Longitude
Longitude by Dava Sobelby Dava Sobel and William J. H. Andrewes and Irene Aldasoro Katarain
Shares rank 28 of 51 history books by recommenders
Recommended as a readable account of the challenges of inventing maritime chronometers for measuring longitude, and a story of scientific resistance to the right answer.
Recommended as a readable account of the challenges of inventing maritime chronometers for measuring longitude, and a story of scientific resistance to the right answer.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Readable account of chronometer invention
“which is about the challenges of inventing and the first maritime chronometers for the purpose of accurately measuring longitude”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “The 500k-ton typo: Why data center copper math doesn't add up” “The book "Longitude" is fascinating, and discusses the challenges prior to chronometers”
Comment from 14 Jan 2026 in “Are two heads better than one?” Fun, fascinating read
“The book "Longitude" is fascinating, and discusses the challenges prior to chronometers”
Comment from 14 Jan 2026 in “Are two heads better than one?” “Iirc it was a fun read if anyone else finds that sort of thing interesting”
Comment from 19 Apr 2026 in “Game Devs Explain the Tricks Involved with Letting You Pause a Game” Scientific establishment resisting the right answer
“A story of how the scientific elite stalled progress because the right answer wasn't the one they hoped”
Comment from 19 Apr 2026 in “Game Devs Explain the Tricks Involved with Letting You Pause a Game”
Other history books people recommend
The four most recommended other history books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dawn of Everythingby David Graeber and David Wengrow | 23 | 5 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Cadillac Desertby Marc Reisner | 18 | 0 | 100% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Boxby Marc Levinson | 16 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Sapiensby Yuval Noah Harari | 13 | 9 | 59% | 8 | — | — |
| Longitudeby Dava Sobel and William J. H. Andrewes and Irene Aldasoro KatarainThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A story of how the scientific elite stalled progress because the right answer wasn't the one they hoped”
“Iirc it was a fun read if anyone else finds that sort of thing interesting”
“which is about the challenges of inventing and the first maritime chronometers for the purpose of accurately measuring longitude”
“The book "Longitude" is fascinating, and discusses the challenges prior to chronometers”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.