- Authors
- Dava Sobel
Dava Sobel
A former New York Times science reporter, and the author of Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter, and Letters to Father.
Philosopher's Notes on Dava Sobel's Books
Longitude
by Dava Sobel
This book is “The True Story” of how, as per the sub-title, “a Lone Genius Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time.” (<- The “Longitude” problem!) It’s a wonderfully written book by Dava Sobel, who combines her background in both astronomy and psychology to give us a behind-the-scenes look at the science and history of time, longitude, and seafaring all wrapped up in one epic heroic quest. If you’re looking for a fun, quick-reading, mind-expanding escape from the normal self-development literature, I think you’ll enjoy this hero-tale as much as I did. Big Ideas we explore include: clocks and watches (and SUNDIALS!), time (as measured in heartbeats), longitude (vs. latitude), strengths (and weaknesses), encouraging a hero (how will you do so Today?!), Rome wasn’t built in a day (neither was anything awesome), elegant solutions (and the scientific establishment).