Longitude Paperback – Import, January 1, 2005

This title is Neil Armstrong's beautiful introductory analogy of what this entire book is about, the true story of longitude, "a fascinating tale of a remarkable achievement in timekeeping and navigation."Latitude, that is, the determination of north-south position, had been simple and reliable for centuries, but a simple and reliable method for finding east-west (longitude) had been difficult, well into the 1700s. The longitude problem persisted, and as empire's growth and security demanded increasingly efficient maritime navigation, the British Crown in 1714 offered a £20,000 prize to the man who could find a method for reliably and reproducibly determining it. An elaborate and complicated system involving lunar observation came about, but was laborious and calculation-intensive. Then came John Harrison, the dedicated genius who devised the first seagoing chronometers (this is origin of the word). He solved the problem, but personal rivalries, scientific steadfastness (more correctly pigheadedness), and the vagaries and idiocy of bureaucracy kept him from his rightful prize and recognition for far too long.This is the story that Sobel tells. It reads very easily, so for any who might be intimidated or fear this book is a nonstop chronicle of lofty scientific jargon and notation, don't be. The story flows well, and Sobel explains those subjects that require it, so no reader will be left behind. As written, this book struck me as being very much like the outstanding old British Connections TV show, shedding light on a specific and apparently finite historical issue, but then showing the myriad fascinating, radiating spokes of the famous and infamous. Isaac Newton touches on this story, as does Darwin, Captain Cook, King George III, Mason and Dixon (of the very famous Line), and even the notorious Captain Bligh.But what exactly is the relevance of telling this story of a fundamental navigational problem that was solved over 200 years ago? In the era of GPS telling us how to drive the SUV three miles to the grocery store, how does this story continue to carry meaning? I wondered this going in, as I picked up this book on the hearty recommendations of colleagues. The answer comes immediately (and I won't spoil it), before Sobel even begins, with Neil Armstrong's surprisingly good introduction.It's hard to picture a man who would take years to build a single clock. The cable channels give us how-it's-made shows showing automated factories cranking out identical products to the tune of 100,000 per day, and it took Harrison five years to craft his first sea clock, just one device. The others, even with his growing experience and expertise, took even longer. This is testament to a man of patience, and a meticulous one at that (one of Sobel's asides is Harrison's writing style, with and an introductory sentence that runs on for 25 pages). Harrison's story also is testament to a world with no electricity, no instant communications, no television or Internet, where literacy remained the domain of the upper classes, and where there was precious little to do with non-work day unless you had a consuming passion. Sobel tells of selfless celestial observers dedicating decades of their lives to chronicling the positions of the sun, moon, and stars; their tedious devotion empowered the Western Hemisphere for rapid colonization, setting the stage for the Industrial Revolution, mass communication, and ironically the global marketplace.I found myself about halfway through the book taking note of what is NOT present in Sobel's book. This book is missing the overdone details and asides, the too common and too-long side- and backstories that many books of this type tend toward, where the main narrative loses its way or is buried in its related stories, as interesting as they may be. This is a good thing. This tale is not just the story of John Harrison, nor is it his biography. It is the story of the longitude problem, and it encompasses many disparate people and issues, but Sobel keeps it on-task, simple, straightforward and easy to follow. If you are looking for over-detailed obsession on every aspect of the story and copious academic notation, this is not the book for you. Sobel does, however, provide an extensive source listing and an index, making this book the perfect starting point for further detailed reading or research on the subject.Bottom line: I've been to London, but there are a number of sights there I have yet to see. This story and Sobel's eloquent, fanciful, even loving descriptions of Harrison's timepieces themselves (complete with color plates showing them) has added the Greenwich Observatory to my bucket list. Sobel's simple and compelling tale of how "time is longitude and longitude time" makes me want to straddle the prime meridian, with feet in both hemispheres, and see the timepieces that changed modern seafaring, literally making possible the world we know today.

I want to prelude my review by saying that this review is what I wrote for a book review assignment in my Maritime History class at UWF. I only got a 76% on the assignment, so don't attempt to copy/paste anything out - it won't do you a whole lot of good.Having said that, I do think what I wrote is likely good enough for a customer review on Amazon. :) Hopefully you find it helpful.The Illustrated Longitude by Dava Sorbel and William Andrews is a detailed book about the development of navigation through the discovery of calculating longitude. It was first published in 1998 by Walker Publishing Company, Inc, based in New York and sells for $32.95 in the United States. This book might be considered a second edition, even though it isn't labeled as such, because the first time it was published it apparently lacked the graphs, maps, charts, etc. that are found in abundance in this edition.Miss Sorbel and Mr. Andrews set out to describe to a presumably collegiate audience how the concept of longitude was developed and how one man, John Harrison, dared to defy the scientifically biased leaders and upper societal echelon of his day by developing a method of calculating longitude based on the mechanics of a watch rather than the passage of the night sky over the horizon. And that purpose is fulfilled in this 216-page text by colorful and captivating language, intriguing ideas, and a plethora of maps, charts, graphs, and pictures. Nearly every page has some sort of illustration on it, which enhances the reading and understanding of the point the authors are trying to make. The illustrations make it relatively easy to get into the mindset of the time.Miss Sorbel did include an appropriate amount of information for college-level study. She not only has good organizational skills, which she displayed by talking about subjects in chronological order as well as categorizing topics, but she did put that extra effort in to include as much detail about the history as she could.Her bibliography is as detailed as the text of the book itself and gives her work credibility. Looking at her bibliography, one can see that she uses contemporary sources as recent as 1996, as well as sources dating back to 1808. Using the newer sources shows that she is building upon the research and ideas of modern knowledge and thinkers; using the older sources gives her information, which is from a closer time period and mindset to when the events described actually took place, more authenticity.It is also refreshing to see her extensive use of maps, charts, graphs, etc. As was mentioned before, they are placed on nearly every page and they absolutely enhance the comprehensibility of the material. Without those images the things being described, whether they be maps or charts, astrolabes or compasses, time pieces or just a portrait of an individual being discussed would be nothing more than an abstract idea with nothing concrete to attach that idea to.Without a doubt, Dava Sorbel and William Andrews created a text worth reading. The Illustrated Longitude is full to the brim with interesting facts and an amazing history on a topic that many might not even realize is interesting until reading this book. But, with a colorful use of the English language, a detailed inclusion of historical data and a topic that inspires the imagination, this text is more than interesting. And, at only $32.95 it is less expensive, by as much as ten times, than the standard college text book.