Eric Flint's broken compass
347221
This book is a very big mistake.  Both for the writers and the reader.

The first problem is that this is now a very long series, and it needs lots of exposition.  And there is never enough, and there is always too much, depending on where you are in the series.  Since I have read most of them, I am getting too much, but I recognize for a lot of new readers there is just not enough.

The biggest problem is the end of the book, and the rest of the book is trying to justify what Flint's hero does.  Not that he accomplishes this by a long shot.  What Flint's hero does is despicable by any but the most perverted standard.  Flint shows himself to be an equal monster to those he despises, for the same reasons he despises them.

On the plus side, Flint still demonstrates his very considerable skills in areas that, despite the awfulness of what happens, make the series so good.  (While this book is a turkey, 1634 the Baltic War is pure gold)  He has interesting people who (except for the Mike Stears character who always has been a bit of a boor and a bore) do things for reasons rational to themselves, even if Flint doesn't agree with them.  Flint has a very good way of getting into the minds of people and seeing the world from their view, and doing things from their logic.  In this book he didn't bother doing this.  And the story suffers.  But the characters are still engaging and interesting most of the time.  But a lot of the time they don't in this book.  Characters that used to live and breath and were very human now clank and rattle and fail to compute even as defective wooden robots.
905805
I ordered this compass and it arrived relatively quickly, but there were some issues with it. There are these spots/globs on it, the dial spins and the pointer spins with it versus the pointer always pointing true north, and the key ring isn't all the way on properly.
1341145
Cheaply made.  Compass works fine on mine but the pitch is normally stuck.
1018858
This is beautiful. Heavy and old-looking. However, it was broken. The needle was not attached and there was no way to fix it. I returned and bought a different compass from another supplier. I did not reorder because I was concerned that the next one would be broken as well. It's such a shame that this was broken, it would have been the perfect gift.
3727846
I like it! the compass works, but was stuck for a few minutes. Got it loosened up and it works fine.
4092856
I first bought another name brand.  The plastic mounting broke when I tried to mount it.  I was given a recommendation to try Silva which I had not heard of.  It is a very good compass, compact, well made.  But it took me 2 returns to get a working one.  I do no fault the vendor or there supplier once the issue was identified they were very helpful and responsive getting me satisfied.  The problem is there are two stainless bolts that hold the compass to the base which you must remove to drill the mounting holes in the surface you are mounting too.  I received the first one took the bolts out and the retaining nuts dropped into the inside of the compass and were not retrievable.  I returned it and got a second one, the same thing happened.  This time I asked that they check the one they were going to send, they did and the same thing happened to them.  They did manage to do a repair on it before they sent it to me and they were following up with the manufacturer to tell them of the issue.
2195315
"Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time" by Mark Adams is a non-fiction book in which the author follows the footsteps of Hiram Bingham III.

Journalist Mark Adams has spent a lot of time reading and editing stories for travel magazines. This time he decided to be part of the story and investigate allegations brought against Hiram Bingham III by retracing the famous explorer's journey.

Part travel journal, part adventure story and part history lesson, Adams takes the readers into the extraordinary and colorful land of Peru in his search to find out what exactly was Machu Picchu.

One hundred years ago today explorer Hiram Bingham III found Machu Picchu and brought his findings to the rest of the world. Mark Adams (website), who worked for adventure magazines, used his contacts to follow Bingham's footsteps in the jungles of Peru.

I love to read about places I've already visited, more often than not I wish I've read the book before I visited. When I saw the title of the book being offered by NetGalley I immediately asked permission to read it.

I visited Machu Picchu in 1992, before there was a cap on visitors and the touristic part of the visit was not as oiled as it is today. We had to find our own guide, hired some mules on the way and hoped we had enough food to last us for several days while we walked the Inca Trail.

At the time I didn't appreciate what I was doing, I was young, in shape and figured that it's a "must do". Several years later it dawned on me what I was privileged to do and privileged to see and experience.

In "Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time" Mark Adams takes my little trip a step further, he actually walks in the footsteps of Hiram Bingham III in places where few have ventured.

The book is in part a funny/serious travelogue, part smart history and part investigative report into Bingham's discovery all encompassed in an unbending adventure. Mr. Adams, who was not a serious adventurer at the beginning of the trip, did well by surrounding himself with John Leivers , a professional guide who, for me, was the highlight of this book.

I certainly understood Mr. Adams' annoyance with what he calls "Peruvian Time". It drove me, a person who considers being on time as being late, absolutely nuts. There is a whole another issue which Mr. Adams passed on telling about the loose definition of "the truth" as well as foreigners being "fair game" / walking ATM machine, all of which simply rang up a wrong nerve with me.

Adams' journey parallels the one Bingham describes in his books "Inca Land" and "Lost City of the Incas". Adams writes a very readable narrative of his journey, Inca history, Bingham's adventures as well as a little Peruvian history and culture tidbits.

Being that the first hand research material that is available for the Inca Empire has been chopped and diced by the emperors to glorify themselves, Adams does an excellent job pulling different resources to conjure up the beginnings of the Spanish conquest of the continent.

As I mentioned, I wish I had this book accessible to me in 1992, when I walked the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. The trail is filled with Inca ruins which I made a point to visit and when I reached Machu Picchu I absolutely knew that was the end. However I completely missed the relationship of the trail with the famous site.
I guess it's time to start planning to go back.
2760179
Eric Flint has created a fascinating alternative history with his 1630 series that begins with a bang when a small West Virginia town and all its inhabitants are mysteriously displaced to Thuringia in the 1630s in an event called the Ring of Fire. The things that the Americans have to do to survive and adapt as well as the incredible impact that their presence has on the 17th century are imagined in incredible detail. 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies is the latest in the series, which concentrates on the American's efforts to create a Navy superior to those of the contemporary powers and secure a reliable source of oil. To get the most out of the book, readers need to read the previous volumes. By taking a kind of "open source" approach to the Ring of Fire universe, Flint has used his website to started a kind of cottage industry where enthusiastic readers propose and write stories which advance the series as a whole and provide characters that are often incorporated into the volumes that Flint writes. This, in and of itself, is an interesting writing experiment. The product of these collaborations vary in quality, but Flints books always have interesting characters, unexpected plot twists and fascinating details about the life and politics of the 17th century which make this alternative history exceptionally convincing.
1974773
Unfortunately even though it is a very nice looking compass ,it is completely out of alignment, steel frames and electrical devices in mind and all,in other words apparently this particular one could just be defective.
251739
Directions tell you to press on the inner circle and turn the ring to set the declination. It wouldn't turn and the compass fell apart, after putting it back together I finally got it set by pressing the outer ring and twisting finally got it set, there aren't any N or S, E and W indicators on the ring and this makes it really hard to see what direction you want because the numbers are so hard to see. This type of compass might be good for setting it on maps, but not out in the field.
446896
In the late '40s a simple compass was developed for land navigation.  It became the Boy Scout standard for field use.  Source also developed Orienteering For fun and avoiding being lost.  The compass rose is introduced and holding off to left or right 10 degrees is explained to avoid a direct march miss.  Chapter 1-3 Begin with "Fun with..."  to make field work a challenge to complete.  Uses US Geodetic Service map at 1:24000 scale.  A Silva compass is a flat plastic base with inch and Cm ruler on sides.  Some have a mirror set to 45 degrees to center needle.  Rotating Wheel is divided into 360 degrees.  The Country of Origin is Sweden.  A father of this work is the US Army Lensatic Compass.  Its field Manual is an advanced study in Compass use.  In Artillery training we used a more accurate Aiming Circle including magnetic needle in 6400Mill military system.  The book claims to a Complete Orienteering Handbook.  It is an expert making Guide.  This is the classic definitive article.  You will easily remember its sage advice.  Good Luck.
2171652
This book is full of useful information on how to find direction with and without a compass. Very well written by a professional in easy to understand language with many lifesaving tips on how to find one's way back home.
546886
Eric Flint has written one of the better "time" travel books with 1632 (Ring of Fire). If the books following this one are half as good Flint has done as masterful a job as Diana Gabaldon with her "Outlander" series.
879235
Looks good quality just can't get compass to find north lol. Really didn't get it for the compass though thanks guys.
703781
The ranger is a great compass, but It appears these may not be new items. The plastic around mine appeared to have been cut open and reaealed.
3906852
This could have been the perfect Compass, yet the designer appears to have fallen short. You cannot really adjust to a particular set radius. I would recommend that the end be re-designed so that the radius of the circle could be guaged by screwing in the end piece which is currently non functional and looks like a blue eraser. Or have some type of adjustable mechanism.

Also the expandable legs should be more stiff. When drawing a circle, the legs are too loose and can expand unintentionally. I would not purchase this product again.

Great idea, yet they failed to complete the design. I would recommend the old style compasses, even though they are more cumbersome to carry.
369884
The compass is made of metal, which is nice for a little kid--hard to break it. He sure likes carrying it around. Keeps it in his pocket or straps it onto his belt. After his school class conducted compass training a few weeks ago, the compass has become his "sensation." He loves the thing. The only thing he doesn't like is that he has to lightly tap on the center glass continuously in order to get the indicator to spin around and point north. I believe the magnet on the North indicator is a bit on the weak side.