NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Two books on Sextants.
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2008 Dec 14, 15:20 -0000
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2008 Dec 14, 15:20 -0000
There are two books on sextants, new and forthcoming. The first one, "The Naked Nautical Sextant and its intimate anatomy", by Bill Morris, is an e-book, not available in print,. It's out already and you could have it in your stocking by Christmas. Probably a bit late, now, for getting the CD version by post, at $US 32.95, but a download of 12 Megabytes is available for $US 24.95. I've had a bit of involvement in its error-checking, which rather disqualifies me from doing a proper independent review, so all I will say is this- It deals with maritime sextants of all types and many makes, going into great detail about the way they are constructed and the techniques for overhaul, in a wholly practical manner. It will meet the needs of anyone who likes to tinker, as well as those who just like to know how things work and why. It's superbly illustrated by lots of high-definition colour pics, which can be seen on screen in more detail than would have been possible in a printed book. Nevertheless, as a devotee of the printed page, I prefer something to hold in my hand rather than read on a screen. Members of Navlist will by now be familiar with the well-informed postings of Bill Morris, who on email signs himself "engineer". You can find more details, and some interesting material from the book, on www.sextantbook.com ============================== The second work on sextants isn't out yet, but is promised for February. It's "Sextants at Greenwich", by W F J Morzer-Bruyns, and will be published by Oxford University Press, hardback, 336 pages. Willem has been working at Greenwich on their sextant collection for a couple of years, since retiring from the Amsterdam Maritime Museum. It's the biggest and best collection in the World, and Willem is well qualified to tackle it, describing each object. I'm looking forward to its appearance, but (here's the bad news) the publisher's price is �120, so I may have to read it in a library. George. contact George Huxtable, now at george@hux.me.uk or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222) or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc To post, email NavList@fer3.com To , email NavList-@fer3.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
