The Man Who Made Time Travel

Written by Kathryn Lasky

Narrated by Cecelia Riddett

At sea, captains need to know their ships' location at all times or risk crashing into unseen dangers. Since people first took to the seas, the stars have been useful for measuring latitude-or position relative to north and south. But up until the 18th century, there was no accurate way to measure longitude-or position relative to east and west. Countless seamen were lost because they didn't know they had sailed into dangerous waters. To encourage the invention of an accurate method for measuring longitude, the British monarchy offered the Longitude Prize in 1714. Major scientists of the age-notably Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton-were convinced the only possible solution was mapping the heavens. But John Harrison, a clockmaker from a tiny village, thought differently. He was sure the answer was simply a matter of time. Over many years, he built a seafaring clock entirely from scratch. His design worked brilliantly, yet politics conspired to keep him from the prize he so rightly deserved. This fascinating book from Kathryn Lasky will interest children in science, math, and history through an accessible biography of a great innovator.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781470355890

Kathryn Lasky

Kathryn Lasky is a New York Times bestselling author of many children’s and young adult books, which include her Tangled in Time series; her bestselling series Guardians of Ga’Hoole, which was made into the Warner Bros. movie Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole; and her picture book Sugaring Time, awarded a Newbery Honor. She has twice won the National Jewish Book Award, for her novel The Night Journey and her picture book Marven of the Great North Woods. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband. kathrynlasky.com

Reviews for The Man Who Made Time Travel

[sarahclick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Summary:Back in the day, many ships were lost at sea because they didnt know where they were. Longitude was immeasurable and this made it hard to get across the ocean. Many sailors died and this had to end. In 1714 the Longitude Prize (20,000 pounds) was offered to anyone who could create a reliable way to measure Longitude. Many scientists attempted it but it came down to a clockmaker who came up with this concept that changed history. He made five designs and the last one was the best. He was never officially awarded the prize or named the winner, he did however, get the money.Personal Reaction:I liked this book because it was very interesting and my husband is in the Navy and spends a lot of time on ships. It was nice to see a piece of history, I only wish the man got credit for what he invented. Classroom Extension Ideas:1. Design your own clock and explain how it would work.2. Learn about coordinates and traveling on the sea

[eriksalvail · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was only 300 years ago, that ships where still having difficulty navigating the high seas, and were constantly getting lost due to not being able to triangulate their location with accurate longitude (east-west bearing). After a great tragedy at sea, Brittan set a large prize for anyone who could solve this problem. John Harrison, a simple carpenter made it his life's work to build a clock that could keep accurate time at sea, allowing distances to be measured by comparing them to Brittan's time. It takes his who life and several tries, but John is successful an has given the world what is now know as a chronometer. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning new things, and enjoying a good book.

[kthomp25 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting, not too long, explanations that make sense.

[carolynebegin · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is a book about the history of the clock and how it became so portable. The problem started out when sailors were not able to determine their position at sea. Was there an easy way to do so? There were many proposed solutions; many of which were absurd but a man named John Harrison decided that he could build a clock that would keep time even at sea. He was an uneducated young man and was not taken seriously at first but as he improved his model his clocks became more and more accurate. He was competing for a very large sum of money but it took him decades to receive his prize. Eventually he did and he is responsible for many explorers finding their way.I found this book a little dry. It was long but contained good information. The illustrations were not compelling and I barely noticed them although the ones at the end that showed the cocks in more detail were interesting. I feel like it could have been a very interesting subject had the author reduced the length but I am glad to have read it and learned the history behind the clocks that we now have. I had no idea!