TY  - BOOK
AU  - Sobel,Dava
TI  - Longitude: the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time 
SN  - 0802713122
PY  - 1995///
CY  - New York
PB  - Walker
KW  - Harrison, John,
KW  - Longitude
KW  - Measurement
KW  - History
KW  - Chronometers
KW  - Clock and watch makers
KW  - Great Britain
KW  - Biography
KW  - BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Science & Technology
KW  - bisacsh
KW  - fast
KW  - United Kingdom
KW  - Harrison longitude
KW  - Navigation
KW  - Marine Chronometer
KW  - Biographies
KW  - lcgft
N1  - Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-180) and index; Imaginary lines -- The sea before time -- Adrift in a clockwork universe -- Time in a bottle -- Powder of sympathy -- The prize -- Cogmarker's journal -- The grasshopper goes to sea -- Hands on heaven's clock -- The diamond timekeeper -- Trial by fire and water -- A tale of two portraits -- The second voyage of captain James Cook -- The mass production of genius -- In the meridian courtyard
N2  - 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, and 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
ER  -