Measuring America (Paperback, New edition)

In Measuring America Linklaker describes the effects that scientific developments in the 17th and 18th centuries had on the process of land acquisition in America. He also recounts the Americans' attempts to develop a regulated set of weights and measures. They believed that this would bring about a fairer, more democratic society: in Europe it was the landowners and aristocrats who owned the 'standard' sets of weights, and they would quite frequently use large weights for buying and small weights for selling. Indeed, practices of this kind had been one of the major grievances that sparked off the French Revolution. It is to Linklaker's credit that his book is more interesting that this premise might suggest. If you are interested in the history of measurement or the early history of the USA then you will find that Linklaker writes clearly and entertainingly, and with an obvious interest in his subject. An unusual but successful work. (Kirkus UK)

The sheer scale of it makes the measuring of America extraordinary. Beginning in 1785, it became the largest land survey in history stretching from the Ohio river to the Pacific coast and from Lake Erie to the Mexican border. It prepared the ground for the sale of almost two billion acres, and shaped landscapes and cities across the US more drastically than any event since the last ice age.

Before the survey could begin, there had to be agreement about what kind of measurement should be used. What made the 18th-century debate so critical was the revolution taking place in Western thought as objective, scientific reasoning challenged the traditional, subjective view of the world. A battle began between those (like the British) supporting a centuries-old organic form of measurement (ounces and pounds, yards and acres) and the modernizers, like Thomas Jefferson, who backed a system based on scientific observation.

The effects of the measuring of America on the landscape and people (native and immigrant) were huge and long-lasting; the story itself an exotic blend of narrative history and popular science

General

Imprint:	HarperCollinsPublishers
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	June 2003
Authors:	Andro Linklater
Dimensions:	198 x 129 x 20mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - B-format
Pages:	336
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-0-00-710888-6
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > American history > General Books > Earth & environment > Geography > Cartography, geodesy & geographic information systems (GIS) > Geodesy & surveying for maps & charts Books > History > American history > General
LSN:	0-00-710888-5
Barcode:	9780007108886

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