What do you think?
Rate this book
Compass: A Story of Exploration and Innovation
"The compass's rocky evolution is charted with an enthusiast's passion…A fascinating adventure." ―Bernadette Murphy, Los Angeles Times This is the rich history of the most important navigational device of all time, the magnetic compass, born of the need for a reliable means of negotiating treacherous sea routes around the globe. Compass chronicles the misadventures of those who attempted to perfect the instrument―so precious to sixteenth-century seamen that, by law, any man found tampering with one had his hand pinned to the mast with a dagger. Part history, part adventure, this book is a compelling tribute to human ingenuity―and the mysteries of the sea. 20 illustrations.
320 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
70 people are currently reading
448 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
February 3, 2020
This book was fascinating, even with maths being such an important topic throughout. I cheerfully admit that most of THAT went right over my head, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the history of something that I pretty much have never thought about.
I mean, compasses have always been around, right? They are something I have taken for granted. One of those nifty gadgets that have helped the world go round. I never knew just how much trouble a ship could get into because of a bad compass. So many wrecks, so many people drowned. All from trusting in faulty compasses and/or not understanding properly the magnetic properties of the world.
The author explains that his interest in this subject was triggered by two things: the research he did for a previous book, and the adventure of a certain yacht that was equipped with tons of high-tech equipment but not a single traditional compass. He describes in the prologue how this yacht went out on sea trials back in 1998 and on the first night on the water, all the wonderful toys went blank. Seems there was a defective switchboard that caused everything to fail. It was a cloudy night, no stars or moon visible. Did anyone know what to do?
Gurney used this incident to dive back into a condensed history of the development and refinement of the compass. We get to meet some of the men who were responsible for improvements in the design and function of the instrument, and most of all we get to be completely amazed time and time again at the problems that kept popping up.
I never knew about hard iron and soft iron or their affects on a ship's compass. I am still puzzling over just how it is that the simple act of building an iron ship actually turns it into a giant magnet; and forget about all those deviations! There was a need to compensate for this, that and the other all the time, and for many many years there were mysterious problems that many people were trying to solve.
We also get to finally completely understand the term 'master', which was an appointed post. The master was responsible for ..."the ship's navigation and the making of charts and sailing directions when sailing in strange waters". I always just assumed it was simply another term for a captain or commander.
As the jacket flap claims, "Even as he covers a thousand years of events, people, and ships, Gurney deftly keeps the story's pace exciting and the tone entertaining." In my opinion, he took what could have been a fairly dry subject and brought it to life. I am curious to see if he did the same in his other books, so his name is definitely going onto my Someday List.
I mean, compasses have always been around, right? They are something I have taken for granted. One of those nifty gadgets that have helped the world go round. I never knew just how much trouble a ship could get into because of a bad compass. So many wrecks, so many people drowned. All from trusting in faulty compasses and/or not understanding properly the magnetic properties of the world.
The author explains that his interest in this subject was triggered by two things: the research he did for a previous book, and the adventure of a certain yacht that was equipped with tons of high-tech equipment but not a single traditional compass. He describes in the prologue how this yacht went out on sea trials back in 1998 and on the first night on the water, all the wonderful toys went blank. Seems there was a defective switchboard that caused everything to fail. It was a cloudy night, no stars or moon visible. Did anyone know what to do?
Gurney used this incident to dive back into a condensed history of the development and refinement of the compass. We get to meet some of the men who were responsible for improvements in the design and function of the instrument, and most of all we get to be completely amazed time and time again at the problems that kept popping up.
I never knew about hard iron and soft iron or their affects on a ship's compass. I am still puzzling over just how it is that the simple act of building an iron ship actually turns it into a giant magnet; and forget about all those deviations! There was a need to compensate for this, that and the other all the time, and for many many years there were mysterious problems that many people were trying to solve.
We also get to finally completely understand the term 'master', which was an appointed post. The master was responsible for ..."the ship's navigation and the making of charts and sailing directions when sailing in strange waters". I always just assumed it was simply another term for a captain or commander.
As the jacket flap claims, "Even as he covers a thousand years of events, people, and ships, Gurney deftly keeps the story's pace exciting and the tone entertaining." In my opinion, he took what could have been a fairly dry subject and brought it to life. I am curious to see if he did the same in his other books, so his name is definitely going onto my Someday List.
March 9, 2017
As I have a strong interest in ships, the sea, and the compass in particular, I began reading this book more or less just on a lark—hoping to come away from it with at least a slightly better understanding of the tool’s use at sea and how it was invented and improved over time—but I was sadly expecting to end up wading through a lot of dry, complicated facts that I probably wouldn’t understand. What I got instead was an unexpected exciting jaunt through maritime history—not a lecture, but a story.
Compass is a series of true historical tales told through the lives of the visionaries and explorers who developed this ingenious navigational tool into what it is today. It’s a story of hardship and victory, adventure and study, failed experiments and successful invention, with many players coming and going as the plot goes on through the centuries, but always with the compass situated in the very center of the events—the inanimate protagonist in a real-life drama. And all of it is told in terms an amateur like me could immediately grasp and understand with very little trouble at all.
As someone who lives in a completely landlocked location and has no concrete knowledge of seafaring life, or even life near the coast, I don’t imagine I could manage to navigate a course across the ocean myself anytime soon after reading this book. I’d be an idiot to try. But I do have a firmer grasp of what an undertaking, accomplishment, and precious commodity this “soul of the ship” has been and still continues to be for those whose lives and livelihoods depend on it for direction as they sail the world’s oceans.
Compass is a series of true historical tales told through the lives of the visionaries and explorers who developed this ingenious navigational tool into what it is today. It’s a story of hardship and victory, adventure and study, failed experiments and successful invention, with many players coming and going as the plot goes on through the centuries, but always with the compass situated in the very center of the events—the inanimate protagonist in a real-life drama. And all of it is told in terms an amateur like me could immediately grasp and understand with very little trouble at all.
As someone who lives in a completely landlocked location and has no concrete knowledge of seafaring life, or even life near the coast, I don’t imagine I could manage to navigate a course across the ocean myself anytime soon after reading this book. I’d be an idiot to try. But I do have a firmer grasp of what an undertaking, accomplishment, and precious commodity this “soul of the ship” has been and still continues to be for those whose lives and livelihoods depend on it for direction as they sail the world’s oceans.
July 12, 2018
Más que "El compás" yo lo hubiera titulado "La brújula", pues es la palabra que más utilizamos para utilizar este aparatito. El libro trata de la historia de la naegación y los problemones que la raza humana ha tenido para guiarse en el mar sin tener nada a la vista. Los problemas de que el polo norte magnético no se corresponda con el geográfico, aún se hubiera podido resolver con tablas, pero hemos de sumar que los barcos metálicos se transforman en un imán que hace que la brújula se desvíe.
Y he aquí la historia de las ideas para que las brújulas fueran estables en temporales, las correcciones y desviaciones, las guerras, los científicos implicados (entre los que destacan Airy y lord Kelvin) y otros hombres apasionados del mar intentando resolver el problema.
Me da la sensación al acabar el el libro que, realmente, el problema de la brújula magnética en un barco no está 100% resuelto y se utilizan (o supongo utilizaban hasta el GPS) los girocompases. Vamos, un giroscopio que siempre apunte al norte y no nos hace falta magnetismo.
Recomendado a los apasionados del mar y su historia. Sería bueno, no obstante, estar algo empapado del lenguaje náutico, pues habla de jarcias, puños de pena y palos mayores y se queda tan tranquilo.
Y he aquí la historia de las ideas para que las brújulas fueran estables en temporales, las correcciones y desviaciones, las guerras, los científicos implicados (entre los que destacan Airy y lord Kelvin) y otros hombres apasionados del mar intentando resolver el problema.
Me da la sensación al acabar el el libro que, realmente, el problema de la brújula magnética en un barco no está 100% resuelto y se utilizan (o supongo utilizaban hasta el GPS) los girocompases. Vamos, un giroscopio que siempre apunte al norte y no nos hace falta magnetismo.
Recomendado a los apasionados del mar y su historia. Sería bueno, no obstante, estar algo empapado del lenguaje náutico, pues habla de jarcias, puños de pena y palos mayores y se queda tan tranquilo.
August 30, 2018
I should've paid more attention to the subtitle of this book. Foolishly, I thought this would be a book about the development, and technical challenges therein, of the compass. But it's really an excuse to dive into all the various personalities and historical clutter surrounding the development of the compass.
I liked learning how the compass was initially created and how it led to the discovery of magnetic variation and aided the development of our understanding of electricity and earth-as-magnet. I don't really need to know that there were playing cards with pictures of dudes digging for loadstones on them. And I definitely don't need an entire chapter devoted to explaining the origins, character, and ambitions of some quack of a compass entrepreneur.
And then there are the terms that go undefined by the author...and the lack of maps depicting relevant ship courses...and the convoluted sentences that end abruptly like staircases terminating in walls...and the muddled transitions that seem to exist purely to transition instead of assert anything meaningful...and the mis- and overuse of all forms of "irony"....
I really, really wanted to learn about the development and relevance of the compass, and what information on that topic I was able to extract from the text proved very interesting. But I am not going to waste any more time wading through all the irrelevant digressions and chortling but-did-you-also-knows to get to it. There has to be another way. ::insert compass pun here::
I liked learning how the compass was initially created and how it led to the discovery of magnetic variation and aided the development of our understanding of electricity and earth-as-magnet. I don't really need to know that there were playing cards with pictures of dudes digging for loadstones on them. And I definitely don't need an entire chapter devoted to explaining the origins, character, and ambitions of some quack of a compass entrepreneur.
And then there are the terms that go undefined by the author...and the lack of maps depicting relevant ship courses...and the convoluted sentences that end abruptly like staircases terminating in walls...and the muddled transitions that seem to exist purely to transition instead of assert anything meaningful...and the mis- and overuse of all forms of "irony"....
I really, really wanted to learn about the development and relevance of the compass, and what information on that topic I was able to extract from the text proved very interesting. But I am not going to waste any more time wading through all the irrelevant digressions and chortling but-did-you-also-knows to get to it. There has to be another way. ::insert compass pun here::
December 24, 2018
Easy to read but shallow and disappointing. In writing Sextant, David Barrie took frequent, somewhat technical digressions into the science of celestial navigation, because it was necessary for understanding the historical narrative of his subject.
Likewise, in Longitude, Dava Sobel had lengthy discussion of clock-making, because the ability to tell time accurately at sea was one of the big technology barriers that had to be overcome before the longitude problem could be solved.
But in Compass, the author waves off any technical digressions - even the important ones. The first half of the book is about discovering and mapping the magnetic variances that encircle the globe, but the process of measuring that variance is dismissed in a short parenthetical clause near the end of all that.
Most of the rest of the book deals with the need to compasses for the magnetism that exists in ships themselves - yet he never bothers to explain how the solution (corrector magnets) actually works.
The entire book, save the last chapter, is about “dry” compasses. He notes only in the last few pages that the liquid-filled compass was in use as early as the 1500s and in the 20th Century became the world’s standard.
Gyrocompass? He doesn’t even try to explain it - literally describes it as being something like a child’s gyroscope but complicated.
Azimuth compass gets a few extra paragraphs of attention.
It’s as though he’s afraid of - or doesn’t understand - the science behind his subject.
I don’t know how many histories of the compass there are, but after finishing this one, I don’t feel like I know much more than I did before.
Likewise, in Longitude, Dava Sobel had lengthy discussion of clock-making, because the ability to tell time accurately at sea was one of the big technology barriers that had to be overcome before the longitude problem could be solved.
But in Compass, the author waves off any technical digressions - even the important ones. The first half of the book is about discovering and mapping the magnetic variances that encircle the globe, but the process of measuring that variance is dismissed in a short parenthetical clause near the end of all that.
Most of the rest of the book deals with the need to compasses for the magnetism that exists in ships themselves - yet he never bothers to explain how the solution (corrector magnets) actually works.
The entire book, save the last chapter, is about “dry” compasses. He notes only in the last few pages that the liquid-filled compass was in use as early as the 1500s and in the 20th Century became the world’s standard.
Gyrocompass? He doesn’t even try to explain it - literally describes it as being something like a child’s gyroscope but complicated.
Azimuth compass gets a few extra paragraphs of attention.
It’s as though he’s afraid of - or doesn’t understand - the science behind his subject.
I don’t know how many histories of the compass there are, but after finishing this one, I don’t feel like I know much more than I did before.
September 3, 2024
I expected to like 'Compass' far more than I did. The subject matters, history of science, naval and maritime matters, etc. seemed to be up my alley. Bu alas, the book was a bit like an actual compass in stormy weather before they figured out how to isolate it from the motion of the sea ('dry' vs. 'wet' compass) and from the magnetic effects of iron, i.e. all over the place. I suppose Alan Gurney does a fairly nice overall job on history of this critical instrument but there were just way too many digressions into often irrelevant factoids or speculation. Did he really have (and need to elaborate) the entire menu for some of these shipboard banquets? Most of the early book is about magnetism itself and then about the so-called 'dry' compasses along with the key innovators, fairly interesting characters like Edmond Halley (who was a pretty good navigator it turns out), Gowin Knight, Matthew Flinders and William Thompson (aka Lord Kelvin). He notes only in the last few pages that the liquid-filled compass basically replaced the dry compass by the early 20th century and there is very little about subsequent modern compasses such as the gyrocompass. A fair amount is necessarily about the British Royal Navy and developments in maritime design. Interesting, but again he wanders. As I am starting to do! 2.5 stars, rounded up barely.
June 17, 2017
This book is interesting for its negative portrayal of William Thomson, who has a very high reputation as a versatile scientist (the SI unit of temperature is named for his peerage title, Kelvin). Here he comes across as a ruthless and blinkered businessman who refuses to acknowledge the lack of technical merit in the product he pushes, and thus apparently set back innovation and, worse, endangered lives at sea by the sheer force of his personality. I don't know how much to believe this: It could all be a natural process of the evolution of scientific knowledge.
_Compass_ is a natural companion to Dava Sobel's _Longitude_, which has its own exaggerated villain in Nevil Maskelyne, who I later learn seems to have been a genuine scientific mind after all. Strangely, both _Compass_ and _Longitude_ set the stage with the 1707 naval disaster at the Isles of Scilly, but where _Longitude_ says an accurate chronometer would have averted the tragedy, _Compass_ prefers an accurate compass. Ah, Time versus Direction: which is more crucial to how we negotiate our world?
_Compass_ is a natural companion to Dava Sobel's _Longitude_, which has its own exaggerated villain in Nevil Maskelyne, who I later learn seems to have been a genuine scientific mind after all. Strangely, both _Compass_ and _Longitude_ set the stage with the 1707 naval disaster at the Isles of Scilly, but where _Longitude_ says an accurate chronometer would have averted the tragedy, _Compass_ prefers an accurate compass. Ah, Time versus Direction: which is more crucial to how we negotiate our world?
February 17, 2017
This book had a multitude of facts on navigation that I have never heard and had no idea that ships had to perform. Some of this held my interest but I really wanted more. If you have a love of ships and the history of navigation this book is for you. I had did not realize how many forgotten skills and bits of knowledge that so many of us have left behind due to our use of technology. I appreciated this book at times abstractly because I do not sail, and for the trivia that the technology of sailing provided society. Sailing in its glory days was the NASA technology we have today. This was a good read.
Mr. Joe
Mr. Joe
February 16, 2019
Nicely presented and very readable, but there are times that I was glad to be able to access a dictionary electronically through Kindle.
I was surprised at the relative recentness of a settlement on what compass to use for ships at sea. I was born in the first half of the 20th century and have sailed for quite a few years, using a compass that I didn't realize had a complicated history, whose perfection was still be argued about during my childhood. By the time I started sailing, a good and trusted compass was a given.
Not only is this a good book for those that like to understand the inner workings of the tools in our lives, but a good read for those that like a good story.
I was surprised at the relative recentness of a settlement on what compass to use for ships at sea. I was born in the first half of the 20th century and have sailed for quite a few years, using a compass that I didn't realize had a complicated history, whose perfection was still be argued about during my childhood. By the time I started sailing, a good and trusted compass was a given.
Not only is this a good book for those that like to understand the inner workings of the tools in our lives, but a good read for those that like a good story.
January 22, 2023
This was a fascinating book, and I enjoyed learning not only about the marine compass but also quite a bit of naval history as well. Gurney makes use of several fun and interesting stories to add some spice and context when describing each step in the development of the compass. He also goes into great detail when illustrating the trouble it took for the admiralty to notice and adopt each improvement. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in naval history or navigation.
April 19, 2019
3.5 stars
A fascinating look at one of the world's most important inventions. At times I would have benefited from pictures or diagrams to show the differences between different styles, but otherwise a good audiobook. Recommended for people interested in the subject matter. Others would probably find it dry.
A fascinating look at one of the world's most important inventions. At times I would have benefited from pictures or diagrams to show the differences between different styles, but otherwise a good audiobook. Recommended for people interested in the subject matter. Others would probably find it dry.
January 15, 2025
It was on my bookshelf so clearly something had interested me in the past but I have no idea what. If you’re intrigued by technological advancements and being reminded how we continue to stumble through the same clumsy steps with each technical step forward then read away. It’s well written, doesn’t ramble or get lost in unrelated tangents and is relatively short.
December 7, 2018
Good history of a simple instrument most of us take for granted. I would have liked to see the story continued to modern aircraft compasses. Also saw little discussion of using celestial to calculate deviation. Aircraft navigators did that and I believe marine navigators must have also.
March 14, 2019
Unique reading
Unique hisTorical reading. It shows the challenges of developing an d navigating with the compass. As with other books, the author will not end the book when he should, so he keeps writing boring the reader.
Unique hisTorical reading. It shows the challenges of developing an d navigating with the compass. As with other books, the author will not end the book when he should, so he keeps writing boring the reader.
April 8, 2019
Really enjoyable. I am from a family of fishermen, and have spent a good bit of time at sea on various sized ships, so this kind of subject strongly interests me. Very readable and entertaining.
Liked it a lot.
Liked it a lot.
July 5, 2019
Excellence in Navigationsal history
This is a brilliant examination of the history of the compass and its impact on sailing. This edition is worthy of careful reading. Sailors will love this book.
This is a brilliant examination of the history of the compass and its impact on sailing. This edition is worthy of careful reading. Sailors will love this book.
November 18, 2018
A very enlightened view of the compass and what the seafarers went through to stay safe on the high seas. Must read if your interests are leaning towards the seas.
December 3, 2018
Gave it a good effort by was distracted by too many seemingly random stories plunked down to make the book longer, I guess.
Didn't waste time trying to read through to the end.
Didn't waste time trying to read through to the end.
June 15, 2010
"Compass" tells the impressive story of the development of the marine magnetic compass, starting at about 1187 AD and going into modern times. The movement of the ship and the iron used in building the ship, in ship-board weapons, and in items stored on board caused no end of havoc to the magnetic compass' ability to correctly point toward magnetic north. As ship building techniques changed, new ways of correcting for these problems had to be devised. This book described these developments as well as scientific sea-voyages done to discover what the source of these problems was and some information about other methods of marine navigation. Some of this information overlapped a bit with the story told in "Longitude" by Dava Sobel.
There were some black and white illustrations--mainly of the various compass types and maps related to the solving of the compass deviation problem. Since details about the scientific (compass-focused) voyages were included, it would have been nice to have a map showing the route of these voyages. However, I could generally follow the route described without a map.
The author assumed the reader had a certain familiarity with ships and the sea, so he would define those terms only once and not very clearly. The book also focused on the developments in the compass from the perspective of Britain, only briefly mentioning what the rest of the world was doing with compasses.
The book was written in a conversational style and, overall, I found the book enjoyable and well-written. It seemed aimed toward people who use a marine compass--to increase their appreciation for it--but the book will probably also appeal to those who read and enjoyed "Longitude" and to those who like reading about how different technologies have developed.
There were some black and white illustrations--mainly of the various compass types and maps related to the solving of the compass deviation problem. Since details about the scientific (compass-focused) voyages were included, it would have been nice to have a map showing the route of these voyages. However, I could generally follow the route described without a map.
The author assumed the reader had a certain familiarity with ships and the sea, so he would define those terms only once and not very clearly. The book also focused on the developments in the compass from the perspective of Britain, only briefly mentioning what the rest of the world was doing with compasses.
The book was written in a conversational style and, overall, I found the book enjoyable and well-written. It seemed aimed toward people who use a marine compass--to increase their appreciation for it--but the book will probably also appeal to those who read and enjoyed "Longitude" and to those who like reading about how different technologies have developed.
October 21, 2011
A lively history of the navigator’s basic tool, Compass tells a surprising story, which doubles as a parable about safety in general. In spite of its obvious usefulness, it took centuries for the simple instrument to gain perfection, with government navies the primary drag on accepting innovation. Only a mass tragedy would spur officials to implement obvious improvements in use and construction of the device.
The more things change, the more they remain the same…
On a personal note, sailing offshore, beyond sight of land and under dark of night, guided only by a compass is a near spiritual experience. It’s a rare chance to feel in harmony with nature, driven by wind, carried by sea and following the compass rose, its revelation of the earth’s magnetic force showing the way. The memory gives me chills…
The more things change, the more they remain the same…
On a personal note, sailing offshore, beyond sight of land and under dark of night, guided only by a compass is a near spiritual experience. It’s a rare chance to feel in harmony with nature, driven by wind, carried by sea and following the compass rose, its revelation of the earth’s magnetic force showing the way. The memory gives me chills…
July 12, 2014
I love books that combine history and science especially of objects that have become a huge part of daily life. Compass covered a lot of what I ask for in a book of this type, Gurney's research was good and he followed the various twists and turns of the compass. The writing though was at times a little weak because I would get slightly turned about in terms of what happened first and why something happened. Also I found it disappointing how the story was so focused on the European compass and felt like it was going over a lot of history. I know that the history of navigation is a complex one, but I would have preferred more background instead of such a narrow view. An interesting book for those who are curious about how the compass came to be, but it doesn't paint a full picture of navigation.
September 6, 2009
You have to have a liking for details but Gurney starts out with a contemporary anecdote of what a modern ship encounters when its electronic compass fails and then recounts how the Chinese, peoples of the Mediterranean and the North Sea have innovated and explored. There are triumphs and tragedies with this "child" of the lodestone. One of the best sections is contained in the chapter on Edmund Halley who is not as famous for his life work with enhancing the use of the compass, but should be!
If you have gone camping, or sailing out of sight of the coast, or used your GPS, you will enjoy how Gurney tells the story of how we got to today's technology and how essential it is to modern life.
If you have gone camping, or sailing out of sight of the coast, or used your GPS, you will enjoy how Gurney tells the story of how we got to today's technology and how essential it is to modern life.
August 12, 2011
Thought this might be a dry, boring document about the history of the compass. It was not! The book starts out with a true story of a multi-million dollar yacht setting out from the east coast of the US on the Atlantic Ocean only to have all of its multi-million dollar gizmos dependent on electricity go awry .. with no backups. One person on board knew how to navigate based on wind alone and brought them back to the US safe to harbor.
The history of the currently used compass (several versions of them) is frought with mathematical and political and financial issues. Yet it is one of the most important devices on board any boat today .. along with a depthsounder. If you aren't a boater or aren't into mathematics, this book might be tedious. I loved it.
The history of the currently used compass (several versions of them) is frought with mathematical and political and financial issues. Yet it is one of the most important devices on board any boat today .. along with a depthsounder. If you aren't a boater or aren't into mathematics, this book might be tedious. I loved it.
March 11, 2015
Compass is a fascinating and comprehensive (albeit Anglo-centric) history on the evolution of the marine compass. The book identifies the key players and the role that politics sometimes played in the improvements and adaptations of the standard compass. It also covers the role that the design of the compass had on naval history and ship-building advancement. The book is peppered with entertaining trivia in the form of anecdotes and influences from and on history of the imperial naval powers of their days. Finally, for a potentially dry topic and subject matter, the writing and content is continually riveting and enlightening.
May 2, 2014
I'm not into navigation or sailing and only picked this up as looked interesting in a holiday home bookshelf but I'm very glad I did. the first two thirds or so is filled with superbly told stories of many notable figures (Halley, Cook, Flinders) who contributed to the evolution of the compass. I couldn't get enough of this. unfortunately I felt the last portion of the book fell off somewhat as it got more into the technical side of how compasses got to where they are today.
overall an excellent read and I will be looking for more from the same author.
overall an excellent read and I will be looking for more from the same author.
April 29, 2016
It dragged a bit at first with a lot of minuscule details that didn't seem as applicable, but the last third of the book was great making it a solid 3.5 stars. The best lesson from the book is how technology develops and the challenges of personal and political pride vs good science. Unfortunately this is one of many instances where that pride cost a few people their lives with ships that now lie at the bottom of the sea.
Overall a very good and very quick read. Great if stuff like this intrigues you or if you are someone who likes to spend time on the open water.
Overall a very good and very quick read. Great if stuff like this intrigues you or if you are someone who likes to spend time on the open water.
February 21, 2015
Fróðleg frásögn um mikilvægi áttavitans fyrir siglingar, hve hættulegt var að sigla án hans og hve erfitt var að þróa áttavitann svo hann væri hárréttur. Skekkjur vegna áttavita kostuðu ótal mannslíf og mikil verðmæti. Því var mikið kapp lagt á að þróa þennan siglingabúnað en misvitrir aðilar lögðu hönd á plóginn, sumir þeirra höfðu umfram allt meira egó og sölumennsku en gáfur og ekki hjálpaði t.a.m. skrifræði breska sjóhersins við að taka bætta tækni til notkunar.
December 3, 2010
I listened to the audiobook, checked out from my local library, while on a car trip. There's lots of information presented in this book, which gets a little tedious at times, but Gurney does a fairly good job of interspersing interesting anecdotes into his narrative. I don't reccomend it for everyone, but those interested in nautical stories and physics will enjoy it.
December 3, 2011
This book gives the history, not so much of how the compass was invented, but of how it was perfected. It is pretty technical but the author has a good eye for the interesting and he includes many ancedotes. One lesson I learned is that even good governments, like Britain, are hampered by bureaucracy, inefficiency and cronyism.
May 18, 2013
A highly readable account of the development of the compass (and other navigational methods) from ancient to modern times. The author did a fine job explaining the science to a lay-person (should I say lubber?) like me, but what really made the book a delight was the number of anecdotes and biographical tidbits included.
An excellent start to my "Age of Exploration" summer.
An excellent start to my "Age of Exploration" summer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews