The Measure of All Things

In 1792 the French began their effort to determine the length of a meter, using the size of the Earth as its basis. Mechain and Delambre carefully measure the length of a line of longitude from Dunkirk to Barcelona, a quarter of a line of longitude, and plan to derive the length of a meter. But the French Revolution and various accidents prevent a swift measurement. Byron Jennings reads the minute details of the expeditions, tracing first Delambre's work, then Mechain's, requiring the listener to keep track of who has done what. Jennings's straightforward narration fits the scholarly tone of this text perfectly. A map of the measurements is included. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine