The Measure of All Things, Ken Alder
The Measure of All Things, Ken Alder
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The Measure of All Things
The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World

Author: Ken Alder

Narrator: Brian Jennings

Abridged: 6 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/01/2002

Synopsis

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.

About Ken Alder

Ken Alder is a professor of history and Milton H. Wilson Professor of the Humanities at Northwestern University. He is the author of The Measure of All Things, published to worldwide acclaim in fourteen languages. He lives in Evanston, Illinois.

About Brian Jennings

Brian Jennings is one of nation's top talk radio programmers who served as National V.P. of Talk Programming for Citadel Broadcasting, one of the nation's largest radio companies for over a decade and served as programming head to over 40 radio stations nationwide.  According to Talker's Magazine, he is also one of the founding fathers of the conservative talk radio format.  Nominated 5 times as a national talk radio executive of the year by Radio and Records Magazine, Jennings is also a national award-winning journalist.  His many awards include Columbia University's DuPont Award, the National Sigma Delta Chi Award, the Ohio State Award, the National Headliners Award, the National Abe Lincoln Award, and others.  He has also worked as a consultant to national personalites such as Oliver North, Michael Reagan, Alan Colmes, Dick Cavett, and others.  Considered one of the foremost authorities on talk radio today, Jennings resides in the Pacific Northwest and is a frequent guest on radio and television programs throughout the nation and a staunch defender of free speech.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kara on February 22, 2016

After a long spate of young adult novels, and in particular the very harrowing Asking for It, I needed a palate-cleanser. How much further can we get than a book about the expedition to define the metre? I take the metre for granted. It’s just there. I was aware, vaguely, of the various ways in which......more

Goodreads review by Kate on June 20, 2008

When my husband bought this book I was like "400 pages about the meter?? You have got to be kidding me" but then I picked it up and couldn't put it down. A great story of not only the origins of the metric system but also about revolutionary France and the evolution of science.......more

Goodreads review by KB on May 06, 2019

The Measure of All Things is an excellent book. Ken Alder presents a superb narrative of the epic geodetic expedition that resulted in the definition of the metric system, with a close focus on the French astronomers Mechain and Delambre, who undertook the measurement of the global meridian through......more

Goodreads review by Tarquin on March 30, 2016

I found this to be a pretty fascinating account of Delambre and Merchain's rather epic journey to make the measurements that are the basis of the modern metric system. Alder finds a pretty good balance between narrative recount and obligatory historical facts and figures. An entertaining and interest......more

Goodreads review by K on January 04, 2020

An astonishing story of science and diplomacy, told with great pace that doesn't leave out the important details. Until reading this book (this was my 2nd reading), I was unaware of the story of the creation of the meter, and I assumed it was basically a legalistic confirmation of the yard and simil......more

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