Movie Suggestion

Hi Ladies,

I've been furiously listening to "The Fourth Part of the World," and though slow-moving in some places, I find much of it fascinating, particularly in the way it is pulling together different bits and pieces of world history into a more cohesive and comprehensive whole that makes me feel like I'm viewing a helpful timeline. Today in listening to chapter 4 I found it amazing how the early Greeks figured out the circumference of the earth, and how to break it up into latitude and longitude. This section brought to mind one of the most awesome films I've ever seen. It is entitled "Longitude," and was produced by the BBC in 1990.

The story is about how the British navy in the era of its greatest supremacy suffered for lack of having a reliable way to keep tome on the seas and therefore be able to predict longitude. British ships were often lost at sea because of this problem, and as a result the British government proposed a contest for anyone who could surmount this problem. The film is about one man's race to solve this problem. It is all based on accurate vents, and to this day, (I saw it several years ago), is one of the most fascinating films I have ever seen. In fact, after Sterling I saw it, we bought a copy of it for the Fraga family because of all the remarkable information it provides on the development of timepieces.

Anyway, I just bought a copy of the film online, and will bring it up this weekend. If anyone is interested in watching it, I promise you won't regret it--particularly if you have appreciated the book we've been reading.

Amanda

p.s. -- I also just finished "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" this week and loved it! The writing was so freshly original, (and so romantic I parts), that I could not put it down. Thanks, Emily, for the great recommendation. Are you up for watching the film again?