Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time

Dava Sobel is a natural-born storyteller. She has given herself a huge topic to cover (the discovery of a way of establishing longitude at sea, the endowment and administration of a Longitude Prize, and the pursuit of that prize by various people in the 17th and 18th centuries); she has deftly described the scientific issues that make the problem seemingly impossible to solve; and she vividly brings to life the many key figures who had a hand in how the discovery eventually played out--the good, the bad, and the petty. I think it is Sobel's unjaundiced eye, her ability to examine human nature clearly and without apology that makes this book so appealing. Time and again I found myself saying, "Notthing has changed. People are still like that!" Human beings continue to be motivated by greed, ego, and envy. We continue to bend rules when it suits our need and we continue to sabotage the best efforts of others. The 18th century practice of slandering one's professional foes in pamphlets certainly has its equivalents in blog-smears. Character assasination seems to be one of humanity's most abiding pastimes. But in the end, Sobel's story is one of human ingenuity, personal sacrifice, and total commitment. In this instance at least, the good guy wins. And with Sobel's popular account of John Harrision, the inventor of the first successful chronometer, she manages to drag this obscure inventor's name out of anonymity and give him the recognition he clearly deserves. "With his marine clocks, John Harrision tested the waters of space-time. He succeeded, against all odds, in using the fourth--temporal--dimension to link points on the three-dimensional globe. He wrested the world's whereabouts from the stars, and locked the secret in a pocket watch."

There is an edition of LONGITUDE that includes many illustrations. I've seen it in stores and can vouch for its quality. But Sobel's writing is so visual and impactful that I would recommend choosing the edition without picutures. Let your imagination do the work. This is a great read.

This book was the choice of one of my book club memebers who got a little tired of all the novels that have been chosen over the years. It's a short book - about 175 pages - and, we were assured, an easy read. The Introduction by Neil Armstrong was fascinating and set the tone for a most interesting narative about the invention of the chronometer and its impact on marine navigation. My ancestors were whalers, and I've read several books about expeditions and voyages pre-nineteenth century. Still, I had no clue how important the ability to determine longitude was.

Dava Sobel has a scientific mind, yet is able to make her information palatable to the non-scientific reader. I highly reccommend this book; it will broaden your horizons and make you appreciate those who came before. You will think differently about the amazing world we take for granted today with GPS navigation on our cell phones and the dashboards of our cars.

An account of the extraordinary invention of portable chronometers accurate enough to enable navigation of the entire globe. A generally engaging read that capably offers the pleasures of this genre while avoiding the pitfalls. A good scientific biography manages to stir our `gee whiz' capacities, dulled by mass media over-stimulation and sensationalism, to better appreciate the importance of and amazing process behind something we take for granted. The danger, of course, is that the fanatical enthusiast can lose the layman in too much scientific detail.

Innovations today seem to often be the preserve of groups in companies and universities. In contrast John Harrison was one of those classic individuals from earlier centuries who'd work away largely at home, designing and manufacturing something world changing in their front room. In this case his refinement of clocks to incredible accuracy ultimately saved the lives of untold mariners because they could now not only calculate their latitude (from the sun), but their longitude - now being able to be sure of the time both where they are and at the point of departure.

An added interest to the story is that this became a controversial and political innovation. The awareness of the value of being able to affix Longitude was that great that a significant financial prize was offered. One school bunted for more accurate clocks, another for better star charts. The latter, however, was more powerful: an astronomer who openly opposed the horology faction was appointed as one of the major judges for the prize!

Sobel is capable and impeccably organised, and while she doesn't bring any particular zest or wit of her own to the account, neither does she impede an interesting story.

No question.... this WAS the GPS of its day! If you enjoy reading great challenges and accomplishments of real life (non-fiction) adventures...add this to your collection.

This is not about climbing a mountain or just another thrill seeking adventure to Antartica. Rather this book provides a journey, a journey involving a kings ransom, political attacks, a mental and physical toughness rivaling any adventure story I have read. It is about the discovery of longitude location which enabled accurate, global positioning and a love of craftsmanship unequalled at that time and maybe even to date! What an adventure, this is an excellent read!

It gave good details on the characters involved, and it had humor to go along with it. This probably wouldn't catch many teenager's attention, but it did catch my attention because of the wittiness. If you want to learn more information on the history of Longitude this would be a good book to read!