Astronomical Minds

Description

ASTRONOMICAL MINDS -THE TRUE LONGITUDE STORY
by Ted Gerrard

A hitherto untold true story of English 17th century scientific infighting and political intrigue which was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Negro slaves and resulted in the infamous ‘Shovell’ disaster of 1707 and loss of 2000 English seamen. Isaac Newton’s unknown secret invention of 1696 -Edmond Halley’s determination of longitude on the high seas in 1699 -Christopher Wren’s 1714 blackmail cipher – and a great deal more.

The unlikely thread that weaves its way through this book is the invisible track of our Moon as it slips slowly backwards against the “fixed” backdrop of stars.

The book is a riveting read, written by an experienced navigator, not by an historian confined to a library. SC, 2007, 268 pgs. SW 0.9 lbs.