Riddle Of The Compass, The

The Invention That Changed the World

By: AMIR D. ACZEL

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Paperback | 1 May 2002

At a Glance

Paperback
208 Pages

Edition Type
New edition

Dimensions(cm)
19.68 x 13.34 x 1.91

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The story of the compass is shrouded in mystery and myth, yet most will agree it begins around the time of the birth of Christ in ancient China. A mysterious lodestone whose powers affected metal was known to the Chinese emperor. When this piece of metal was suspended in water, it always pointed north. This unexplainable occurrence led to the stone's use in feng shui, the Chinese art of finding the right location. However, it was the Italians, more than a thousand years later, who discovered the ultimate destiny of the lodestone and unleashed its formidable powers. In Amalfi sometime in the twelfth century, the compass was born, crowning the Italians as the new rulers of the seas and heralding the onset of the modern world. Retracing the roots of the compass and sharing the fascinating story of navigation through the ages, The Riddle of the Compass is Aczel at his most entertaining and insightful.

Industry Reviews

"A compulsively readable investigation, as attracting as magnetic north." -Kirkus Reviews

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Preface	p. ix
Odyssey	p. 1
Signs in the Sea and Sky	p. 9
Dante	p. 29
The Etruscan Chandelier	p. 39
Amalfi	p. 53
The Ghost of Flavio Gioia	p. 63
Iron Fish, Lodestone Turtle	p. 77
Venice	p. 91
Marco Polo	p. 111
Charting the Mediterranean	p. 123
A Nautical Revolution	p. 133
Conclusion	p. 153
A Note on the Sources	p. 161
References	p. 165
Acknowledgments	p. 169
Index	p. 171
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Riddle Of The Compass, The

The Invention That Changed the World

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

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