Sobel, Dava. Longitude: the True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. New York: Penguin, 1995.
This book interested me on several levels. I was born in the sign of water. I grew up with the Atlantic surrounding me on all possible sides. My father started his career on the ocean in the Coast Guard. I learned about longitude and latitude before I could multiply or divide. The ocean is as essential as air in my life.
In less than 200 pages Sobel answers the “longitude problem” of the eighteenth century. Back in the day, for an ocean bound vessel to lose sight of land was the equivalent of shutting off the solitary light in an otherwise pitch black room. Sailors were literally directionally blind without land. Thousands of lives were lost and millions of dollars of precious cargo were destroyed when ships lost their way and ran aground. It was imperative that a solution for the “longitude problem” be found and quickly. For many scientists they felt the solution lay in the stars above. Astronomy was their answer to the problem. One man, John Harrison, dared to argue that the real answer was a mechanical one in the form of a clock that could keep precise time at sea. In answer to a competition Harrison obsessed for most of his life creating several different versions of his seafaring clock until one in particular proved successful.
Best quote: “The placement of the prime meridian is a purely political decision” 9p 4).
Book Trivia: Longitude was made into a movie starring Jeremy Irons.
Author Fact: Sobel has continued her “longitude” fame with another book on the subject called Illustrated Longitude.
BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter “Dewey Deconstructed: 400s” (p 70).
~*LunaSea*~ 