num_pages: 224
description: The thorniest scientific problem of the eighteenth century was how to determine longitude. Many thousands of lives had been lost at sea over the centuries due to the inability to determine an east-west position. This is the engrossing story of the clockmaker, John "Longitude" Harrison, who solved the problem that Newton and Galileo had failed to conquer, yet claimed only half the promised rich reward.
language: English
title: Longitude Illustrated Edition
titlecomplete: Longitude Illustrated Edition
genres: Technology, Historical, Biography, History Of Science, Science, Travel, Nonfiction, History, Geography, Popular Science
ratings_count: 69853
awards: awardedAt: 852105600000
name: Royal Society Science Book Prize
category: General Prize
publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd