Solving Longitude

During the Age of Sail, navigating the open ocean was a deadly game of guesswork. While calculating latitude was relatively straightforward using the stars, determining a ships longitude—its exact east-west position—remained an unsolved scientific mystery that cost thousands of sailors their lives on unseen reefs.
The intellectual establishment of the 18th century, led by eminent astronomers like Isaac Newton, was convinced the answer lay hidden in the complex mathematics of the cosmos. They vehemently rejected the notion that a mechanical device could keep accurate time on a pitching, temperature-shifting vessel for months at sea.
This book chronicles the grueling, decades-long struggle of John Harrison, an uneducated carpenter and clockmaker who dared to challenge the scientific elite. You will explore the incredible micro-engineering of his frictionless sea clocks, the bitter politics of the Longitude Board, and how his ultimate triumph forever altered global trade and naval supremacy.
Step into the workshop of a true underdog genius. By uncovering the mechanical secrets of the first marine chronometers, you will realize how the precise measurement of time ultimately mapped the modern world.