Great book. Just long enough to tell this great story ( )

For centuries, a proper way to measure longitude at sea completely eluded Europeans. Whether it be a merchant galleon, a naval ship or pirate sloop, all relied on existing currents or dead reckoning. Problem was, a single storm could lead a ship far astray with devastating results. Galileo attempted to track the eclipses of Jupiter's moons, Flamsteed proposed a star catalog, and Huygens and Hooke battled over the concept of a marine clock. By 1714, the British Parliament was offering a king's ransom for a practical means of determining longitude. No one imagined that the solution would be found by self-taught clockmaker John Harrison. Harrison insisted that longitude did not require the stars at all, but as a perfectionist, he was his own biggest obstacle. Hadley's quadrant emerged as an elitist answer for the Royal Society, as opposed to Harrison's user-friendly clock. It took no less than a voyage by Captain Cook, with Harrison's clock on board, to prove he was correct.

This was a fine, little read if you're looking for a quick history of the quest for longitude. It hops around the timeline though, resulting in some repetition. You'd think it would start perhaps with the science of longitude, then Galileo, eventually leading up to John Harrison's clock. I also know Chinese cartography predates the Europeans and they had developed their own means of determining longitude, but this was completely unmentioned. Harrison, although a prodigy, was certainly no "lone genius" after so much trial and error. But Sobel realizes that not everyone is a sailor or an astronomer, so the descriptions of how longitude is measured are simple and easy to follow. This was much appreciated. Sobel definitely sells the cultural impact of longitude, and how many lives were lost without it. The book it's heavy or too academic so a history or science-loving high schooler can enjoy this one as well. ( )

Readable and compelling narrative that can encourage reader interest in social history of science and technology. ( )

(1995)Very good story of Englishman John Harrison who came up with a chronometer that allowed seamen to figure out longitude on their voyages. While sailors can readily gauge latitude by the height of the sun or guiding stars above the horizon, the measurement of longitude bedeviled navigators for centuries, resulting in untold shipwrecks. Galileo, Isaac Newton and Edmund Halley entreated the moon and stars for help, but their astronomical methods failed. In 1714, England's Parliament offered #20,000 (equivalent to millions of dollars today) to anyone who could solve the problem. Self-educated English clockmaker John Harrison (1693-1776) found the answer by inventing a chronometer?a friction-free timepiece, impervious to pitch and roll, temperature and humidity?that would carry the true time from the home port to any destination. But Britain's Board of Longitude, a panel of scientists, naval officers and government officials, favored the astronomers over humble "mechanics" like Harrison, who received only a portion of the prize after decades of struggle. Yet his approach ultimately triumphed, enabling Britannia to rule the waves. In an enthralling gem of a book, former New York Times science reporter Sobel spins an amazing tale of political intrigue, foul play, scientific discovery and personal ambition. (Publisher's Weekly)

I didn't intend to read the entire book in one day, but that's what happened.

If you've ever read anything by Tom Standage, you'll enjoy this book. Sobel says in her sources that this book was meant to be a popular account rather than a scholarly exploration, and it sure reads like a popular account. She weaves the problem of longitudinal navigation so well that you're compelled to read through the solution even if you've never set foot on a large vessel in your life.

It's also interesting, now, to think that these clocks created by John Harrison are still in working order, nearly 300 years later. The craftsmanship employed by an amateur is staggering and underscores the immensity of his work. ( )