Longitude by Dava Sobel
Details
We take so much for granted. Few of us have ever thought about why and how sailors navigate without becoming lost the moment land is no longer in sight. In fact, prior to the 18th century, whole navies, thousands of lives, and great fortunes were lost because no one knew how to measure longitude. Here is the story of the growing need, the parliamentary offers of huge awards, the politics, the frustrations, and the eventual success of John Harrison. An unschooled woodworker, Harrison developed the chronometer, which was much criticized at the outset in part because competition for the princely rewards was so fierce. The interlocking histories of astronomy, clocks, and navigation reveal the significance of the problem to the seagoing world, the parallel efforts to find answers, and Harrison's drive for perfection and resolution.
11 copies in library system including PBS & BBC movies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mHC-Pf8-dU&t=432s 9 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHvt48S9l4w 3 hr BBC movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0zayk8mu3o 4 min review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlRxWJ_kGEA 66 min