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By
Kate Reading (narrator) and
Dava Sobel
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Bibliographic Detail
Publisher
Random House
Publication date
October 4, 2005
Binding
CD/Spoken Word
Edition
Unabridged
Book category
Adult Non-Fiction
ISBN-13
9780739323786
ISBN-10
0739323784
Dimensions
1 by 5.50 by 5 in.
Weight
0.45 lbs.
Availability§
Publisher Out of Stock Indefinitely
Original list price
$25.95
Other format details
audio
§As reported by publisher
Summaries and Reviews
Summary
An award-winning science journalist traces the development of the marine chronometer by an obscure, uneducated clock maker--an invention that revolutionized sailing by allowing navigators to determine their ship's longitude. Read by Kate Reading. Book available.
Amazon.com description: Product Description: An exciting scientific adventure from the days of wooden ships and iron men, LONGITUDE is full of heroism and chicanery, brilliance and the absurd. It is also a captivating brief history of astronomy, navigation and clockmaking.
During the great ages of exploration, "the longitude problem" was the gravest of all scientific challenges. Lacking the ability to determine their longitude, sailors were literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Ships ran aground on rocky shores; those traveling well-known routes were easy prey to pirates.
In 1714, England's Parliament offered a huge reward to anyone whose method of measuring longitude could be proven successful. The scientific establishment--from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton--had mapped the heavens in its certainty of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had been able to do on land. And the race was on....
During the great ages of exploration, "the longitude problem" was the gravest of all scientific challenges. Lacking the ability to determine their longitude, sailors were literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Ships ran aground on rocky shores; those traveling well-known routes were easy prey to pirates.
In 1714, England's Parliament offered a huge reward to anyone whose method of measuring longitude could be proven successful. The scientific establishment--from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton--had mapped the heavens in its certainty of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had been able to do on land. And the race was on....
Editions
Hardcover
With Neil Armstrong (other contributor) |
from Walker & Co (October 1, 2005)
9780802714626 | details & prices | 184 pages | 7.55 × 5.00 × 0.75 in. | 0.60 lbs | List price $22.00
About: Describes the forty-year effort of John Harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes.
About: Describes the forty-year effort of John Harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes.
Large print edition from Isis Large Print Books (January 1, 1998)
9780753150368 | details & prices | 6.50 × 9.50 × 0.50 in. | 0.80 lbs | List price $24.95
About: Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest, and of John Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer.
About: Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest, and of John Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer.
from Walker & Co (October 1, 1995)
9780802713124 | details & prices | 4.50 × 7.75 × 0.75 in. | 0.70 lbs | List price $19.00
About: Describes the forty-year effort of John Harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes
About: Describes the forty-year effort of John Harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes
Paperback
Reprint edition from Penguin USA (October 1, 1996)
9780140258790 | details & prices | 4.50 × 7.75 × 0.50 in. | 0.30 lbs | List price $13.00
About: Describes the forty-year effort of John Harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes
About: Describes the forty-year effort of John Harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes
CD/Spoken Word
The price comparison is for this edition
With Kate Reading (other contributor) |
Unabridged edition from Random House (October 4, 2005)
9780739323786 | details & prices | 5.50 × 5.00 × 1.00 in. | 0.45 lbs | List price $25.95
About: Describes the forty-year effort of John Harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes.
About: Describes the forty-year effort of John Harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes.
Cassette/Spoken Word
With Jane Jacobs (other contributor) |
from St Martins Pr (March 15, 1996)
9781559273978 | details & prices | 4.75 × 7.50 × 0.75 in. | 0.35 lbs | List price $17.95
About: Describes the forty-year effort of John Harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes.
About: Describes the forty-year effort of John Harrison to invent the chronometer, the first instrument able to keep accurate time for navigational purposes.
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