Are you into History - well, Im not, except about certain things that interest me. I couldnt care less about the history of corsets, electronic computers, the internet, or Greenpeace. Nor do I fondle books of farming, dentistry, book-keeping, or knitting. However, nautical history (outside of war statistics) tickles me pink, as well as a few other subjects of historical interest; such as the history of the paper-clip.
Last night I began to read A HISTORY OF NAUTICAL ASTRONOMY, by Charles H Cotter, 1968. I only made it to page 24 before I fell asleep, but I found myself still thinking about what I read as I awoke this morning. The book starts with the Babylonians and Phoenicians in easily digestible morsels, then continues on with science, instrumentation, and methodology from a historical perspective (from the contents page). The author is English or Scottish which makes the book a bit dry, so to compensate I just imagine the reader in my head has an English accent and the reading goes well.
I think it will be such a good read that I thought to tell you about it now so that if any of you decide to read the book as well, we can discuss it here in the forum. Anyway, the book is free as a download at my favorite library website - Survivor Library. Here is the book pdf (the download is automatic). I found it in the Astronomy section.
There are hundreds of other titles in a few dozen categories there at the SL. Take a look; if history isnt for you there are plenty of other enticing subjects to wet your whistle. By the way, I was just teasing about the paper-clip.
joe
Last night I began to read A HISTORY OF NAUTICAL ASTRONOMY, by Charles H Cotter, 1968. I only made it to page 24 before I fell asleep, but I found myself still thinking about what I read as I awoke this morning. The book starts with the Babylonians and Phoenicians in easily digestible morsels, then continues on with science, instrumentation, and methodology from a historical perspective (from the contents page). The author is English or Scottish which makes the book a bit dry, so to compensate I just imagine the reader in my head has an English accent and the reading goes well.
I think it will be such a good read that I thought to tell you about it now so that if any of you decide to read the book as well, we can discuss it here in the forum. Anyway, the book is free as a download at my favorite library website - Survivor Library. Here is the book pdf (the download is automatic). I found it in the Astronomy section.
There are hundreds of other titles in a few dozen categories there at the SL. Take a look; if history isnt for you there are plenty of other enticing subjects to wet your whistle. By the way, I was just teasing about the paper-clip.
joe
