Compass; A Story of Exploration and Innovation

Gurney, Alan

276 ratings by Goodreads

Language: English

Published by W. W. Norton & Company, 2004

0393050734 / 9780393050738

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Seller: BWS BKS, Ferndale, NY, U.S.A.BWS BKS

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The fascinating and disaster-strewn history of the search to perfect the essential navigational device. This book chronicles the misadventures of those who attempted to perfect the compass, an instrument so precious to sixteenth-century seamen that, by law, any man found tampering with it had his hand pinned to the mast with a dagger. From the time man first took to the seas until only one thousand years ago, sight and winds were the sailor's only navigational aids. It was not until the development of the compass that maps and charts could be used with any accuracy—even so, it would be hundreds of years and thousands of shipwrecks before the marvelous instrument was perfected. And its history up to modern times is filled with the stories of disasters that befell sailors who misused it. In this wonderfully written book, Alan Gurney brings to life the instrument Victor Hugo called "the soul of the ship.".

Seller Inventory # 83327

Title
Compass; A Story of Exploration and Innovation
Author
Gurney, Alan
Publisher
W. W. Norton & Company
Publication year
2004
Condition
New
Binding
Hardcover
Language
English
ISBN 10
0393050734
ISBN 13
9780393050738

BWS BKS

Ferndale, NY, U.S.A.

2-star seller

AbeBooks seller since June 4, 2026

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