Sextant

Now softcover

Navigating the seas was an exceptionaly high-risk occupation because of lack of charts and ability to pin-point one's location. David Barrie (grandson of J.M. Barrie of "Peter Pan" fame) has written a very readable book without causing you to dread the excruciating details of the disaster tales. He intersperses the dozen plus historical figures and their treks, with his own voyage in the 1970s across the Atlantic. Entertaining as well as enlightening about the folks who charted the world. If you are a fan of Dava Sobel's fine book Longitude, odds are you'll be enjoiy this one, too. Pity that back in the day, our schools didn't help us understand world history in this manner. Hopefully they're better about it nowadays.

And, if you'd like a quick rundown on just how a sextant works, this short video is quite helpful.

For more on the topic, David suggests these videos hosted on YouTube.