Walking Zero by Chet Raymo

The full title of this book is Walking Zero: Discovering Cosmic Space and Time Along the Prime Meridian, written by a professor emeritus of physics and astronomy. It follows his walk south to north through England following the prime meridian. As he narrates his journey (with prose equal to the best of travel writers), he discusses the geographic, astronomical, and historical events that have taken place along his route. From earliest geology and paleontology, he takes his readers through the development of longitude, astronomy, physics, navigation, stretching from ancient times until fairly recent history with an ease that is impressive. Along the way, he provides glimpses into characters including the likes of Isaac Newton, Samuel Pepys, Galileo, Aristarchus, Charles Darwin, and many more, including a fascinating list of lesser known figures (to me, anyway)--a whole cast of not just names from textbooks, but real people who struggled with what they were discovering. Ultimately it all makes for some pretty compelling reading about what, in lesser hands, would have been some pretty dry subjects. The truth is that I would have been a sucker for this book anyway; some of the material covered here took me back to my college astronomy classes. Somewhere in the house I still have my very carefully copied-over astronomy notebook, diagrams, workbooks, and all.

At any rate, it's an excellent nonfiction reading experience, and I definitely recommend it.