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Title: The Illustrated Longitude by Dava Sobel, William J. H. Andrewes ISBN: 0-8027-7593-4 Publisher: Walker & Company Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.04 (26 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Great If You Can't See Harrison's Clocks in Person.
Comment: So as not to repeat myself and try the patience of those customers who have already read "Longitude", I will confine my comments to the additional material in the illustrated version. If you haven't read "Longitude", it's a great little book, and I refer you to reviews by myself and others on that book's page.
"The Illustrated Longitude" contains the entire original text of Dava Sobel's book, "Longitude", along with 178 illustrations provided by William J. H. Andrewes. Mr. Andrewes hosted the Longitude Symposium that inspired Dava Sobel's book and has himself published the annotated proceedings of the Symposium in his book entitled "The Quest for Longitude". The illustrations in this book consist of portraits of people and photographs of documents and instruments which are referenced in the text. The documents include maps, journals, pages of books, and official decrees. Nearly every major player in the Longitude drama is represented with at least one portrait. Most fascinating are the photographs of the time pieces, themselves. I found the illustrations to be only mildly interesting until I got to the discussion of John Harrison's longitude clocks. At this point, I was astonished to see how grand and beautiful H-1 was...and still is, and how small and elegant H-4 is in contrast. I found it difficult to picture Harrison's clocks while reading Dava Sobel's book, and the ability to see them in this illustrated version has left me even more impressed with Mr. Harrison's work. All of Harrison's clocks are represented with large color photographs, and many of the later copies of his works by Larcum Kendall, Thomas Mudge, John Arnold, and Thomas Earnshaw are also pictured. I wish there were more illustrations addressing the workings of Harrison's clocks, but that's probably a subject for another book. I recommend "The Illustrated Longitude" to fans of John Harrison's work and early chronometers who will not have the opportunity to see these incredible instruments in person.
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent read that improves on the original
Comment: Having bought and read "Longitude", the only lightly illustrated original hardback version, I wanted to know more about how the actual clocks worked, and I wanted to see them, without making a trans-Atlantic pilgrimage to Greenwich.
Hence, when I saw an illustrated version of "Longitude", I had to buy it. This book contains the original text, with no additions, except for the illustrations. The photographs are beautifully done, as is the printing.
My only hesitation in not awarding the book five stars is that I was hoping for one of two things; either an illustrated version of the original, with a couple of pictures of each chronometer, at a reasonable price, or a more detailed illustrated version, with more information on how the chronometers actually work. What we ended up with is a compromise. Beautiful pictures of the chronometers, but little extra detail of Harrison's marvelous inventions.
Still, an improvement on the original, which is an excellent book, one I have read several times. Highly recommended.
By the way, when I purchased this book, I donated my original version to the library.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Quest for Longitude
Comment: As some other reviewers noted, this book does not explain the technical details of Harrison's clocks. You cannot reproduce his marvels from this book, or even understand their intricate workings. The book simply touches on the names of the various inner-workings, and if you are that type of person, it assumes you know what that means. For those of you who wish to try, the last chapter explains that it took Rupert Gould 12 years to clean and return to working order Harrison's first four clocks! Granted, he had to re-manufacture some lost and broken parts, but he was working with state support, the original clocks and documentation - which wasn't very good, but for you he left behind much better documentation.
If you are looking for more technical information, you would be better served with William Andrew book "The Quest for Longitude" from the same symposium. If you are not a watchmaker and are looking for a "watchmaker lite" book on the history and challenges of navel timekeeping & location-finding, then I think this is the book for you.
Though Harrison is the main character of the book, much of the book focus on events, challenges and the historical landscape against which Harrison was working. There is not very much depth, but I guess this book touches on most of the major scientists and many important British naval figures from the mid 1500's to late 1700's. The story weaves together science, naval exploration and politics as they affected the quest for longitude.
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Title: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel ISBN: 0140258795 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1996 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: The Riddle of the Compass: The Invention That Changed the World by Amir D. Aczel ISBN: 0151005060 Publisher: Harcourt Pub. Date: 16 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title:Longitude ASIN: B00004U2K1 Publisher: A & E Home Video Pub. Date: 29 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $39.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $34.76 |
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Title: Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel ISBN: 0140280553 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 31 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Map That Changed the World : William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester ISBN: 0060931809 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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