Weighing the World: The Quest to Measure the Earth

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Edwin Danson (Member of Royal Institution of Chatered Surveyors, Member of Royal Institution of Chatered Surveyors)

Weighing the World

The Quest to Measure the Earth

Edwin Danson (Member of Royal Institution of Chatered Surveyors, Member of Royal Institution of Chatered Surveyors)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
01 November 2005

British & Irish history; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900; History of science; Popular science; Geographical discovery & exploration; Geodesy & surveying for maps & charts

"Weighing the World is a revealing behind-the-scenes look at the scientific events leading to modern map making, written by one of the world's master surveyors.

Edwin Danson, using a similar approach to his earlier best seller, ""Drawing the Line: How Mason and Dixon Surveyed the Most Important Border in America"" (Wiley, 2000) takes us on a journey telling the story of this experiment that has not been written about in over two hundred years. National jealousies, commercial and political rivalry were the underlying causes for many of the eighteenth century's wars but war also provided the stimulus for much commercial effort and scientific innovation.

Armies equipped with the latest weaponry marched about the countryside, led by generals with only the vaguest of maps at their disposal. At the start of the century there were no maps, anywhere in the world.

While there were plenty of atlases and sketch maps of countries, regions and districts, with few exceptions they were imperfect renditions in nature. No one knew, with any certainty the shape of the earth or what lay beneath its surface.

Was it hollow or was it solid?

Were the Andes the highest mountain on the Earth or was it the peak of Tenerife?

Was the Earth a perfect sphere or was it slightly squashed as Sir Isaac Newton prophesized?

Just how did you accurately measure the planet? The answers to these and other questions about the nature of the Earth, answers we now take for granted, were complete mysteries.

Danson presents the stories of the scientists and scholars that had to scale the Andes, cut through tropical forests and how they handled the hardships they faced in the attempt to revolutionize our understanding of the planet."

By: Edwin Danson (Member of Royal Institution of Chatered Surveyors Member of Royal Institution of Chatered Surveyors)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 241mm, Width: 163mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 568g
ISBN: 9780195181692
ISBN 10: 0195181697
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 01 November 2005
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Preface 1: I Cannot Be Wrong 2: The Titan King 3: A Calm And Gentle Character 4: The Galileo Of France 5: Extreme Science 6: Robberies And Depredations 7: A Magnificent Military Sketch 8: Persons Well Versed 9: Very Expert In His Business 10: A Passage With My Horse 11: Frankenstein And Other Experiments 12: A Remarkable Hill 13: Important Observations 14: So Great A Noise 15: The Attraction of Mountains 16: The Best Of The Position 17: Distinguished Merit 18: Late A Whole Year 19: Geodetic Experiments 20: I Know It Will Answer 21: Offering Violence To Nature 22: A Meritorious Foreigner 23: Men Worthy Of Confidence 24: Irregularities We Have Discovered Explanations and Definitions Bibliography Footnotes

Reviews for Weighing the World: The Quest to Measure the Earth

"""This fascinating account tells how in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the world was accurately measured, mapped and weighed for the first time.""--John Muir Trust Journal ""This is history writ large, with a long list of characters, and a background of wars, where good maps could be the key to victory.""--The New Scientist"