Latitude : the astonishing adventure that shaped the world
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Latitude : the astonishing adventure that shaped the world
(Penguin books)(Penguin non-fiction)
Penguin, 2022, c2021
- : [pbk.]
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Originally published: Penguin Michael Joseph, 2021
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Told for the very first time, this is the true story of the adventure that shaped the world . . .
'A thrilling story of courage, survival and science. It's an extraordinary, visceral and vivid read' Geographical Magazine
________
Three hundred years ago no one knew the true shape of the world.
It wasn't a sphere - but did it bulge at the equator or was it pointed at the poles? Until we found out no map could ever be truly accurate. So a team of scientists was sent to South America - to measure one full degree of latitude.
But South America was a land of erupting volcanoes, sodden rainforests, earthquakes, deadly diseases, tropical storms and violent unrest. And the misfit scientists had an unfortunate tendency to squander funds, fight duels, stumble into mutinies or die horribly.
The tale of their ten-year odyssey of exploration, discovery, flirtations with failure and ultimate triumph becomes in Nicholas Crane's hands the greatest scientific adventure story ever told.
________
'Pace, rigour and attention to enticing detail . . . Crane has a rare knack for showing people things without them having to get out of their chair' Joe Smith, director of The Royal Geographic society
by "Nielsen BookData"