About this title: In this title the author sets the stage by recounting the difficulties early navigators had in determining their exact longitude. After the loss of many ships and human lives, Parliament in 1714 offered a rich prize for a practical way to measure longitude at sea. John Harrison, an apparently self-taught English clockmaker undertook the task. Over a period of 40 years, he developed four increasingly precise chronometers capable of holding accurate time over a long sea voyage. Comparing the chronometer's time to the local sun time, a navigator could quickly measure the longitude with high ...
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9781857025026ISBN:1857025024
Description: Good. *** Expect to see light wear and some spine creasing *** Dispatched in padded packaging. ** UK SELLER-Get it in days not weeks ** read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd, London, United Kingdom
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781857025712ISBN:1857025717
Description: Fine. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Apart from a light tan to the page edges this is in excellent condition. The pages are extremely clean, the book is very tight, there are no inscriptions or marks and the spine is crease free. Looks almost new! All my books are carefully packed and I make every effort to despatch orders the same day. If you have any questions regarding this book, or wish to see a picture before you buy, please do not hesitate to contact me (e-mail is the best way! ). read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781857025712ISBN:1857025717
Description: Good. Light Wear And Creasing *** Expect to see light wear and some spine creasing *** Dispatched in padded packaging. ** UK SELLER-Get it in days not weeks ** read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781857025712ISBN:1857025717
Description: Acceptable. Well Read? Expect Some Heavy Creasing, Some Wear And Maybe A Little Damage *** Expect to receive a well read copy-The condition of the book will be readable, perhaps with heavy creasing and some damage. You wouldn't want to give it as a present-Dispatched in padded packaging. ** UK SELLER-Get it in days not weeks ** read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9781857025026ISBN:1857025024
Description: Good. EXCELLENT value for money and ready for dispatch. Delivery usually within 3/5 days. Our reputation is built on our Speedy Delivery Service and our Customer Service Team. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781857025712ISBN:1857025717
Description: Good. EXCELLENT value for money and ready for dispatch. Delivery usually within 3/5 days. Our reputation is built on our Speedy Delivery Service and our Customer Service Team. read more
Description: Fine. Unread Paperback Edition. light wear to cover. Immediate dispatch within ONE working day (Usually Next Day Delivery in UK). PLEASE NOTE IF PURCHASING A VIDEO: Unless otherwise specified, all our videos are VHS PAL-UK & Europe Format. read more
Binding: PAPERBACK
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780140258790ISBN:0140258795
Description: Fair. Paperback, a good reading copy. Cover image is a stock image and may vary. Your book will be securely packed and promptly dispatched from our UK warehouse. read more
Binding: PAPERBACK
Publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781841153179ISBN:1841153176
Description: Fair. Paperback, a good reading copy. Cover image is a stock image and may vary. Your book will be securely packed and promptly dispatched from our UK warehouse. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9781841153179ISBN:1841153176
Description: Fine. PAPERBACK-EXCELLENT CONDITION-READ ONCE CAREFULLY-EXCELLENT CONDITION-READ ONCE CAREFULLY-TRUSTED DEVON (UK) BASED SELLER-IN STOCK-SENT WITHIN 1 WORKING DAY-AVAILABLE BY EMAIL FOR QUERIES-NO QUIBBLE REFUND IF NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED- read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781857025712ISBN:1857025717
Description: Very Good. PAPERBACK BOOK-VERY GOOD OVERALL CONDITION-TRUSTED DEVON (UK) BASED SELLER-IN STOCK-SENT WITHIN 1 WORKING DAY-AVAILABLE BY EMAIL FOR QUERIES-NO QUIBBLE REFUND IF NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED- read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781857025712ISBN:1857025717
Description: Very Good. PAPERBACK-VERY GOOD OVERALL CONDITION-VERY GOOD OVERALL CONDITION-TRUSTED DEVON (UK) BASED SELLER-IN STOCK-SENT WITHIN 1 WORKING DAY-AVAILABLE BY EMAIL FOR QUERIES-NO QUIBBLE REFUND IF NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED- read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781857025712ISBN:1857025717
Description: Fine. PAPERBACK BOOK-EXCELLENT CONDITION-READ ONCE CAREFULLY-TRUSTED DEVON (UK) BASED SELLER-IN STOCK-SENT WITHIN 1 WORKING DAY-AVAILABLE BY EMAIL FOR QUERIES-NO QUIBBLE REFUND IF NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED- read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9781857025026ISBN:1857025024
Description: Very Good in VERY GOOD jacket. No major defects-unabridged, clean, complete, not falling apart; some light wear. A perfectly good reading or reference copy. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780007718832ISBN:0007718837
Description: Very Good. No major defects-unabridged, clean, complete, not falling apart; some light wear. A perfectly good reading or reference copy. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Walker & Company
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780007790166ISBN:0007790163
Description: Good. Bumping to edges. Cover may differ from stock picture This book is in good all round condition which means that it will show signs of wear and having been read. Any questions please e-mail, only too happy to help. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. We aim to ship within one working day. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781857025712ISBN:1857025717
Description: Good. This book is in good all round condition which means that it will show signs of wear and having been read. Any questions please e-mail, only too happy to help. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. We aim to ship within one working day. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9781857025026ISBN:1857025024
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9781857025026ISBN:1857025024
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781857025712ISBN:1857025717
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
"A terrific biography of John Harrison, the eighteenth century horological genius who invented the chronometer (an accurate timepiece which allowed navigators to reliably fix their longitude anywhere in the world). Sailors had been determining their latitude (north-south position) by observing the heavens since ancient times, but longitude (east-west position) was always a different story (since the earth is in constant motion toward the east and there is no fixed reference point in the sky). Harrison devoted practically his entire life to the invention of his device. In addition to the engineering difficulties involved, he had to work against the very strong bias which existed at the time against some sort of mechanical solution and in favor of a solution based purely on astronomical observation. The story of how Harrison eventually proved them wrong-but almost lost anyway-is told here with delightful and engaging skill."
"Rivetting, fast read of the global pursuit of the solution to a navigation problem that improved our knowledge of astronomy, the speed of light and quite possibly created the British colonial empire. My one quibble: it needs illustrations. The somewhat arcane discussion of how to figure longitude by the celestial clock, in particular, and the tools developed for this approach would benefit from some pictures and diagrams: There are none. This isn't necessarily the author's fault, but it's the book that's being reviewed."
"This book had its moments. It definitely had an important historical story to tell. At times, though I found myself thinking that this is just a good story you hear in a museum or a history class.
That is not to downplay the importance of John Harrison's clock but just to say that it's a good story with some intrigue but I feel like I could've gotten the gist of the story much more quickly and not have lost that much.
Interesting, but a bit long maybe for anyone who isn't a nautical or clock making junkie."
"This is a fascinating account of the quest for a way to calculate one's relative east-west location on the globe and John Harrison, the genius clockmaker who figured it out. As with so many scientific breakthroughs, an effective method wasn't developed overnight. For over a century, scientists worked from different premises using different methods before one method became widely used. As always, politics played a large role into who got the credit and/or financial reward for the inventions. Harrison, whose chronometer was found to be the first method of accurately discerning longitude, fought a lifelong battle against snobbery and jealous rivals. Perhaps if the book had been read by a different person, I would have given it a higher rating. As it was, I grew increasingly irritated by Kate Reading's exaggerated Oxbridge accent. She never met an "a" she didn't like to draaaaah out or an "r" she wanted to sound. Most annoying were her idiosyncratic pronunciations of names, for example, Bonaparte as "Bohn-a-pah-tay" or Tyco (Brahe) as "Tuck-oo." As the last straw, she incorrectly used the Spanish pronunciation of Byron's "Don Juan." If you want to put on the dog, at least do your damn homework."
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