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The Riddle of the Compass: The Invention That Changed the World
by Amir D. Aczel
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- VG/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 0151005060
- ISBN 13
- 9780151005062
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
Sometimes it pays to be in the right place at the right time. Certainly the mariners in Amalfi in the twelfth century were. Here the compass was first invented and used in navigation, eventually helping to make Italians the world's greatest sailors. But the story of the compass is shrouded in mystery and myth. It begins in ancient China around the birth of Christ. A mysterious lodestone whose powers affected metal was known to the Emperor. This piece of metal suspended in water always pointed north and was put to excellent use in feng shui, the Chinese art of finding the right location. However, it was the Italians who unleashed the compass's formidable powers on ships at sea. Throughout the ancient world, sailors navigated by wind, and stars, and the routes of migrating birds, but bad weather and winter storms impeded their travels. When the compass migrated to Italy, the modern world began: Venice, trade with the East, the Age of Discovery. The compass made it all possible, and this is its fascinating story.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Magus Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1044953
- Title
- The Riddle of the Compass: The Invention That Changed the World
- Author
- Amir D. Aczel
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - VG
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- ISBN 10
- 0151005060
- ISBN 13
- 9780151005062
- Publisher
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- August 2001
- Pages
- 240
Terms of Sale
Magus Books
Please call 206-633-1800 or email magus@seanet.com with questions regarding any item or order. We accept payment by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and check. All items may be returned within one week of receipt if not as described for full refund of purchase price with prior notification. All items will be shipped within 3 business days of receipt of order via USPS media mail. Shipping costs are based on items weighing 1 kg (2.2 US lbs.) or less. International orders and expedited shipping may be charged extra for larger items. Orders shipped within the state of WA will be charged local sales tax. No dealer discounts for online sales.
About the Seller
Magus Books
About Magus Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Price Clipped
- When a book is described as price-clipped, it indicates that the portion of the dust jacket flap that has the publisher's...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...