Tag Archives: History of Science

Dava Sobel’s popular little book (208 pages) is pretty much essential reading for any Scientific Tourist planning to visit Greenwich.  Even if you are not, or if you have already been, I think it is still worth picking up this intriguing, easy to read tale as background reading.*  At its heart, as the subtitle tells, is the story of a ‘little man’ struggling against the odds, and the opposition of some of the greatest scientific minds of his time, to solve a vital practical problem by sheer (and self-taught) engineering ingenuity. Greenwich and the Royal Observatory are central to this story, and you can still see the practical results, including the machines by which the problem was solved.  For more … Continue reading →