Final answer:
James Fenimore Cooper's "The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea" was published in 1823 and offers a historical look at navigation techniques before the age of the GPS.
Step-by-step explanation:
The book "The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea" was published in 1823. It's an early novel by James Fenimore Cooper, which intertwines themes of the sea and navigation.
This work predates the era of satellite technology, which drastically changed maritime navigation with the advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Before GPS, captains determined their position by the celestial bodies, such as the Sun and stars, a skill described in the literature of the time.
"The Pilot" provides insight into these early navigation techniques and the sea faring adventures of the nineteenth century.