The Great Arc: The Dramatic Tale of How India Was Mapped and Everest Was Named |
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John Keay
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Pages: 208 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0006531237
Pub: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Pub date: 2001-08-06
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 68678
Editorial Review:
The Great Arc asks you to imagine a world without maps, a world where distance, height and depth cannot be taken for granted and where any journey is largely guesswork. The Great Indian Arc of the Meridian, begun in 1800, was the longest measurement of the Earth's surface ever to have been attempted. By the time it was completed 50 years later, more than 1,600 miles of the Indian sub-continent from its southern tip to the Himalayas together with the precise curvature of the Earth, had been surveyed inch-perfectly, effectively opening up the county to the present-day network of roads, railways and telegraph systems. Today, it still remains both one of the great scientific achievements of the 19th century and a lasting testament to Britain's colonial folie de grandeur. Mapping the sub-continent was a mathematical nightmare and the computations could have filled a library. However, it was also a technical nightmare. Each reading could only be confirmed from a location whose precise co-ordinates and height above sea-level were also known, so the operation involved a snail-like zig-zag along every metre of t he country, through jungle, rivers and across mountain ranges. Death and disease stalked the operation with countless casualties lost t o malaria and wild animals, but the single-minded Brits persevered. John Keay is something of an old India hand, with four histories of the sub-continent already to his credit, but The Great Arc could just make him a household name. It has the chatty tones of other small-scale histories, such as Longitude, and a similar cast of eccentric characters--not least William Lambton and George Everest, the two commanders of the expedition. The result is an intelligent and highly readable account of a long-forgotten historical backwater that fills one with awe for both the high-minded determination and stupidity of our forebears, while leaving one profoundly grateful that no one is now expected to follow in their footsteps. --John Crace
Reader Reviews:
A tall tale (0/0 people found this helpful)
I've given this five stars, as I did not have a clue about the issues involved and the people concerned that this book concerns, before I picked it up.
The best thing about it is it brings back two people and their associates, who had attained oblivion, to a sort of immortality.
Lucidly written and easy to get through, the book comes from a specialist on India with some fine books to his credit including a major history of the sub-continent.
I think this book makes a fine gift, and I've already started giving away copies.
Rarely are the hidden chapters of history which would ordinarily be considered too dry to even bother with returned to consciousness. The adventure, effort and facts about Indian Geography including the Himalaya and the lives of expatriate Englishpeople, stiching up an Empire - it makes absorbing reading.
A great tale of a great big survey. (20/22 people found this helpful)
I've often wondered why Mount Everest was named so...what George Everest achieved in mapping a country as big as India is amazing. The challanges he faced along the way; malaria killing hundreds of men, unpredictable natives, and of course the climate, and how he overcame these problems is fascinating.
Overall the book gives a very good account of how important the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India was, and how accurate; the estimation of India's highest mountain over 150 years ago was only 100m off todays measurement by computers and satellites!
It would help if one had a qualification in Geodesy (7/7 people found this helpful)
but luckily this is not entirely necessary for Mr Keay does attempt to initiate the novice with an understanding of the subject and ancillary sciences. However, through the mist of trigonometry and refraction coefficients, the author reveals a story of incredible human endeavour in measuring the spine and associated areas of India. The book paints vivid portraits of the two main architects; the modest William Lambton and the martinet George Everest. The personalities of these pioneers could not have been more different. However, both were men of integrity and both driven by a common, almost fanatical, dedication to the onerous task. A fine documentary, almost certainly the only readable account of the 'Great Trigonometrical Survey of India'.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Countries & Regions -> Asia -> India
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Reference -> Historical Atlases & Maps
Books -> Subjects -> History -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> Atlases & Maps -> Continents & Regions -> Asia -> Indian Sub-Continent -> India
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> Atlases & Maps -> Countries A-Z -> Other Asian Countries
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> Atlases & Maps -> Countries A-Z -> India
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Science & Nature -> Engineering & Technology -> Civil Engineering -> Surveying
Books -> Subjects -> Science & Nature -> Astronomy & Cosmology -> Astronomy
Books -> Subjects -> Science & Nature -> Popular Science
Books -> Subjects -> Scientific, Technical & Medical -> Engineering -> Civil Engineering -> Surveying
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
uk-shops -> Travel -> Travel Guides & Books -> Countries & Regions -> Asia -> Atlases & Maps -> Indian Sub-Continent -> India
uk-shops -> Travel -> Travel Guides & Books -> Atlases & Maps -> Countries A-Z -> Other Asian Countries
uk-shops -> Travel -> Travel Guides & Books -> Atlases & Maps -> Countries A-Z -> India
uk-shops -> Travel -> Travel Guides & Books -> General
uk-shops -> Travel -> Atlases & Maps -> Continents & Regions -> Asia -> Indian Sub-Continent -> India
uk-shops -> Travel -> Atlases & Maps -> Countries A-Z -> Other Asian Countries
uk-shops -> Travel -> Atlases & Maps -> Countries A-Z -> India