Latitude Hooks and Azimuth Rings: How to Build and Use 18 Traditional Navigational Instruments,   ISBN:9780070211209

Customer Rating: 

A nice intellectual journey.

Not much practical use unless you are stranded, have a wood shop, and need to navigate real quick like...

MJL

Customer Rating: 

I bought this as a gift for my boyfriend. We are both stargazers. This is really a cool book for the hobbiest, stargazer, and nauticalist. These are all working designs, but you DO NEED TOOLS!! Good Farther's Day gift ladies!

Customer Rating: 

As a medieval reenactor with a nautical persona, I bought this book to get some information on navigational instruments used in the Middle Ages. This book is a gold mine of information on making and using traditional navigational instruments. Although some of the instruments do not fit into my time of interest (Western Europe 1066-1603), most do, and the instructions on making and using them are good. The historical information is spotty,and some information does not agree with other sources that I consider reliable, but this is not intended as a history book, and the information it DOES provide on construction and use fills in a lot of gaps in other sources. This is a must-have book if you want to know how to make and use medieval navigational instruments.

Customer Rating: 

This is an interesting book for those who want to know a bit more about the history of navigational tools, by showing you how to build a few of them. Don't expect to build a high-precision instrument directly from the contents, but if you are looking for a book that will start you on the right path, then this is it.

Customer Rating: 

The Good: An excellent overview ancient navigational instruments. In addition to sundials, octants and compasses, Fisher covers such escoteric tools as the traverse board (used to track direction and ship speed), the weatherglass (early barometer), the kamal (arabian navigation tool) and the cross staff (predecessor to the octant).
The Bad: Very crude, hand-drawn illustrations and building plans. No photographs or contemporary illustrations of the actual instruments. Though it is clear that the author has made each of these instrument himself, the book even lacks photos of his own reconstructions. Many illustrations of critical parts are unclear and difficult to understand. The only saving grace is Fisher's excellent descriptions of the parts and the building process.

The Verdict: Though his concept, scope and research are excellent, the failure of the publisher to back Fisher up with quality illustrations, photographs, and professionally-drafted design plans prevents this from being the excellent book it could have been. While it is possible to actually build these tools, the process is more difficult that it should be due to the lack of quality plans.