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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 526.62 EAN: 9780802715296 ISBN: 0007790163 Label: Walker & Company Manufacturer: Walker & Company Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 208 Publication Date: October 30, 2007 Publisher: Walker & Company Release Date: October 30, 2007 Studio: Walker & Company Sales Rank: 12269
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. One man, John Harrison, in complete opposition to the scientific community, 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, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking, and opens a new window on our world.
Amazon.com Review: The thorniest scientific problem of the eighteenth century was how to determine longitude. Many thousands of lives had been lost at sea over the centuries due to the inability to determine an east-west position. This is the engrossing story of the clockmaker, John "Longitude" Harrison, who solved the problem that Newton and Galileo had failed to conquer, yet claimed only half the promised rich reward.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Longitude - Great for science-minded kids over 10
I bought this for my visiting grandson. We had a fine time reading it together and discussing what a great invention longitude was, how many sailors' lives it saved, and the way the inventor had to fight ... Read More
Rating: - Longitude is terrific
This book is a well-written story about how scientists and engineers figured out how to navigate the globe. It is a story that was well known in its day and forgotten within 50 years.
Rating: - Surprisingly fantastic!
My husband (a scientist) loves books on exploration and discovery. When he finished this book - surprisingly quickly - he said "you'll love this." Sure, I'll read anything once so I gave it a try. The author ... Read More
Rating: - Very Interesting
A short but well written book that sheds light on an almost forgotten man who changed the world. Interesting and fun to read, worth checking out.
Rating: - Genuinely great story, but BEWARE of some inaccuracies in this book.
John Harrison completes his first pendulum clock in 1713 before the age of 20. He made the gears for this out of wood which was radical for such a use, but as a carpenter, perhaps not to him---which is a mark of ... Read More
- Longitude - Great for science-minded kids over 10