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Last Updated on March 8, 2025 by Work In My Pajamas
Ahoy, fellow book adventurers! I’ve just wrapped up Book 2 of my 100-book challenge for 2025, and let me tell you—it was a short but fascinating ride. The book? Longitude by Dava Sobel.
Now, before you assume this is just a dry history lesson about clocks (yawn, right?), let me stop you there. This book is about one of the greatest underdog stories in history, featuring a self-taught genius, a high-stakes scientific mystery, and a bunch of grumpy sea captains who were very, very lost.
And since I’m reading this from a tiny Caribbean island full of seafaring souls and salty characters, it felt like the perfect pick. Also, let’s be honest—after a big, ambitious first book, I needed something shorter to trick myself into thinking I’m making progress.
In This Post:
So, What’s Longitude About?
Back in the 1700s, sailors had one major problem: they could figure out latitude (how far north or south they were), but longitude (east-west positioning) was a complete nightmare. Meaning, ships regularly veered off course, crashed into things, and sometimes just vanished into the abyss.
Enter John Harrison, a self-educated English clockmaker who, against all odds, built the first accurate marine chronometer—a device that changed navigation forever. The dude was basically the Steve Jobs of precision timekeeping, minus the turtleneck.
But, of course, the journey to success was riddled with obstacles:
⏳ The scientific elite didn’t take him seriously.
⏳ The Board of Longitude (a bunch of powdered-wig-wearing skeptics) kept moving the goalposts.
⏳ He had to prove his invention actually worked—out on the high seas.
The drama! The tension! The unrelenting pursuit of a timepiece that wouldn’t lose minutes in stormy conditions! This wasn’t just a story about clocks—it was about determination, genius, and proving the haters wrong.
Key Takeaways From Longitude
Accuracy Saves Lives – Before Harrison, sailors relied on celestial navigation and blind faith. A single mistake meant Oops! We crashed into an island!
Genius Can Come From Anywhere – John Harrison wasn’t an Oxford-trained scientist. He was a carpenter-turned-clockmaker with an obsession for precision. Moral of the story? Never underestimate the guy in his workshop.
The Establishment Always Hates Change – The scientific community clung to complicated lunar calculations, scoffing at the idea that a clock could solve the longitude problem. (Spoiler: It did.)
Persistence is Everything – Harrison spent decades perfecting his chronometers. And even when he succeeded, the British government still made him fight for his reward money. Bureaucracy: the real villain of history.
Want to See an H-1, H-2, H-3, or H-4 in Person?
Ah, you’re curious now, aren’t you? These legendary clocks—Harrison’s babies—still exist. But if you want to gaze upon them with your own two eyes, you’ll need to travel to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
Need help getting there? Contact thecasualnomad.com for travel reservations. Because what’s an adventure without a little jet-setting? ✈️
H-1 Was Supposed to Be Tested on the Essex… But Not That Essex
Now, let’s clear up a little maritime mix-up before some history buff throws me overboard. Yes, John Harrison’s first chronometer (H-1) was supposed to be tested on a ship called the Essex. No, this was not the same Essex that got body-slammed by an angry sperm whale and left its crew stranded in a real-life survival horror story.
Turns out, “Essex” was a pretty popular boat name back in the day—kind of like the “John Smith” of the high seas. The Essex that tested H-1 in 1736 was a sensible, drama-free British Navy ship, not the doomed American whaling vessel of 1820.
So, while Harrison’s clock was off proving that precise timekeeping could save sailors from getting lost, the other Essex was busy sailing into infamy, setting the stage for Moby-Dick and an absolutely terrifying tale of shipwreck and survival.
But hey, at least one Essex had a happy ending. ⏳⛵
Now, onto Book 3—where we’ll be diving headfirst into the wrong Essex and all the madness that followed. Stay tuned!
What’s Next?
Book 3: In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
⛵ More history, more adventure, and probably a lot more sea-related nightmares.
Got book recommendations? Thoughts on Longitude? Let’s chat in the comments! ️
