The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan (Paperback)
Oxford historian Peter Frankopan retells world history from the trade routes that linked East and West - an international bestseller, 736 pages.
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For Him / Her / Kids
Longitude by Dava Sobel — the short, gripping story of a problem that changed the seas
Longitude by Dava Sobel (Paperback)
Reviewed by the WhyToBuyThis team · Updated September 2026 · How we choose
Perfect for
- Quick reads
- Science and the sea
- Maps and navigation
- Under $20
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Price: $6.50
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- Great gift ideaChosen for real-world gifting
- Hand-pickedCurated, not scraped
- Honest reviewThe catch, not just the hype
Why this gift works
Longitude by Dava Sobel tells the story of John Harrison, the self-taught 18th-century clockmaker who spent about forty years building a marine timekeeper that let ships find their longitude at sea. It weaves together the history of navigation, astronomy and clockmaking. This Bloomsbury USA paperback runs to 208 pages; the book was named British Book of the Year in 1997.
It is the rare history book that reads like a thriller, and at just over 200 pages it can be finished in a weekend. It suits anyone who likes the sea, maps, science or a good underdog story.
Who is this gift for?
Great for
- A reader who loves maps and navigation
- An engineer or tinkerer
- Pairing with a globe
Think twice if
- They want a big survey
- They already own it
The catch
It is short and narrow - one problem and one inventor - historians of science have criticized its hero-and-villain framing, and the trim size is small.
Skip for a reader who wants a big survey of history.
Key specs
| Author | Dava Sobel |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Bloomsbury USA, 2007 |
| Format | Paperback, 208 pages |
| Size | 7.38 x 4.66 in |
| Recognition | British Book of the Year (1997) |
| ISBN | 080271529X / 9780802715296 |
Worth knowing before you buy
- This paperback includes color inserts, per the distributor.
- It was a New York Times bestseller.
Why we like it
- Reads like a thriller
- Finished in a weekend
- Science, maps and the sea
- Inexpensive
What to look for in a popular history book
- Story. A single gripping story is an easy way into a topic.
- Length. Short books get finished.
- Topic. Match it to what they love - here, science and the sea.
Questions people ask
John Harrison and his decades-long work on a clock accurate enough to find longitude at sea.
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