Longitude

About the book

Book author: Dava Sobel

This is the story of John Harrison, a self-learned horologist (but really a carpenter), and how he solved the longitude problem, considered impossible at the time.

He built the first accurate clocks and started a revolution, and is arguably responsible for huge portions of Great Britain’s former nautical glory. He chased a prize worth a king’s ransom (millions of dollars today).

The story is toxic due to politics and egos. While he had built this machine, the leading scientists (some of them were the judges of the prize) screwed him over time and time again.

Reflection and takeaways

I really liked this book. I could relate a lot with Harrison. He’s a tinkerer. He built clocks for the love of the game.

And it was enraging to discover how corrupt these people were in the Board of Longitude. They kept changing the rules to stall for more time to develop their own theories. They were astronomers really pushing for the lunar methods, and one of them even wanted to claim the prize for himself. They held the proof in their hands, but screwed him. I don’t know if Harrison turned bitter or not. The book doesn’t hint that he did, but boy, it must have sucked. He toiled for 40 years. And thousands probably died at sea due to the pettiness of these “scientists”. It reveals a side of humanity that I do not like.

But what makes me happy is that he kept doing it. He didn’t need the credit, although it would certainly have helped. He chased perfection in his clocks. And his magnum opus, the H4, actually worked.

Why did I pick it

Recommended to me.

Verdict

4.0 /5. The real story was great, but that doesn’t mean the writer is great (but he was good though).