Whatever Happened to the Metric System?: How America Kept Its Feet
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.78 (506 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1608199401 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-02-28 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
The reasons it never happened get to the root of who we think we are, just as American measurements are woven into the ways we think. John Marciano chronicles the origins of measurement systems, the kaleidoscopic array of standards throughout Europe and the thirteen American colonies, the combination of intellect and circumstance that resulted in the metric system's creation in France in the wake of the French Revolution, and America's stubborn adherence to the hybrid United States Customary System ever since. As much as Whatever Happened to the Metric System? is a tale of quarters and tenths, it is a human drama, replete with great inventors, visionary presidents, obsessive activists, and science-loving technocrats.Anyone who reads this inquisitive, engaging story will never read Robert Frost's line "miles to go before I sleep" or eat a foot-long sub again without wond
"Great read of both measures and history" according to T. J. Weidner. It's funny how on can choose a book which by its title seems to be solely technical but then as one reads it one becomes engrossed in a completely different subject of history and philosophy. I found the book difficult to put down and wanting more information about, of all things, the French Revolution. I also found humor. Fascinating story of a compromise that works Robert Skole The average American probably thinks in terms of the metric system only when talking about guns (9 mm. Glock, 105 mm cannon), drugs (81 mg baby aspirin, 10 kilo of marijuana seized by cops), booze (75 cl bottles of wine, 1.75 cl bottles of whiskey or vodka) and every four years, the Olympics (all those swimming and field . César Chávez said Go metric. Well written, but with massive historical, tangential departures from the title of the book. Only a small portion of this book addresses the failure to implement the metric system in the US in recent decades. Worst of all, the author clearly states his allegiance to the old imperial system and his belief that the US shoul
“An indispensable guide for understanding our world's centuries-long process of inching toward standardization.” Wall Street Journal“National and international politics, treaties, wars--all play a role in seeing the full picture of the development of a system of measurements used by the vast majority of the world's countries. Marciano writes with humor and a keen eye, and his fascinating tales reveal how extensively measurement has affected history.” Publishers Weekly"Engaging." The New York Times. Marciano knits these seemingly disparate threads into a rich narrative.” New York Journal of Books“Readers will see a different side of metric enthusiasts--including Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson--as Marciano uncovers the relationship between metric system advocates and social reform movements
. A word and math aficionado, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife, daughter, and two cats. John Bemelmans Marciano is the author and illustrator of many books, including the distinctive reference titles Anonyponymous and Toponymity, as well as the children's books Madeline at the White House (a New York Times bestseller), Madeline and the Cats of Rome, and Harold's Tail