Walking Zero: Discovering Cosmic Space and Time Along the PRIME MERIDIAN

by Chet Raymo

Noted science writer Chet Raymo explores how we found our place in space and time, and what it has meant to humankind. In Walking Zero , Chet Raymo uses the Prime Meridian―the line of zero longitude and the standard for all the world's maps and clocks―to tell the story of humandkind's intellectual journey from a cosmos not much larger than ourselves to the universe of the galaxies and geologic eons. As in his highly praised The Path and Climbing Brandon, Raymo connects personally with the story by walking England's Prime Meridian from Brighton through Greenwich to the North Sea. The Prime Meridian passes near a surprising number of landmarks that loom large in Isaac Newton's chambers at Trinity College, Cambridge; Charles Darwin's home at Down, in Kent; the site where the first dinosaur fossils were discovered; and John Harrison's clocks in a museum room of the Royal Observatory, among many others. Visiting them in turn, Raymo brings to life the human dramas of courageous individuals who bucked reigning orthodoxies to expand our horizons, including one brave rebel who paid the ultimate price for surmising the multitude of worlds we now take for granted. A splendid short history of astronomy and geology, Walking Zero illuminates the startling interplay of science, psychology, faith, and the arts in our understanding of space and time.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History, Travel

208 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2006

About the author

Chet Raymo (born September 17, 1936 in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is a noted writer, educator and naturalist. He is Professor Emeritus of Physics at Stonehill College, in Easton, Massachusetts. His weekly newspaper column Science Musings appeared in the Boston Globe for twenty years, and his musings can still be read online at www.sciencemusings.com.

His most famous book was the novel entitled The Dork of Cork, and was made into the feature length film Frankie Starlight. Raymo is also the author of Walking Zero, a scientific and historical account of his wanderings along the Prime Meridian in Great Britain.

Raymo was the recipient of the 1998 Lannan Literary Award for his Nonfiction work.

Reviews

[Roderick · Rating 4 out of 5]

surprised how this book is so underrated

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raymo is simply the best thing going. Another great book of his tracing the history of science while on a walk in the country.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author uses a walk along the prime meridian to tell the story of how humans came to know their universe; a short history of astronomy, geology, evolution, and above all our place in time and space. Mostly story and easy to understand a bit detailed at times but that did not detract from the overall joy of reading this book.

[Rayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. In accessible language, Raymo takes us on a brief history and philosophy of science type journey through concepts of space and time. Delightful and educational.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Walking Zero, the author uses the prime meridian -- the line of zero longitude and the standard for all the world's maps and clocks -- to reconstruct the story of humankind's intellectual journey from a cosmos not much larger than ourselves to the universe of the galaxies and geologic eons.

The author connects personally with the story by walking along England's prime meridian from Brighton on the south coast through Greenwich to the North Sea. The prime meridian passes near a remarkable number of landmarks that loom large in science: the site where the first dinosaur fossils were discovered; Charles Darwin's home at Down, in Kent; John Harrison's chronometers measuring longitude in a museum room of the Royal Observatory; and Isaac Newton's chamber at
Trinity College, Cambridge, among many others. Visiting them in turn, the author brings to life the human dramas of courageous individuals who bucked reigning orthodoxies to expand our horizons, including Giordano Bruno, a seventeenth-century priest who paid the ultimate price for surmising the multitude of worlds we now take for granted.

A splendid short history of astronomy, geology, and paleontology, Walking Zero illuminates the startling interplay of science, psychology, faith, and the arts in our understanding of space and time.
~~front flap

I should have loved this book. I absolutely revel in this sort of writing: synthesis, and how one thing tipped another to result in our world as it is today. James Burke's series were just gorgeous, and I'm just finishing up Bronowski's Ascent of Man series now (and I own the book.)

But I didn't care for it much. Oh it was informative, and I learned a great deal from reading it. But it was academic ponderous, dull recitations of the men who played their parts in our civilization being able to harness time, and plot space. A wee bit of the countryside at the start of each chapter, and then back to facts and figures. A shame really. A really good author could have made it a wonderful excursion -- a lyric, affectionate tour of English footpaths, and the scientific geniuses of the past who fashioned our world.

[Thomas Edmund · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were many draws to this book - a good title, a theme that involved one of my great loves (walking) encased in a relatively light book. However I found myself not really enjoying this book, the idea is that as the author wanders the meridian he recounts important historic and scientific progress around that point and topic. While this sounds good in theory it makes for a somewhat disjointed book, at one point discussing the cosmos, then Charles Darwin and the dinosaurs. It makes a lot more sense when the epilogue reminds us that the author has been pondering their own and mankind's significance in the universe (which explains the heavy content)

In regards the quality of the information the knowledge imparted by this book is a little heavy and pretty formally presented without much flair or verve, for people already fascinated by the topics they probably wouldn't hear anything new and for those uninformed Raymo kinda jumps right into the complicated stuff (it involved trig)

Overall by far not my favorite non-fiction. The book isn't bad by any stretch, just not great either. Mediocre.

[Bookmarks Magazine]

When Chet Raymo sets out for a walk, it's rarely an idle jaunt. In The Path (**** Sept/Oct 2003), the daily jaunt to his office opened up into a series of ecological musings. Climbing Mount Brandon was an opportunity to explore Western thought while scaling the title's mass. He is up to his old circumambulatory tricks again in Walking Zero, to high praise from deskbound reviewers. That the harshest criticism leveled at Raymo is that the book is too short strongly indicates that, wherever he rambles, this Stonehill College professor and former Boston Globe science columnist will have plenty of eager companions.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Using a walk along the Prime Meridian to walk the history of science. From the theory of evolution and the age of the Earth to the birth of the Universe and the size of the cosmos. It’s like Chet Raymo’s take on Longitude…only better cause, well, it’s Chet Raymo. This wasn’t my favorite of his books (that’s probably Honey From Stone or When God Is Gone, Everything Is Holy). It still maintains his lyrical style that I love.

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[Willowwind · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little gem of a book that takes on a big subject - the measurement of time and space. While wandering the landscape of southern Britain along the course of the prime meridien, Raymo begins his greater narrative in 3rd century BC Alexandria where Aristarchus computed the distance from the earth to the sun and their relative sizes through western history to the discovery of geologic time scale and the establishment of longitude. A book for lover's of discovery, numbers and the cosmos of which the earth and humans are not the center.

[Marshall Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very nice read. Take a walk along the prime meridian, 0 degrees longitude, and learn of the greats of the past who lived along the path and of their discoveries and what they gave us. From Newton to Darwin.

"A splendid short history of astronomy, geology, and paleontology which illuminates the startling interplay of science, psychology, faith, and the arts in our understanding of space and time."

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and very clear on astronomy and the history of science. Worth reading (for me) merely on the basis of the discussion of Alexandrian science (especially Aristarchus). The book is a little brief, and the notion/gimmick of walking the distance of England's prime meridian isn't fully explored. But the scientific material is excellent.

[Michael Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using the device of walking the prime meridian from the English Channel to the Greenwich Observatory, the author describes discoveries related to our understanding of man, time, and the solar system/cosmos, the lesson being, it's a very big, very old universe out there, and we took a long time to understand this. Very nice read.

[Marlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Curious about how things came to be? This story tells the tale of the Prime Meridian and how the world came to see Greenwich time as the ultimate time to set your watch by. Interesting history and lots of science. The author is a physicist so the language can be very academic at times, but he's done some excellent research and it was his adventure.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather disappointing, as it presents itself in the guise of another "walking across England" sort of tome, & yet in reality is a lot of Chas Darwin love fest. While it's (only) a little bit interesting in that regard, I did not expect what it was. A case of badly misjudging the book for its cover.

[Linda Isakson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not very long but interesting and packed with scientific history relating to earth mapping, astronomy, geology, some biology, anthropology, and time-piece manufacturing.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the concept was interesting, I felt Raymo ended up creating a grouping of barely related essays. By jumping from subject to subject, I often found myself lost.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well researched, good mix of natural and human history.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another amazing read by Dr. Raymo. Short but sweet but very apropos to my visit to the prime meridian in England last year.