Sextant: A Voyage Guided by the Stars and the Men Who Mapped the Worlds Oceans

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In the tradition of Dava Sobel's Longitude comes sailing expert David Barrie's compelling and dramatic tale of invention and discovery an eloquent elegy to one of the most important navigational instruments ever created, and the daring mariners who used it to explore, conquer, and map the world.
This is the dramatic story of an instrument that changed history. Built around David Barries own transatlantic passage using the very same navigational tools as Captain Cook, Sextant tells how one of the most vital navigational instruments was invented and used and why the golden age of celestial navigation has now come to an end. From Cook, Bligh and Vancouver to Bougainville, La Prouse, Flinders and FitzRoy, Barrie recounts the fortunes of the explorers who risked their lives in charting the Pacific, as well as the intrepid adventures of Slocum, Shackleton and Worsley. A heady mix of history, science and adventure, this elegy to a lost technology is infused with the wonder of discovery and the sublimity of the cosmos.

Reviews

As lovingly and painstakingly constructed as the navigators one irreplaceable talisman, this exquisite book is a hymn to a now-vanishing feature of maritime life, a finely-chased reminder of just how much we all owe to that one small piece of apparatus, its verniers and lenses kept secure in a mahogany box, closed by a hasp of brass Simon Winchester

Barries writing is exhilarating and suffused with a sense of adventure. A fascinating read Financial Times

What gives Sextant its special colour is Barries own experience as a sailor His book is an elegy for the days before GPS made simultaneous geniuses and idiots of us all He invites anyone near the sea, and above all on a boat, to turn away from their screens and look around Daily Express

A bracing historical tale The Times

An excellent present for anyone even vaguely interested in the
stars, or the history of exploration, or sailing small boats over
big oceans, or come to think of it anyone at all. And buy a copy
for yourself while youre about it Marine Quarterly

A joy to read one of the most interesting and enjoyable books Ive read in years Flying Fish, magazine of the Ocean Cruising Club

Author Bio

David Barrie was for many years in the Diplomatic Service, and has held many distinguished posts since then. He is a passionate and dedicated sailor and was inspired to write this book in homage to the remarkable people who brought celestial navigation to perfection, and to the generations of mariners who put the sextant to such good use in charting the worlds oceans. He lives in West London.