Dec 08, 2016 the science writer says that while researching her new book, the glass universe, she read fiction about the time period, such as the custom of the country and o pioneers. Its like writing one college term paper after another. Dava sobel has written a gem of a bookone of the best reads for the nonscientific writing to come along for many a moon. Financial times a true life thriller, jampacked with political intrigue, international warfare, personal feuds and financial skullduggery.
Dava sobel books, author biography, and reading level. Dava sobel is the bestselling author of longitude, galileos daughter, and the planets, coauthor of. The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest. Dava sobel, a former new york times science reporter, is the author of longitude walker 1995 and 2005, penguin 1996, galileos daughter walker 1999 and 2011, penguin 2000, the planets viking 2005, penguin 2006, a more perfect heaven walker bloomsbury 2011 and 2012, and the sun stood still bloomsbury, 2016 and the glass universe viking, 2016. After several years research and writing, im happy to report that the glass universe was published by viking in december 2016, and officially launched at an event in the old observatory building, among the halfmillion glass photographic plates still treasured by the harvardsmithsonian center for astrophysics. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by dava sobel longitude was first published in 1996, occupying a substantial portion of many a waterstones table around christmastime. I greatly enjoy the more indepth research required for booklength projects. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The book has endorsements from patrick obrien and neil armstrong, and a blurb that cheerfully describes the search for longitude as a true. How the ladies of the harvard observatory took the measure of the stars.
The illustrated longitude by dava sobel, william j. Sobel talked about the tragedies that followed with not finding longitude at sea and then the discoveries and trials that had occurred to find a final solution. Unlike parallels of latitude, which are fixed by nature, longitude is. The true story of a lone genius who solved the gre. Longitude by dava sobel, 9780007214228, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. A 1964 graduate of the bronx high school of science, ms. For example, the typesetter had inexplicably swapped. Now william andrewes, the man who organised and hosted the longitude symposium that inspired her book, has joined sobel to create a richly illustrated version of her classic story. The longitude problem was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the eighteenth century. Editor november 24, 2011 in books, dava sobel, english, scientific history leave a comment updated. Longitude and over 8 million other books are available for amazon kindle. When dava sobel s longitude was published to universal acclaim in 1996, readers voiced only one regret. Longitude by dava sobel was a book that explained in great detail the struggle to find longitude at sea and way it was so necessary.
Dava sobel s the glass universe will be available from viking in december 2016 with her bestsellers longitude and galileos daughter, dava sobel introduced readers to her rare gift for weaving complex scientific concepts into a compelling narrative. Through dava sobel s consummate skill, longitude will open a new window on our world for all who pdf read it. Even before the publication of longitude twentyfive years ago, i learned about a group of women who worked at the harvard college observatory in the nineteenth century, analyzing images of the stars to fantastic effect these ladies of pickerings harem aroused my curiosity, but i put them off while pursuing galileos daughter, exploring the planets, and turning copernicuss idea. Now global dimensions could be set, with authority, by the celestial spheres. When longitude first appeared in 1995, sobels lucid, insightful little book had a single imperfection.
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. Longitude is the story of english clockmaker john harrison and how he figured out how to track longitude, or the eastwest position of ships. The concluding chapter of longitude is a very touching account of her personal visit to zero longitude in greenwich where this writer also straddled that magic line embedded in the pavement. Awardwinning science writer dava sobel explores the great obsession of eighteenth century sciencethe longitude problemand how john harrison solved it. Ultimately, it also proves the point that genius or success my addition is one per cent inspiration and ninetynine per cent perspiration as edison. Numerous attentive readers took the trouble to write to me to point out typos or other errors in the text, which the publisher then corrected in subsequent editions. In 1714, englands parliament offered a reward to anyone whose method or device for measuring longitude proved successful. Dava sobel s longitude achieved bestselling status on the new york times nonfiction list in both hardcover and paperback. 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. Sobel details the quest to solve the longitude problem, blending biography with history. The problem of longitude was long regarded as unsolvable. Longitude isbn 97808027124 pdf epub dava sobel ebook. Praised by health care professionals and medical experts as one of the most valuable books on arthritis available and contains a 30day meal plan and advice on treatments, surgery, and exercise. When longitude first appeared in 1995, sobel s lucid, insightful little book had a single imperfection.
Sobel attended antioch college and the city college of new york before receiving her bachelor of arts degree from the state university of new york at binghamton in 1969. Full of heroism and chicanery, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking, and opens a new window on our world. I previously read dava sobels nonillustrated edition of longitude and was fascinated by the story she spun so when she teamed up with william andrewes for an ilustrated longitude i knew i was hooked. Former new york times reporter sobel coauthor, arthritis. Jeff howe is a professor of journalism at northeastern university in boston and a former nieman fellow at harvard. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time paperback october 30, 2007. The book has endorsements from patrick obrien and neil armstrong, and a blurb that. Longitude, by american writer dava sobel, is the true story of the quest to devise a reliable navigational instrument for sailors. The need for a clock which would accurately keep time while on a sea voyage in order to help mariners determine their longitude and thus accurately determine where they would land doesnt seem like it would be that exciting. The story of john longitude harrison disproves this. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading longitude. The illustrated version is a must for collectors, connoisseurs and historians alike.
The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time chapter 1. Sobel has written a short, superficial but informative book about the quest to discoverinvent a means of determining longitude at sea. Daily mail rarely have i enjoyed a book as much as dava sobel s longitude. At sea, there were no landmarks by which ones eastwest position could be tracked. Now sobel brings her full talents to bear on what is perhaps her most ambitious topic to datethe planets of our solar system.
Her books include longitude, about english clockmaker john harrison, and galileos daughter, about galileo s daughter maria celeste, and the glass universe. Indeed, the entire age of exploration was carried out without anyones ever knowing. The subtitle here tells the reader exactly what the book is about. She has an extraordinary gift of making difficult ideas clear. Dava sobel, a former new york times science reporter, is the author of longitude walker 1995 and 2005, penguin 1996, galileos daughter walker 1999, penguin 2000, the planets viking 2005, penguin 2006, and a more perfect heaven walkerbloomsbury, 2011. Dava sobel is an accomplished writer of popular expositions of scientific topics.
Dava sobel is a former science writer for the new york times, as well as contributor to audubon, discover, life, and omni magazines. The authors discoverybased on a nationwide survey of people with arthritisof the importance of nutrition in combatting arthritis pain puts relief within the reach of thousands. The true story of a lone genius who solved goodreads. The publication of longitude in 1995 and its unexpected success transformed me into a fulltime author of books. The book has endorsements from patrick obrien and neil armstrong, and a blurb that cheerfully describes the search for. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a bestselling book by dava sobel about john harrison, an 18thcentury clockmaker who created the first clock chronometer sufficiently accurate to be used to determine longitude at seaan important development in navigation. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time. Dava sobel has 26 books on goodreads with 231056 ratings. John harrison imagined a clock that would withstand pitch and roll. Rarely have i enjoyed a book as much as dava sobels longitude.
The true story of a lone genius who solved the great scientific problem of his time. It was the first nonfiction book, i think, that i really. About the author the publication of longitude in 1995 and its unexpected success transformed me into a fulltime author of books. The book was made into a television series entitled longitude. The science writer says that while researching her new book, the glass universe, she read fiction about the time period, such as the custom of the country and o pioneers. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by dava sobel. Dava sobel has written a beautiful book about a subject that in a lesser authors hands could have been exceedingly boring. Longitude is a book thats worth reading and rereading to learn how ideas can be turned into fact. November 28, 2011 most of us were born and grew up in the era when electronic items are of daytoday use, especially today when digital space is a huge presence in our professional as well as. Andrewes, the man who first invited her to write about the longitude symposium he was hosting in 1994 and thereby inspired what proved to be a surprisingly popular book. Well, clearly we didnt as dava sobels magnificent history bookscientific exposition is an account of how one lone genius went and solved the most gigantic scientific dilemma of his era no, not why cornflakes go soggy after you. Determining longitude was the superlative scientific question in the eigh. The book is called longitude because it is about a clock maker who was able to determine longitude. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a historical biography by dava sobel.
Dava sobel born june 15, 1947 is an american writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is a bestselling book by dava sobel about john harrison. Longitude was first published in 1996, occupying a substantial portion of many a waterstones table around christmastime. Dava sobel is an awardwinning former science reporter for the new york times and writes frequently about science for several magazines, including audubon, discover, life. The bestknown account of harrison and his sea clocks is undoubtedly still dava sobels 1995 book, longitude. Lacking the ability to measure longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea. The publication of longitude taught me that a book can actually improve by virtue of being read. Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest, and of harrisons fortyyear obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer.
The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time by dava sobel longitude was first published in 1996, occupying a substantial portion of many a waterstones table around christmas. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is written by dava sobel. Nov 17, 2011 dava sobel has written a gem of a book. First published in 1995 and nominated for the 1997 royal society science book prize, the book tells the story of one scientists lifelong journey to build the perfect chronometer. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time, dava sobel writes that the trick for. Daily mail rarely have i enjoyed a book as much as dava sobels longitude. When dava sobels longitude was published to universal acclaim in 1996, readers voiced only one regret. Part biography, part history, part scientific exploration, longitude relates the quest for an accurate way to determine longitude. Diane ackerman, author of a natural history of the senses the marine chronometer is a glorious and fascinating object, but it is not a simple one, and its explanation calls for a writer as skilled with words as the watchmakers were with their tools. Longitude is this thing which is about something being long and having attitude, if we remember correctly.
Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that the longitude problem was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day. I first read longitude, by dava sobel, just after i finished high school, and i devoured it in a sitting or two. The greek astronomers could measure latitude as early as the third century b. Dava sobel, a former new york times science reporter, is the author of longitude walker 1995 and 2005, penguin 1996, galileos daughter walker 1999, penguin 2000, the planets viking 2005, penguin 2006, and a more perfect heaven walkerbloomsbury, 2011 in her forty years as a science journalist she has written for many magazines, including audubon, discover, life. That it has done so speaks well for the reading public in this country. This is a popular history book, and as such does not have enough technical details of either the astronomical or mechanical approaches to the longitude problem for my taste. 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. Dava sobels longitude is januarys 1book140 pick the. In the early days of sail, mariners had no accurate means of determining their position at sea. Her books include longitude, about english clockmaker john harrison, and galileos daughter, about galileos daughter maria celeste, and the glass universe. Dava sobel s 1995 book first came without illustrations, but to meet reader demands, her publisher released the illustrated longitude. Dava sobel has written a gem of a book one of the best reads for the nonscientific writing to come along for many a moon. The image of the lone genius, prevailing against the odds to make a better world, is an attractive one.
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