Riddle of the Compass (Abridged) Audiobook

" Another excellent history of science/math and the world that brought it about and was changed by it. As is often the case, some of his diversions, while perhaps an attempt to paint a fuller historical picture, often end up contributing little more than making the book longer than it needs to be. Still, Aczel's research and presentation are a genuinely rewarding and should not be missed. "

" quick read - more like a thesis than anything else - but contained some interesting tidbits... "

" A brief history of the unknown origins of one the most important tools in human history. "

" Who knew that the story of a tool could be so compelling? "

" Fascinating topic but redundant and by pg 130, it didn't seem there was any further new information about the compass itself but, rather, about general navigation improvements. Easy reading. "

" Some fairly interesting information about the origin of the magnetic compass and its importance to navigation. Unfortunately, there's not actually a whole book of material here, so the author s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d his narrative almost to the breaking point. "

" This was a great read, describing how the compass was invented and how it changed the world. "

" so far, this is excellent! "

" some interesting things to pick up in the book - new views and info for me of sea-faring nations and their history. nothing earth-shattering in this but the history is engaging. "

" The history of the compass and its use across the world. The nautical wind rose compass began with the eight winds of the Mediterranean. Then the twelve winds of classical antiquity were added and ultimately the modern compass wind rose evolved. "

" A book about the invention of the compass. I only skimmed it lightly. "

" Somewhat dissapointing narrative of the history of the compass. Not terribly detailed or interesting. "

" A very short book. I think it could have been expanded into a much more interesting work with the addition of more details and insight into the research, but I expect a lot from my non-fiction. (And I like longer books). This just wasn't fleshed out enough to be a satisfying read. "

" not so much impressed with the depth of the material presented "

" Very good, full of lots of interesting historic facts. The compass is from China! I took some notes. Venice has a lot of interesting history, too. Napoleon took Venice without ever setting foot in it - because they let their Navy die. "

" I wavered between 2 and 3 stars for this book. Although the author did a decent job of covering the topic I thought the prose was very dry. I also thought the book had a lot of filler in order to make it longer. "

" Not nearly as interesting as I'd hoped. "

" Very interesting and easy historical read. "

" A quick and interesting read. "

" Way to much focus on the compass and no story. I learned a few things but the book was a bit of a drag. "

" Way to much focus on the compass and no story. I learned a few things but the book was a bit of a drag. "

" Very interesting and easy historical read. "

" not so much impressed with the depth of the material presented "

" quick read - more like a thesis than anything else - but contained some interesting tidbits... "

" Some fairly interesting information about the origin of the magnetic compass and its importance to navigation. Unfortunately, there's not actually a whole book of material here, so the author s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d his narrative almost to the breaking point. "

" Somewhat dissapointing narrative of the history of the compass. Not terribly detailed or interesting. "

" Very good, full of lots of interesting historic facts. The compass is from China! I took some notes. Venice has a lot of interesting history, too. Napoleon took Venice without ever setting foot in it - because they let their Navy die. "

" some interesting things to pick up in the book - new views and info for me of sea-faring nations and their history. nothing earth-shattering in this but the history is engaging. "

" This was a great read, describing how the compass was invented and how it changed the world. "

" Not nearly as interesting as I'd hoped. "