Next message: RS Peterson: "Re: Looking for a book title"
Vic Fraenckel [mailto:] asked:
> I saw a book for sale in our local Barnes and Noble that I should have
> bought. Now I cannot remember the title. Perhaps someone on this list
could
> help. The book was a NEW title concerning the French expeditions that were
> sent out back in the 18th century to measure the latitude arc lengths in
the
> artic and tropics to support the definition of the meter.
>
> If you can tell me the title and/or the author it would be appreciated.
Might be Ken Alder's _The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and
Hidden Error That Transformed the World_. It got a pretty good review in the
NY Times this summer.
Let us know if you like it.
There are two other recent geography books that I've been considering and
would be interested if others have enjoyed: Andro Linklater's _Measuring
America_ and John Keay's _The Great Arc_.
-- Peter
