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Book Cover
Book
Author Sobel, Dava.

Title Longitude : the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time / Dava Sobel
Published New York : Walker, 1995

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 W'PONDS  526.62 Sob/Ltt  AVAILABLE
Description viii, 184 pages ; 20 cm
Contents Imaginary lines -- Sea before time -- Adrift in a clockwork universe -- Time in a bottle -- Powder of sympathy -- Prize -- Cogmaker's journal -- Grasshopper goes to sea -- Hands on Heaven's clock -- Diamond timekeeper -- Trial by fire and water -- Tale of two portraits -- Second voyage of Captain James Cook -- Mass production of genius -- In the Meridian Courtyard
Summary 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. Full of heroism and chicanery, brilliance and the absurd, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking. Through Dava Sobel's consummate skill, Longitude will open a new window on our world for all who read it
Analysis Chronometers History
Clock and watch makers Biography Great Britain
Harrison, John
Longitude Measurement History
Notes Also published: London : Fourth Estate, 1996
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-180) and index
Notes Originally published: New York : Walker, 1995
Subject Harrison, John, 1693-1776.
Clock and watch makers -- Great Britain -- Biography.
Chronometers -- History.
Longitude -- Measurement -- History.
Genre/Form Biographies.
LC no. 95017402
ISBN 0802713122 (hc)