Buy longitude by dava sobel from waterstones today. Dava sobel has written a beautiful book about a subject that in a lesser authors hands could have been exceedingly boring. The book was made into a television series entitled longitude. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a bestselling book by dava sobel about john harrison, an 18thcentury clockmaker who created the first clock chronometer sufficiently accurate to be used to determine longitude at seaan important development in navigation. Financial times a true life thriller, jampacked with political intrigue, international warfare, personal feuds and financial skullduggery. Sobel attended antioch college and the city college of new york before receiving her bachelor of arts degree from the state university of. Dava sobel is an accomplished writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time paperback october 30, 2007. She described the life of john harrison who discovered how to.
Dava sobel born june 15, 1947 is an american writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. Andrewes, the man who first invited her to write about the longitude symposium he was hosting in 1994 and thereby inspired what proved to be a surprisingly popular book. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time ebook written by dava sobel. The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time, dava sobel writes that the trick for remembering the difference is that the latitude lines, the parallels, really do stay parallel to each other as they girdle the globe in. Daily mail rarely have i enjoyed a book as much as dava sobel s longitude. In her previous book, longitude, dava sobel showed how technology the construction of a seaworthy clock solved the problem of determining a ships longitudinal position in the ocean. Oct 19, 1995 longitude from dava sobel is a fascinating account of how a virtually unknown watchmaker named john harrison conquered one of the oldest and thorniest problems surrounding the ocean voyages the problem of accurately measuring longitude, which stumped even the best of scientific minds for centuries. Dava sobel is an awardwinning former science reporter for the new york times and writes frequently about science for several magazines, including audubon, discover, life. Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that the longitude problem was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the dayand had been. Such facts might merely seem the stuff of trivia games, but dava sobels longitude is an intriguing biography. Daily mail rarely have i enjoyed a book as much as dava sobels longitude. Nov 11, 2005 dava sobel has written a gem of a bookone of the best reads for the nonscientific writing to come along for many a moon. Dava sobel has written a gem of a book one of the best reads for the nonscientific writing to come along for many a moon.
Even before the publication of longitude twentyfive years ago, i learned about a group of women who worked at the harvard college observatory in the nineteenth century, analyzing images of the stars to fantastic effect. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by dava sobel and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Dava sobel has written a gem of a bookone of the best reads for the nonscientific writing to come along for many a moon. The image of the lone genius, prevailing against the odds to make a better world, is an attractive one. At sea, there were no landmarks by which ones eastwest position could be tracked. The second home by christina clancy a surefooted ode to the strength of family. The greek astronomers could measure latitude as early as the third century b. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read longitude. Through lucid prose and a compelling narrative, sobel explains the longitude. The true story of a lone genius who solved goodreads. I greatly enjoy the more indepth research required for booklength projects.
Dava sobel is the bestselling author of longitude, galileos daughter, and the planets, coauthor of the illustrated longitude, and editor of letters to father. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time pdf epub book. While the story is itself fascinating, dava sobel is a poor writer and the book reads something like a high school textbook. When longitude first appeared in 1995, sobel s lucid, insightful little book had a single imperfection. Indeed, the entire age of exploration was carried out without anyones ever knowing. When longitude first appeared in 1995, sobels lucid, insightful little book had a single imperfection. It was the first nonfiction book, i think, that i really.
Sobel has done the impossible and made horology sexy no mean feat new scientist anyone alive in the 18th century would have known that the longitude problem was the. A fascinating problem it was ptolemy in geographia, written in the 2nd century, who. Dava sobel is a former science writer for the new york times, as well as contributor to audubon, discover, life, and omni magazines. Through dava sobel s consummate skill, longitude will open a new window on our world for all who pdf read it. Sobel attended antioch college and the city college of new york before receiving her bachelor of arts degree from the state university of new york at binghamton in 1969. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific. The subtitle here tells the reader exactly what the book is about.
This lush, colorfully illustrated edition adds lots of pictures to the story, giving readers a more satisfying sense of the times, the players, and. First published in 1995 and nominated for the 1997 royal society science book prize, the book tells the story of one scientists lifelong journey to build the perfect chronometer. Dava sobels longitude tells the story of how 18thcentury scientist and clockmaker william harrison solved one of the most perplexing problems of historydetermining eastwest location at sea. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by dava sobel. Even before the publication of longitude twentyfive years ago, i learned about a group of women who worked at the harvard college observatory in the nineteenth century, analyzing images of the stars to fantastic effect these ladies of pickerings harem aroused my curiosity, but i put them off while pursuing galileos daughter, exploring the planets, and turning copernicuss idea. Now william andrewes, the man who organised and hosted the longitude symposium that inspired her book, has joined sobel to create a.
These ladies of pickerings harem aroused my curiosity, but i put them off while pursuing galileos daughter. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time the genius in question was john harrison, who spent decades trying to convince the british admiralty of the accuracy of his. Its like writing one college term paper after another. A 1964 graduate of the bronx high school of science, ms. Apr 28, 2011 dava sobel is an awardwinning former science reporter for the new york times and writes frequently about science for several magazines, including audubon, discover, life and omni. Longitude from dava sobel is a fascinating account of how a virtually unknown watchmaker named john harrison conquered one of the oldest and thorniest problems surrounding the ocean voyages the problem of accurately measuring longitude, which stumped even the best of scientific minds for centuries. Now william andrewes, the man who organised and hosted the longitude symposium that inspired her book, has joined sobel to create a richly illustrated version of her classic story. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time. She graduated from the bronx high school of science and binghamton university.
I first read longitude, by dava sobel, just after i finished high school, and i devoured it in a sitting or two. Author dava sobel, however, cuts through all the more complicated principles like a good precalculus teacher. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 192 pages and is available in hardcover format. When dava sobels longitude was published to universal acclaim in 1996, readers voiced only one regret.
The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a bestselling book by dava sobel about john harrison. Dava sobel, a former new york times science reporter, is the author of longitude walker 1995 and 2005, penguin 1996, galileos daughter walker 1999 and 2011, penguin 2000, the planets viking 2005, penguin 2006, a more perfect heaven walker bloomsbury 2011 and 2012, and the sun stood still bloomsbury, 2016 and the glass universe viking, 2016. Rarely have i enjoyed a book as much as dava sobel s longitude. Longitude ebook by dava sobel 9780802779434 rakuten kobo. Nov 17, 2011 dava sobel has written a gem of a book. In 1714, englands parliament offered a reward to anyone whose method or device for measuring longitude proved successful. The problem of longitude was long regarded as unsolvable. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. In the early days of sail, mariners had no accurate means of determining their position at sea. Financial times an extraordinary tale of political intrigue and academic backbiting, of intellectual brilliance, and mechanical genius, of heroic endeavours and downright dishonestya superb achievement.
The publication of longitude taught me that a book can actually improve by virtue of being read. Her books include longitude, about english clockmaker john harrison, and galileos daughter, about galileo s daughter maria celeste, and the glass universe. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time, dava sobel writes that the trick for remembering the difference is that the latitude lines, the parallels, really do stay parallel to each other as they girdle the globe in a series of concentric circles that. Actually, the story of how we came to calculate longitude is a tale of intrigue and competition and an unexpected hero by the name of john harrison. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time tells the remarkable story of the clocks inventor, john harrison. The first edition of the novel was published in 1995, and was written by dava sobel. This explains how john harrison, discovered how to determine. Longitude is the story of english clockmaker john harrison and how he figured out how to track longitude, or the eastwest position of ships. The concluding chapter of longitude is a very touching account of her personal visit to zero longitude in greenwich where this writer also straddled that magic line embedded in the pavement. The need for a clock which would accurately keep time while on a sea voyage in order to help mariners determine their longitude and thus accurately determine where they would land doesnt seem like it would be that exciting. She has an extraordinary gift of making difficult ideas clear.
The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a historical biography by dava sobel. The story of john longitude harrison disproves this. The publication of longitude in 1995 and its unexpected success transformed me into a fulltime author of books. When dava sobel s longitude was published to universal acclaim in 1996, readers voiced only one regret. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time, dava sobel writes that the trick for. May 19, 20 dava sobels book, longitude, isnt some dense excerpt from a history book. How the ladies of the harvard observatory took the measure of the stars. Dava sobel is a writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. Through dava sobels consummate skill, longitude will open a new window on our world for all who pdf read it. Former new york times reporter sobel coauthor, arthritis. First published in 1995 and nominated for the 1997 royal society science book prize, the book tells the story of one scientists lifelong journey to. Rarely have i enjoyed a book as much as dava sobels longitude.
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