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The Measure of All Things

The Measure of All Things
The Measure of All Things
The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World  
By Ken Alder
Read by: Brian Jennings
This edition: Abridged Audio Download
Availability: Available on or around October 1, 2002
List Price: $17.95
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Description

In June 1792, amidst the chaos of the French Revolution, two intrepid astronomers set out in opposite directions on an extraordinary journey. Starting in Paris, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre would make his way north to Dunkirk, while Pierre-François-André Méchain voyaged south to Barcelona. Their mission was to measure the world, and their findings would help define the meter as one ten-millionth of the distance between the pole and the equator -- a standard that would be used "for all people, for all time."

The Measure of All Things is the astonishing tale of one of history's greatest scientific adventures. Yet behind the public triumph of the metric system lies a secret error, one that is perpetuated in every subsequent definition of the meter. As acclaimed historian and novelist Ken Alder discovered through his research, there were only two people on the planet who knew the full extent of this error: Delambre and Méchain themselves.

By turns a science history, detective tale, and human drama, The Measure of All Things describes a quest that succeeded as it failed -- and continues to enlighten and inspire to this day.

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Table of Contents
The Boston Globe These are enthralling, fascinating, even mind-altering pages. Alder imbues the narrative with a tremulous, fever-soaked climax and a lengthy and satisfying denouement.
The Philadelphia Inquirer One of those rare works that both rewrite history and capture the imagination.
The New York Times Book Review Passes a central test of any popular work of history: it bathes the past in the light, life, and humanity of the eternal present.
Allen Kurzweilauthor of The Grand Complication and A Case of CuriositiesKen Alder's book on the history of the meter displays the precision of a geometer and the wit of a savant. This is more than a survey of two ill-fated surveyors forced to march through the physical and intellectual landscape of Revolutionary France. It is also a tender and aptly measured exploration of the pair's personal foibles. Alder shows himself to be that rarest of things: a scholar whose moral compass is as exactingly calibrated as his intellect (which is very fine indeed).
Alan Lightmanauthor of Einstein's DreamsThe Measure of All Things is a colorful and beautifully written story, filled with history, powerful ambitions, and human frailties.
0743562143
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