Brian's Book Blog

In the 18th century, plenty of ships were lost at sea due to not knowing their longitude and either going massively off course, or hitting rocks and islands that appeared when sailors had veered off course.
The quest to find a means around this led to a large bounty being offered by various heads of state.

This book tells the tale of John Harrison, a carpenter by trade who started off making clocks in wood, with different woods chosen for their properties of strength or flexibility.
As he moved into metal clocks, and attempted to get his designs approved, the Royal Astronomer was leading with his own agenda of the stars being the clockwork universe and trying to also win the prize.

It didn't help that the astronomers were also on the board responsible for awarding the prize, and some skullduggery ensued to the detriment of Harrison's clocks.

A really interesting book looking at one mans obsession and overcoming the obstacles that were put in his way.