Product Description
Title: The New American Practical Navigator : Being an Epitome of Navigation; Containing All the Tables Necessary to Be Used With the Nautical Almanac in Determining the Latitude, and the Longitude by Lunar Observations, and Keeping a Complete Reckoning at Sea ... the Whole Exemplified in a Journal, Kept From Boston to Madeira, in Which All the Rules of Navigation Are Introduced ... With an Appendix, Containing Methods of Calculating Eclipses of the Sun and Moon, and Occultations of the Fixed Stars ...Publisher: New-York : E. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

will the REAL boater's bible please stand up
"Ship handling" is something you get a feel for, specific to each vessel. Navigation, on the otherhand, can be learned (and used) by a hermit in the desert. And quite easily with his trusty "Bowditch" by his side. Navigation, as a science, didn't spring up overnight. Like the Aztec calendar, thousands of years of observation went into its development, beginning with the earliest seamen. Today, the New American Practical Navigator reflects those years of patient record. Everyone, from the weekend warrior to the crustiest salt, can find a lesson in its pages. From the latest chapter on Electronic Navigation in 1995's "red book", to the esoteric sights for lunar longitude in the old leather-bound editions of the early 1800's, "Bowditch" gives you no excuse for losing your way.

The Ultimate Navigation Reference
This book is the only reference one needs for any navigational issue.As a U.S. Naval Officer, I use this book to keep my navigation skills sharp.While it is an "official" publication, it is so useful I decided I needed a copy of my own, and purchased one.When I was instructing midshipmen at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, I routinely used Bowditch as my sourcebook, to ensure I was ready to teach each navigational subject (especially celestial nav).On the occasions where a midshipman asked me a question I could not immediately answer, I invariably found the answer in Bowditch.I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

No Better Navigation Reference
I am a career, surface warfare-qualified Navy officer and believe this to be the best reference in the world for nautical navigation and related matters. Superb.

If you do not know about this book, buy it!
I am a professional Capt. and I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to become a proficent mariner.

very helpful
as a first year student in a marine program in Canada I don't know where I would be with out"Bowditch" this is the book for any one who sails on the Great Lakes or Deep Sea. I would advise any person who sailsor is pondering sailing buy this book! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Bowditch refuses to see African nations as basketcases on a continent of despair; instead, he examines Ghana as a country of potential opportunity in an economically emerging continent. He explores a new generation of issues around the connection between cultural values and behavior to provide international investors, Ghanaians, and others with a better understanding of the Ghanaian--and African--business environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Bowditch Is Bullish On Ghana
I balked at paying $55 but this book has proved to be a bargain at the price.Bowditch has successfully distilled--in highly readable and enjoyable fashion--seven years of experience as a publicly financed developer of Ghana's newest national park.His insights are informed, not only by his impressive academic training (Harvard A.B. 1966; Princeton M.P.A. 1974), but by the obstacles he faced as a white American newcomer and the comparisons he can draw to his earlier endeavors in a number of countries in Asia and, before that, as Maine's Secretary for Economic Development. Bowditch's enthusiasm for Ghana is heartfelt and contagious.He gives many good reasons why Ghana is likely to be every bit as competitive in the new Millenium as were the so-called Asian Tigers at the end of the last.Whether or not Ghana will prove to be an African Lion, Bowditch can be said to be bullish on its prospects.His famous ancestor and namesake was known as "The Practical Navigator" of the open seas. This generation's Bowditch may well become the practical navigator for the American investor/entrepreneur, or those just interested in Ghana.I therefore highly recommend this book!

Ghana and It's Future Opportunities
I found this book to be very interesting and well organized. The author's personal experiences keep your attention. They make it much easier to follow and understand the points the author is making as he examines Ghana as a country of potential opportunity in the economically emerging continent of Africa. ... Read more

Product Description
The story of a boy who had the persistence to master navigation in the days when men sailed by "log, lead, and lookout," and who authored The American Practical Navigator, "the sailor's Bible." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (54)

A favorite book!
Set just after the Revolutionary War period, tall sailing ships sailed around the world, trading spices, clothing, machines, and ideas, young Nat Bowditch grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, part of a family of sailors.When he was only 12 years old, he was indentured at a Chip Chandlery - a sort of hardware store for ships and sailors.While there, he discovered that he had a knack for learning on his own.

When he was sent on an errand to look something up in Ephraim Chambers' Cyclopaedia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, he discovered a whole new world of interesting things to learn about.However, when he got to the advanced math, he became stumped because the Cyclopaedia only skimmed over the subject rather than diving deeply into it.To solve his questions, he was given the loan of a copy of Isaac Newton's Principia" to learn the math, but it was written in Latin.To learn Latin, Nathan began with his Bible, John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."He then read it in Latin, used a dictionary to look up words he didn't know, and moved forward.Once he became sufficiently comfortable with Latin and the Bible, Nathan started in on Principia - he would work to translate each word of a sentence, and then had to figure out what the sentence meant!

By the time Nat was 21, and at the end of his indenture, he had learned quite a lot about many different things.He was offered a job with a group of men who were going to survey the countryside around Salem.His great success with this job landed him his first opportunity to sail on a ship, thus beginning his several trips across the oceans and around the world.

Everyone depended on Moore's Navigator to know where things were in and about the ocean, but because of the huge number of computations in each table and the large number of tables in the book, no one had ever checked the math.Therefore, for many years, ships and sailors had been killed by the sea because of the mistakes found in Moore's.Nathaniel Bowditch set out to check each computation so that corrections could be published, but by the time he found 8000 mistakes, he decided it would be easier to just write his own book."It's a simple matter of mathematics!" he'd say.

Nat included in his book, The American Practical Navigator, simply worded instructions to use a sextant, the definitions of ship words, how to navigate a ship, a new method of "taking a lunar", as well as all the various tables that go with each.His goal in writing the book was that anyone who could follow the instructions and read the charts, along with do simple addition and subtraction, could navigate confidently.

Today, the American Practical Navigator, or "Bowditch"is the standard for ships and sailors around the world. It is an easy-to-read reference book that is interesting and understandable.Regularly updated, it has gone through at least 75 editions since 1802, when it was first published."Bowditch is carried on the bridge of every U.S. Navy ship and should be the mainstay of any serious navigator's library." (http://astore.amazon.com/idrathebesail-20/detail/0939837544)

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is one of my personal all-time favorite books, so I was especially happy to re-read it for this assignment.I loved the persistence of young Nat; I loved the sturdy brother, friend, captain, and husband he was; I loved that he worked hard to fulfill a life's dream; and I loved that he learned so thoroughly on his own.

Sailing by Ash Breeze
A little background from wikipedia:"Nathaniel Bowditch (March 26, 1773 - March 16, 1838) was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book The New American Practical Navigator, first published in 1802, is still carried on board every commissioned U.S. Naval vessel."

The book starts out when Nat is six years old, looking to perform a good luck ritual before their family moves.They've had a string of bad luck, and he's hoping the move will change things.

It doesn't.Nat has to leave school at age 10 to help his father's business, and because of his excellent math skills, at age 12 he is indentured for 9 years as an apprentice to be a bookkeeper for a ship chandelry.His dream was to go to Harvard, and being indentured made that impossible.Feeling pretty sorry for himself, on his first day one of the other workers told him, "Only a weakling gives up when he's becalmed!A strong man sails by ash breeze!"(Translation from ship terms - "Only a wealking gives up when the winds aren't blowing!A strong man sails by rowing!")

That simple statement changes Nat's perspective.He no longer waits for good luck.He studies to educate himself, then teaches others.

I enjoyed reading it alone, but it's definitely on my list to read with my children.

Sailing by an Ash Breeze
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham is a gripping historical fiction account of the life of Nathanial Bowditch, and his writing of The American Practical Navigator.

This Newberry Medal winning book is one that we are reading through the Sonlight Curriculum as a "read aloud" book for my 3rd grader's American History and Literature curriculum.

I would recommend this book to anyone who can read at a 5th grade level and up, to get a good feel for life in the United States the first few decades after the Revolution, and for anyone interested in sea voyages, navigation, and self education.

The part that amazes me most about Nathanial Bowditch's life isn't his mathmatical genius or his ability to re-write the rules of Navigation to make sailing safer, but his ability to educate himself despite all the odds stacked against him. He is from a poor family. He is indentured for nine years and can't go to school, but he keeps notebooks of everything that he learns, ask questions, teaches himself mathmatics, Latin, French and Spanish, along with navigation.

This fictionalized account brings Nat Bowditch to life, and one of the analogies in the story about sailing in life that is carried successfully throughout the novel is about "sailing by an ash breeze," which I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago.

To sail by an ash breeze meant to pull out oars and make the boat go where you wanted it to go when there wasn't any wind. To sail by an ash breeze in life means to work hard at getting where you want to go, even when everything in life seems to be trying to keep you at a standstill.

As a writer, there are many days in which the wind of my ideas has stilled, and I have to pull out my oars and just keep typing.

As a home school mom, there are days in which the wind of my excitement for my kids' education stills in the face of criticism, or in the face of a hard math problem day.

As a reader, I think this book is an excellent choice for anyone who would like to learn exactly what it means to live life by sailing by an ash breeze.

Good Sailing, everyone!

An Inspiring Life
The hero of Jean Latham's book, Carry On Mr. Bowditch, provides a good role model for kids today. Nathaniel Bowditch's perseverance through hard times deserves admiration and inspires respect. Even though Nat's life tried various times, his strong ideals help him find a way to `carry on' each time his plans are ruined. Through thick and thin, Nat enjoys his studies, inspiring children to also pursue their future in academics.
Not only is the main character virtuous and inspirational, his story is full of joy as well as defeat. This combination provides a good read for elementary or middle school children. The determined way Nat faces the tragedy in his life makes the sad parts of the book easy to pass by, and kids can get a good sense of what life is about by reading Carry On Mr. Bowditch.

Well-researched and entertainment read
Not only is this Newberry award winner based on the life of a real man, Nathaniel Bowditch, but it is also very interesting and exciting to read.Taking only moments for you to become totally engrossed, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch places you directly in this gifted mathematician/astronomer's life during the early 1800s.Complete immersion in this epic story makes you hardly want to set the book down until you have finished reading it.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is quite a refreshing book, which describes life at sea in fantastic detail and realistic fervor.Set with strong emotion and rich character development, this information-filled book is not overly long, and can be read through rather quickly.

Throughout the story, Nathaniel remains true to his morals, and not only does he save many lives, but he also achieves a meaningful life and a wonderful family of his own.If it is adventure, intrigue, and impact you desire, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is the right book for you.
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Product Description
Publisher: Privately printedPublication date: 1872Subjects: MedicineMedical / GeneralMedical / Dictionaries ... Read more

Product Description
Subtitle: Including an Analysis of His Scientific Publications. Delivered Before the Academy, May 29, 1838Publisher: Folsom, Wells and Thurston, printersPublication date: 1838Subjects: MathematiciansBiography ... Read more

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Memorial [of Nathaniel Bowditch, lieutenant, First Massachusetts cavalry, 1839-1863] ...Gale Archival Editions: On Demand are digital copies of rare and out-of-print historical content. Delivered where and when you need them, Gale Archival Editions arrive complete with original fonts, marks, notations, punctuation and spelling, giving you the feeling of owning the original work. These images of original works—from the world's leading libraries—include everything from books to pamphlets, many with original illustrations, indexes, maps and other annotations. Sourced from Joseph Sabin's Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books Relating to America from its Discovery to the Present Time (1868-1936), the Sabin American Civil War Collection includes thousands of titles on all topics related to the Civil War experience. ... Read more