Book - Longitude

Longitude cover

[ US UK ]

Longitude

by Dava Sobel

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: The thorniest scientific problem of the eighteenth century was how to determine longitude. Many thousands of lives had been lost at sea over the centuries due to the inability to determine an east-west position. This is the engrossing story of the clockmaker, John “Longitude” Harrison, who solved the problem that Newton and Galileo had failed to conquer, yet claimed only half the promised rich reward.

I had already seen the BBC dramatisation of this, but Toby recommended it as a great quick read. I had about five days to read it why Oma and Opa took the boys to Belgium for half term. It was a quick and great read. Dava is a great storyteller, really bringing the history and the development of the chronometers to life. I really recommend it.