Abstract
IT is possible to keep the most valuable educational treatise too long before the public; methods grow obsolete with lapse of time and in altered conditions, but later editors, fettered by the spell of tradition, fail to use the pruning knife with sufficient freedom. As a pioneer instructor, seventy-five years ago, Raper's work was admirable. He raised the standard of accuracy, he appreciated the necessity of systematising processes, of shortening calculations, and of ensuring correctness in working. Others occupying the more advanced outposts that he made tenable have improved on his methods, benefited by wider experience, and have aimed at greater efficiency. Of course there is nothing wrong in Raper's book; too many critical eyes have examined its principles, and too many practical hands have tested its usefulness. But accuracy of statement is not all we look for in modern treatises. We expect to find placed at the service of the student all that has been achieved by science, analytical or practical.
The Practice of Navigation and Nautical Astronomy.
By Lieut. H. Raper. Twentieth edition. Pp. xxv + 934. (London: J. D. Potter, 1914.) n. p.
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P., W. The Practice of Navigation and Nautical Astronomy . Nature 94, 144 (1914). https://doi.org/10.1038/094144a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/094144a0