A review by nwhyte
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1055454.html[return][return]Sobel's book is a simple biography of John Harrison and his efforts to build a practical chronometer for the purpose of calculating longitude. We get a great deal about the bureaucratic politics which Harrison had to deal with, at one point invoking King George III directly on his own behalf. It is an interesting enough tale, told well; Sobel succeeds in making the 18th century personalities appear just like us.[return][return]Having said that, I was not completely satisfied. Sobel's heroic portrait of Harrison makes little reference to religion and almost none to the wider impact of the longitude question on politics and vice versa; it is 'Whiggish' in that the "solution of the greatest scientific problem of his time" is presented as both desirable and ultimately inevitable. It is entertaining enough but not especially profound.