Longitude

User Review: - It is written in plain english, without complicate words and ideas
With this book you can get very entertained. It is written in plain english, without complicate words and ideas; it explains the relation between time keeping and navigation problems in a very clear way: In the future I would like to read a Sobel's book about atomic clocks!

I recommend this book, not only for people interested on science and history but also for those that are studying english as a second language.

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User Review: - A short novel on longitude that's well worth your time
Who knew a short novel about "longitude" and a humble clockmaker's invention that perfected nautical navigation could be so engrossing? Author Dava Sobel weaves a spellbinding account of John Harrison, and how his new invention called a "chronometer," was the topic contender for the "X Prize" of its day -- discovering a reliable means of computing a ship's longitude at sea. Politics, conflicts of personality, ego, and other dramatic elements make this book not only an educational read, but also a fun (and relatively short) novel.

This book was recommended to me, and I have to say I was a bit skeptical at first. But I decided to give it a go, and I have to say that it was really hard to put down this book. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys reading good underdog stories -- or is simply curious about a technology that, though resisted at first, quite literally redrew the map of the world.

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User Review: - Longitude - Great for science-minded kids over 10
I bought this for my visiting grandson. We had a fine time reading it together and discussing what a great invention longitude was, how many sailors' lives it saved, and the way the inventor had to fight to get the prize offered by the government for finding a way for sailors to know their exact location. I finally know why Greenwich is the "center" of time measurement. Easy to understand and yet very comprehensive on this fundamental subject.

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User Review: - Longitude is terrific
This book is a well-written story about how scientists and engineers figured out how to navigate the globe. It is a story that was well known in its day and forgotten within 50 years.

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User Review: - Surprisingly fantastic!
My husband (a scientist) loves books on exploration and discovery. When he finished this book - surprisingly quickly - he said "you'll love this." Sure, I'll read anything once so I gave it a try. The author has such a knack with prose that this book basically read itself! Time flew when I picked it up and I was done in no time. What a fantastic surprise! When I finished it, I mailed it to my brother who read it & sent it to a friend; it;s that good....

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