The Measure of the World

By Denis Guedj

On June 24, 1792, two large traveling coaches left the Tuileries, one for Dunkirk and the other for Barcelona. Their passengers, Pierre M chain and Jean-Baptiste Delambre, were astronomers charged by the French Revolutionary government with the task of measuring the meridian that passes through these two cities in order to devise one universal unit of measure, "for all time and for all men," the meter.

The Measure of the World by Denis Guedj tells the story of this strange and wonderful effort. Not a traditional history of science, the book is a novelistic account of the measurement project that relies heavily on archival sources. A more "traditional" history could not possibly describe how a sober scientific enterprise could turn into a journey filled with adventures and experiences so bizarre as to be hardly credible. In the tumultuous days of revolutionary and postrevolutionary France, M chain and Delambre were objects of suspicion as they traveled through the provinces, climbing steeples and deploying strange instrumentsthey were detained as spies, taken for charlatans or fleeing royalists, and arrested for debt. Their perilous labors lasted until 1799, when the meter was formally established.

Arthur Goldhammer's crisp translation of this wonderful novel retains the flavor of the original, and an appendix explaining Guedj's use of historical materials is included. A vivid re-creation of a fascinating and troubling period in history juxtaposed with the achievement of a complicated scientific undertaking, The Measure of the World is a marvelous book-not science fiction, but fiction about science.

Denis Guedj is the author of La volution des savants and L'Empire des nombres, among other books. La Mesure du monde was awarded the Prix d'Institut in 1989. Arthur Goldhammer is an award-winning translator who has translated works by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, Jacques Le Goff, and Jean Starobinski.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226310302
• ISBN13: 9780226310305
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

?For all times, for all men??Condorcet

"The Measure Of The World", by Denis Guedj, is a historical novel of a 7-year quest shared by two men and their assistants to realize what Condorcet spoke of with the words at the start of these comments. Their goal was nothing less than the establishment of the true measure of the standard meter. Messrs. Mechain and Delambre spent over seven years, one beginning at Dunkirk the other in Barcelona, triangulating all that lay between them until the meridian had been measured. Before it was over one would nearly die, and many of their peers would fall to the revolution and the likes of Robespierre. While they fought the outdoor elements their colleague Lavosier was establishing the weight of the standard Kilo in a bathtub of distilled river water he had run through sand.As remarkable as the achievement itself was, the time during which it was carried out could hardly have been worse. The work began with the recommendations of King Louis who would meet the guillotine long before the work was complete. Other figures and revolution would hamper progress as Talleyrand, Robespierre, and Napoleon all made their presence known. Almost daily the men were accused of being spies, royalists, sanscoulettes, sorcerers, revolutionaries, and traitors. Their targets and platforms, critical to their work, were constantly destroyed, at times for firewood, at others because the structures were believed to be military signals.Mr. Guedj's book is about the factual establishment of the most widely used measures in the world. And while he had access to the letters, notes, and diaries of the men involved and members of various scientific societies, there was no day-to-day narrative to be followed. The book also strays from the primary effort and includes a great deal of history, which was critical to the main expedition. The time that included the, "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen", in 1789, through Bonaparte's coup d etat in November of 1799 are remarkable periods in human history. The author blends the famous task that was carried out while always keeping in perspective the events that hindered more than helped the monumental completion of the task.The methods and the instruments used were very complex, and while the author does not presume the reader will have a grasp of the math or instruments, he does provide an excellent appendix with illustrations. Even a cursory review greatly enhances the read, and the more time taken to learn the methodology, the more fantastic the accomplishment becomes.The fruits of these labors are still in a vault that is opened yearly. On the final Friday in September, the 3 necessary keys are brought to open the vault and the platinum meter and kilogram are viewed, their temperature taken, and then closed off from any influence that could alter their shape for another year.