David Barrie was for many years in the Diplomatic Service, and has held many distinguished posts since then. He is a passionate and dedicated sailor and was inspired to write this book in homage to the remarkable people who brought celestial navigation to perfection, and to the generations of mariners who put the sextant to such good use in charting the world’s oceans. He lives in West London.
‘As lovingly and painstakingly constructed as the navigators’ one
irreplaceable talisman, this exquisite book is a hymn to a
now-vanishing feature of maritime life, a finely-chased reminder of
just how much we all owe to that one small piece of apparatus, its
verniers and lenses kept secure in a mahogany box, closed by a hasp
of brass’ Simon Winchester ‘Barrie’s writing is exhilarating and
suffused with a sense of adventure. A fascinating read’ Financial
Times ‘What gives Sextant its special colour is Barrie’s own
experience as a sailor … His book is an elegy for the days before
GPS made simultaneous geniuses and idiots of us all … He invites
anyone near the sea, and above all on a boat, to turn away from
their screens and look around’ Daily Express ‘A bracing historical
tale’ The Times ‘An excellent present for anyone even vaguely
interested in the
stars, or the history of exploration, or sailing small boats
over
big oceans, or come to think of it anyone at all. And buy a
copy
for yourself while you’re about it’ Marine Quarterly ‘A joy to read
… one of the most interesting and enjoyable books I’ve read in
years’ Flying Fish, magazine of the Ocean Cruising Club
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