The Riddle of the Compass

Bestselling author Amir Aczel's fascinating story of the invention that liberated long-distance voyaging and changed the world forever. The story of the compass is shrouded in myth but has its roots in ancient China around 2,000 years ago where a mysterious lodestone, whose power affected metal, was used in the art of feng shui. It may have taken 1,200 years for the 'compass' to migrate to Medieval Italy, but it didn't take long for those mariners of the Amalfi coast to kickstart the Age of Discovery. The compass made it all possible, and this is its fascinating story.