Mar 07, 2017AaronAardvark1940 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A quick and fun read about one man's effort to solve a critical problem through experimentation sand tinkering. His struggle was compounded by the theoretical scientists of his day, because they wanted a beautiful mathematical solution to…
Mar 18, 2016sess430 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The 'Lone Genius' was John Harrison, (1693 - 1776). Dava Sobel's well-written book about him brings the story to life. I read the book in 2012 and the following year I saw his plaque in Westminster Abbey. You can see a photo of it (with…
LMcShaneCLE
Oct 11, 2015
Referenced today @steven_litt http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2015/10/cleveland_museum_of_arts_monet.html
Aug 27, 2015wyenotgo rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This is the fascinating story of John Harrison, the man who single-handedly and without the benefit of high education, technical antecedents, social standing or public or private patronage, solved the age-old problem of determining…
library1172
Sep 30, 2013library1172 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This book was an interesting and enjoyable read.
Mar 05, 2013ClaireM_W rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I honestly did not expect to enjoy this book, thinking it would merely be "good for me". What a pleasure to be so wrong! Wonderful, personal writing of a significant story. Bonus : now I understand about longitudes.
Nov 04, 2012macierules rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
A good account of a fascinating story - wish it had been more compelling. I wish it was a novel.
johnami
Sep 05, 2012johnami rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A brief, but precise account of the search for and discovery of a method for measuring longitude. The portrait of John Harrison (24 March 1693 – 24 March 1776) who developed the instrument for the task, is fascinating. He was a driven,…
May 24, 2006
The fascinating story about the quest to invent a way to determine longitude at sea. In 1714 John Harrison, a self-taught clock maker, was up against the scientists of his time to find a way to determine "longitude at sea" to assit…