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Title details for Sextant by David Barrie - Available

Sextant

by David Barrie
ebook
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Award–winning author David Barrie explores the history of the Sextant and the daring mariners who used it to explore, conquer, and map the world.
Since its invention in 1759, a mariner's most prized possession has been the sextant. A navigation tool that measures the angle between a celestial object and the horizon, the sextant allowed sailors to pinpoint their exact location at sea.
David Barrie chronicles the sextant's development and shows how it not only saved the lives of navigators in wild and dangerous seas, but played a pivotal role in their ability to map the globe. He synthesizes centuries of seafaring history and the brave sailors who have become legend, including James Cook, Matthew Flinders, Robert FitzRoy, Frank Worsley of the Endurance, and Joshua Slocum, the redoubtable old "lunarian" and first single-handed-round-the-world yachtsman. He also recounts his own maiden voyage, and insights gleaned from his experiences as a practiced seaman and navigator.
In the tradition of Dava Sobel's Longitude, David Barrie's compelling and dramatic tale of invention and discovery is an eloquent elegy to one of the most important navigational instruments ever created. Full of heroism, danger, and excitement, told with an infectious sense of wonder, Sextant examines a masterful achievement that changed the course of history.
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Publisher: HarperCollins

Kindle Book

  • Release date: November 21, 2023

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9780062279361
  • Release date: November 21, 2023

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9780062279361
  • File size: 6068 KB
  • Release date: November 21, 2023
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Formats

Kindle Book
OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

History Science Transportation Nonfiction

Languages

English

Award–winning author David Barrie explores the history of the Sextant and the daring mariners who used it to explore, conquer, and map the world.
Since its invention in 1759, a mariner's most prized possession has been the sextant. A navigation tool that measures the angle between a celestial object and the horizon, the sextant allowed sailors to pinpoint their exact location at sea.
David Barrie chronicles the sextant's development and shows how it not only saved the lives of navigators in wild and dangerous seas, but played a pivotal role in their ability to map the globe. He synthesizes centuries of seafaring history and the brave sailors who have become legend, including James Cook, Matthew Flinders, Robert FitzRoy, Frank Worsley of the Endurance, and Joshua Slocum, the redoubtable old "lunarian" and first single-handed-round-the-world yachtsman. He also recounts his own maiden voyage, and insights gleaned from his experiences as a practiced seaman and navigator.
In the tradition of Dava Sobel's Longitude, David Barrie's compelling and dramatic tale of invention and discovery is an eloquent elegy to one of the most important navigational instruments ever created. Full of heroism, danger, and excitement, told with an infectious sense of wonder, Sextant examines a masterful achievement that changed the course of history.
Expand title description text
History Science Transportation Nonfiction