The story of one of the most important navigational instruments ever created, and the daring mariners who used it to explore, conquer, and map the world. A history for anyone who loves sailing an exploration. This is the story of an instrument that changed the world. In prose as crisp as the book's subject, David Barrie tells how and why the sextant was invented; how offshore navigators depended on it for their lives in wild and dangerous seas until the advent of GPS - and the sextant's vital role in the history of exploration. Much of the book is set amidst the waves of the Pacific Ocean as...