NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Charles Cotter's "History of Nautical Astronomy"
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2003 Mar 25, 09:20 +0000
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2003 Mar 25, 09:20 +0000
Bill Allen said- >Hi guys, > >A while back several of us were trying to get hold of a copy of Charles >Cotter's classic book on celestial navigation techniques, entitled "A >History of Nautical Astronomny." I have arranged to get copies of this >book and if anyone is still interested in a copy, they should contact me >privately on my email address: > >allen@globemarkets.com > >It really is a fantastic book and puts into perspective all of the >different techniques of celestial navigation. > >Bill Allen ================== Comment from George- That's really interesting news. I agree with Bill Allen's evaluation of the book. It's long out of print, and very hard to find now on the secondhand market. It goes deeply into its subject, so readers have to be prepared to cope with some trigonometry. Most satisfying as a book to have on your shelf. Mine gets taken down often, and has no time to gather dust. However, it's somewhat marred by a prevalence of errors and misprints. With Jan Kalivoda's help I have listed those errors I know about in a posting on this list dated 8 Jan 03, subject: "Errors in Cotter's book, updated", which should be findable on the list's archive. If anyone asks, I will repost it. It lists some passages that are obviously wrong, and others that the reader should treat with suspicion. I have discovered no more errors since, but I understand that Jan has, and I hope that between us we can agree on posting a further update to the Nav-Llist before very long. Because we have found such a number, I have little doubt others must remain, lurking undetected, so far. I urge any reader discovering or suspecting further errors to contact me, or Jan, or post directly to the list. Certainly, these problems detract from the usefulness of Cotter's book, and it's a shame that he wasn't more careful. It seems to have been put together in rather a hurry. However, such errors are neutralised once they're known about, and I suggest to any owner or reader of Cotter that he prints those pages off and slips them into the book, as I have. In spite of these faults, Cotter's book is a wonderful compilation of stuff you won't find anywhere else, and I urge readers of this list to take up Bill's offer. To avoid confusion, be aware that Cotter wrote several other books, including a history of the navigator's sextant, coastal navigation, oceanography. We are referring here to "A History of Nautical Astronomy". George Huxtable. ================================================================ contact George Huxtable by email at george@huxtable.u-net.com, by phone at 01865 820222 (from outside UK, +44 1865 820222), or by mail at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK. ================================================================