Great minds had tried for centuries to develop a method of determining longitude. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by dava sobel 1995, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay. Rarely have i enjoyed a book as much as dava sobels longitude. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a historical biography by dava sobel. Many famous scientists, including galileo, isaac newton, and charles darwin, appear in the story, but the solution to the longitude problem came from an unknown, selfeducated clockmaker, john harrison, who devoted forty years to the effort. Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that the longitude problem was the thorniest scientific dilemma of. The book has endorsements from patrick obrien and neil armstrong, and a blurb that cheerfully describes the search for longitude as a truelife. Longitude from dava sobel is a fascinating account of how a virtually unknown watchmaker named john harrison conquered one of the oldest and thorniest problems surrounding the ocean voyages the problem of accurately measuring longitude, which stumped even the best of scientific minds for centuries. The first edition of the novel was published in 1995, and was written by dava sobel. Hipparchus, a greek astronomer 190120 bc, was the first to specify location using latitude and longitude as coordinates. The british legislature set up a board of longitude which had the authority to offer an award to anyone who could solve the problem. Longitude was first published in 1996, occupying a substantial portion of many a waterstones table around christmastime.
Its like writing one college term paper after another. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific. Former new york times reporter sobel coauthor, arthritis. The publication of longitude in 1995 and its unexpected success transformed me into a fulltime author of books. Describes the fortyyear effort of john harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes. Apr 28, 2011 anyone alive in the 18th century would have known that the longitude problem was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day and had been for centuries. Longitude book douglas county libraries bibliocommons. Our maths in a minute series explores key mathematical concepts in just a few words. The story of the longitude problem is beautifully described in the book longitude by dava sobel.
The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time, dava sobel writes that the trick for remembering the difference is that the latitude lines, the parallels, really do stay parallel to each other as they girdle the globe in. The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of one mans fortyyear obsession to find a solution to the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day the longitude problem. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally. First published in 1995 and nominated for the 1997 royal society science book prize, the book tells the story of one scientists lifelong journey to.
The book became a surprise bestseller and is still in print. If an accurate catalogue of the positions of the stars could be made, and the position of the moon then measured accurately relative to the stars, the moons motion could be used as a natural clock to calculate greenwich time. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been. About the author the publication of longitude in 1995 and its unexpected success transformed me into a fulltime author of books.
There being no apparent solution to the problem, mariners simply lived with this frustration. Sobel has done the impossible and made horology sexy no mean feat new scientist anyone alive in the 18th century would have known that the longitude problem was the thorniest scientific. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a bestselling book by dava sobel about john harrison, an. Longitude book chicago public library bibliocommons. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time.
European governments offered huge prizes to solve the longitude problem. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by dava sobel 2007, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. A simple solution to the longitude problem hipparchos wikipedia for that reason, its mind boggling to realize that all this time, the basic solution for finding the longitude was already well known.
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. Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that the longitude problem was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the dayand had been for centuries. Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that the longitude problem was the. The greek astronomers could measure latitude as early as the third century b. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by dava sobel, neil frw armstrong. It is also a captivating brief history of astronomy, navigation and clockmaking. Longitude book san mateo county libraries bibliocommons. The subtitle here tells the reader exactly what the book is about. The inability to solve the longitude problem for so long also had dire.
Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that the longitude problem was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the dayand had. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by dava sobel longitude was first published in 1996, occupying a substantial portion of many a waterstones table around christmastime. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a bestselling book by dava sobel about. Longitude book hennepin county library bibliocommons. The publication of longitude taught me that a book can actually improve. An exciting scientific adventure from the days of wooden ships and iron men, longitude is full of heroism and chicanery, brilliance and the absurd. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading longitude. Longitude the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time book. Based on the bestselling book longitude by dava sobel, the program tells the story of how an unknown genius, john. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a bestselling book by dava sobel about john harrison, an 18thcentury clockmaker who created. The search for longitude, originally broadcast on october 6, 1998. However, as time passed, progress was made in solving the problem and measuring longitude effectively. This book takes readers on that journey, and it shows how the collective ideas of people over time helped change travel over sea, and to some extent, it reshaped the world.
The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time sobel, dava on. Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that the longitude problem was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the dayand had been. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time 10th anniversary ed by sobel, dava isbn. She described the life of john harrison who discovered how to. The book has endorsements from patrick obrien and neil armstrong, and a blurb that cheerfully describes the search for longitude as a truelife thriller.
The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time pdf epub book. During the great ages of exploration, the longitude problem. The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of one mans fortyyear obsession to find a solution to the thorniest scientific dilemma of the daythe longitude problem. The history of longitude is a record of the effort, by astronomers, cartographers and navigators over several centuries, to discover a means of determining longitude the measurement of longitude is important to both cartography and navigation, in particular to provide safe ocean navigation. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time tells the remarkable story of the clocks inventor, john harrison. In 1998, the illustrated longitude was published, supplementing the earlier text with 180 images of characters. The book is about john harrisons long, bedeviled question to built an incredibly accurate timepiece that could resist the vagaries of the sea. To determine your exact location you also need to measure your line of longitude. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a bestselling book by dava sobel about john harrison, an 18thcentury clockmaker who created the first clock chronometer sufficiently accurate to be used to determine longitude at seaan important development in navigation. 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. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a bestselling book by dava sobel about john harrison, an 18thcentury clockmaker who created the first clock sufficiently accurate to be used to determine longitude at seaan important development in navigation.
By 1700, finding latitude at sea was routine and fairly accurate. A nicely illustrated, and short but a fascinating book on the story of finding a solution to the problem of establishing longitude at sea. The longitude act was an act of parliament that offered money in return for the solution to the problem of finding a ships precise longitude at sea. But on a foggy day in 1707, four large british warships returning from france misjudged their longitude and ran aground on the scilly islands off the southwest tip of england. The solution to the problem was eventually delivered by a clock. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time kindle edition by sobel, dava. First published in 1995 and nominated for the 1997 royal society science book prize, the book tells the story of one scientists lifelong journey to build the perfect chronometer. Astronomers thought the answer to finding longitude lay in observing the skies. The book was made into a television series entitled longitude. 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. Early sea clock experiments finding longitude greatly improved once a portable clock was invented. Jun 03, 2015 people have been using the stars to do this for millennia. The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest.
Oct 19, 1995 longitude from dava sobel is a fascinating account of how a virtually unknown watchmaker named john harrison conquered one of the oldest and thorniest problems surrounding the ocean voyages the problem of accurately measuring longitude, which stumped even the best of scientific minds for centuries. I greatly enjoy the more indepth research required for book length projects. John harrison arrived in london, looking for both support and the rewards promised by the 1714 longitude act. While the story is itself fascinating, dava sobel is a poor writer and the book reads something like a high school textbook. Knowledge of both latitude and longitude was required. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time from the worlds largest community of r. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by dava sobel. Hipparchus of nicaea, a greek philosopher from the second century, had already invented a simple and elegant way to calculate longitude. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a bestselling. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 192 pages and is available in hardcover format. The longitude problem, as it was called, was so important that in 1714, the british parliament offered a prize of 20,000 poundsequivalent to. Others thought the solution was a good seaworthy clock, but no such clock existed.
Longitude book calgary public library bibliocommons. King charles ii founded the royal observatory in 1675 to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea. Discover the latest buzzworthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor. There is much wholly detail about early efforts to solve the longitude problem. Oct 30, 2007 many famous scientists, including galileo, isaac newton, and charles darwin, appear in the story, but the solution to the longitude problem came from an unknown, selfeducated clockmaker, john harrison, who devoted forty years to the effort. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Innovations in england clockmaker john harrison demonstrates a workable timepiece for finding longitude at sea. John harrisons h4 clock how longitude was found royal. This explains how john harrison, discovered how to determine.
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