Find this book/person: biography of mathematician who loved early 1800s
July 11, 2018 4:51 PM Subscribe
I read a book when I was a kid that was a biography of a mathematician who lived during or after the US revolutionary war. Any ideas who that might have been or what the book would be?
The book told his life from early apprenticeship to a bookkeeper onward; he must have worked in a maritime arena because he became famous for double-checking all the calculations of tide, etc. in a widely used marine tide book or something like that. Bonus propaganda included a passage discussing the ideas of free speech and free trade. It was a hardback book with a mostly blue cover depicting a sailing ship at sea, pretty beat up so it might have been as old as the fifties.
The book told his life from early apprenticeship to a bookkeeper onward; he must have worked in a maritime arena because he became famous for double-checking all the calculations of tide, etc. in a widely used marine tide book or something like that. Bonus propaganda included a passage discussing the ideas of free speech and free trade. It was a hardback book with a mostly blue cover depicting a sailing ship at sea, pretty beat up so it might have been as old as the fifties.
Best answer: "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is a novel by Jean Lee Latham that was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1956. The book is a children's biography of Nathaniel Bowditch, a sailor and mathematician who published the mammoth and comprehensive reference work for seamen: The American Practical Navigator. It is an epic tale of adventure and learning."
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:59 PM on July 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:59 PM on July 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Response by poster: That is absolutely it. Thank you!
posted by bq at 6:38 PM on July 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bq at 6:38 PM on July 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Wow! That cover brought back so many memories. Thanks for asking the question, bq, and thanks for answering it, Iris Gambol!
posted by suedehead at 7:50 PM on July 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by suedehead at 7:50 PM on July 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
My favourite book as a kid. I have read it at least five times. Thanks for the memories!
posted by freethefeet at 11:13 PM on July 11, 2018
posted by freethefeet at 11:13 PM on July 11, 2018
WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME ABOUT THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS LITTLE? I read lots of books when I was a kid and I like math and adventures.
posted by madcaptenor at 11:33 AM on July 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by madcaptenor at 11:33 AM on July 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by madcaptenor at 5:23 PM on July 11, 2018 [1 favorite]