Measure of the Earth

Resumen del libro

In the early eighteenth century, European thinkers were torn between Descartes' notion that the earth was spherical and Newton's contention that it was flattened at the poles. Eager to reap the great military and imperial advantages of knowing the earth's exact shape, France and Spain sent an expedition of scientists and naval officers to colonial Peru to measure the degree of equatorial latitude, which could resolve the debate. But what seemed to be a straightforward survey down the Andes was quickly marred by catastrophe.In Measure of the Earth, award-winning science writer Larrie D. Ferreiro tells the full story of the Geodesic Mission for the first time, describing the remarkable scientific expedition through the eyes of the men who served on it.

Biografía del autor

Larrie D. Ferreiro se doctoró en Historia de la Ciencia y Tecnología en el Imperial College de Londres. En la actualidad, es profesor de historia e ingeniería en la George Mason University de Virginia y en el Stevens Institute of Technology de New Jersey. Durante más de 35 años ha servido en la Marina de Estados Unidos, en los Guardacostas de Estados Unidos y en el Departamento de Defensa; también ha sido ingeniero de intercambio en la Marina francesa. Entre sus obras figuran Measure of the Earth: The Enlightenment Expedition That Reshaped Our World, Ships and Science: The Birth of Naval Architecture in the Scientific Revolution, 1600-1800 y Hermanos de armas. La intervención de España y Francia que salvó la Independencia de los EE. UU., con el que fue finalista del Premio Pulitzer en Historia.