|
|
| book details |
Longitude
By (author) Dava Sobel
|
| on special |
normal price: R 350.95
Price: R 315.95
|
| book description |
The tenth anniversary edition of the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest: the search for the solution of how to calculate longitude and the unlikely triumph of an English genius. With a new Foreword by the celebrated astronaut Neil Armstrong. ‘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 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 quest for a solution had occupied scientists and their patrons for the better part of two centuries when, in 1714, Parliament upped the ante by offering a king’s ransom (£20,000) to anyone whose method or device proved successful. Countless quacks weighed in with preposterous suggestions. The scientific establishment throughout 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. Full of heroism and chicanery, brilliance and the absurd, LONGITUDE is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation and clockmaking.
| product details |
Normally shipped |
Publisher | HarperCollins Publishers
Published date | 5 Sep 2005
Language |
Format | Paperback / softback
Pages | 208
Dimensions | 198 x 129 x 14mm (L x W x H)
Weight | 160g
ISBN | 978-0-0072-1422-8
Readership Age |
BISAC | history / expeditions & discoveries
| other options |
Normally shipped |
Readership Age |
Normal Price | R 300.95
Price | R 270.95
| on special |
|
|
|
To view the items in your trolley please sign in.
| sign in |
|
|
|
| specials |
|
The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Learn how to recognise and resist the daily attempts to control and manipulate your mind.
|
The Thing at 52 is a beautiful picture book about friendship, loneliness and learning how to say goodbye.
|
With film rights snapped up by an Oscar winning Hollywood production company, rights sold in a world record 43 territories, and rave blurbs from David Baldacci, Lee Child and A.
|
|
|
|
