The Illustrated Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time

SUMMARY: A fully illustrated edition of the international best-seller "Longitude." "The Illustrated Longitude" recounts in words and images the epic quest to solve the greatest scientific problem of the eighteenth and three prior centuries: determining how a captain could pinpoint his ship's location at sea. All too often throughout the ages of exploration, voyages ended in disaster when crew and cargo were either lost at sea or destroyed upon the rocks of an unexpected landfall. Thousands of lives and the fortunes of nations hung on a resolution to the longitude problem. To encourage a solution, governments established prizes for anyone whose method or device proved successful. The largest reward of 20,000-- truly a king's ransom-- was offered by Britain's Parliament in 1714. The scientific establishment-- from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton-- had been certain that a celestial answer would be found and invested untold effort in this pursuit. By contrast, John Harrison imagined and built the unimaginable: a clock that told perfect time at sea, known today as the chronometer. Harrison's trials and tribulations during his forty-year quest to win the prize are the culmination of this remarkable story. "The Illustrated Longitude" brings a new and important dimension to Dava Sobel's celebrated story. It contains the entire original narrative of "Longitude," redesigned to accompany 183 images chosen by William Andrewes-- from portraints of every important figure in the story to maps and diagrams, scientifc instruments, and John Harrison's remarkable sea clocks themselves. Andrewes's elegant captions and sidebars on scientific and historical events tell their own story of longitude, paralleling and illuminating Sobel's memorable tale. Dava Sobel is the author of the best-sellers "Longitude" and "Galileo's Daughter," and the editor and translator of "Letters to Father." She lives in East Hampton, New York. William J. H. Andrewes is a museum consultant specializing in the history of scientific instruments and time measurement. He is the editor of "The Quest for Longitude" and lives in Concord, Massachusetts. Praise for "The Illustrated Longitude" "Two respected tellers of the longitude tale have teamed up! Sobel 's compelling prose is coupled with colorful and detailed illustrations provided by Andrewes. This edition responds to entreaties by readers who loved Sobel's "Longitude" but who wanted pictures to go with it."-- "Mercator's World" "Enormous care has been devoted to the illustrations and captions. Readers will finish this book considerably more educated about geography and navigation."-- "USA Today" "This new illustrated edition of Sobel's 1995 study of Harrison's remarkable instrument strikingly illuminates this largely unknown but crucial discovery."-- "Dallas Morning News" Praise for "Longitude" "As much a tale of intrigue as it is of science .... A book full of gems for anyone interested in history, geography, astronomy, navigation, clockmaking, and-- not the least-- plain old human ambition and greed."-- "Philadelphia Inquirer" "Intricate and elegant .... No novelist could improve on the elements of Dava Sobel's "Longitude.""-- "Newsweek" "Anyone with an interest in history or things maritime should consider "Longitude." This fascinating volume brings alive the eighteenth century."-- "USA Today" "Nearly perfect prose and a magnificent story, an extraordinary book."-- "Washington Post Book World" With a New Foreword by Neil Armstrong. On its 10th anniversary, a gift edition of this classic book, with a foreword by one of history's greatest explorers, the first man to walk on the Moon, and an 8-page color insert Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day -- and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of nations, hung on a resolution. The scientific establishment of Europe -- from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton -- had mapped the heavens in both hemispheres in its certain pursuit 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 ever been able to do on land. Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest, and of Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer. Full of heroism and chicanery, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking, and opens a new window on our world. "The seas had gradually calmed, and a brisk breeze pushed the H.M.S. Centurion swiftly north. Ê But Commodore George Anson felt no joy at his progress, only grim despair. For the previous two months, the Centurion had been battered by brutal storms and high seas off Cape Horn. Of his small fleet, one ship was wrecked, the rest scattered, and his sailors were sick and dying of scurvy. Of those that remained alive, only a handful were healthy enough to handle a ship. With Chile under the control of his Spanish enemies, AnsonÕs only hope was to set a direct course for the tiny but welcoming Juan Fernandez Island. On May 24, 1741, Anson arrived at the correct latitude, but he did not see island. Was it weast or east? At the time, sailors had no way of accurately determining their longitude, so Anson had to settle for a coin flip. He started by searching west for a few days, but changed his mind and sailed east until he ran into the coast of Chile. At this point Anson realized his error and turned west again, reaching the island on June 9.Ê By the time he finally weighed anchor at Juan Fernandez, more than half the sailors on Centurion had died. Ê. Ever since reading this tale and many other others in Dava SobelÕs classic book Longitude, I have worked to bring these amazing stories to life in my Earth science class."--Science Scope Magazine, September, 2005 The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of one man's forty-year obsession to find a solution to the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--"the longitude problem." Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day-and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives and the increasing fortunes of nations hung on a resolution. One man, John Harrison, in complete opposition to the scientific community, dared to imagine a mechanical solution-a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had ever been able to do on land. Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer. Full of heroism and chicanery, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking, and opens a new window on our world. The story of mariners' centuries-long search for ways of determining longitude that tells not only of the scientific advances but of the perseverance, pettiness, politics, & interesting anecdotes involved. 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