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Amazon.co.uk 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
Mail on Sunday
"More extraordinary than any fiction."
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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'.
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not at all the human drama I was expecting
I love narrative non-fiction and picked this book up thinking I'd find another gem of a story about how the shape of the earth has come to be known, something along the lines of... Read more
Published 2 hours ago by RebeccaKern
Brilliant insight into Victorian obsessives
You don't have to be either a mathematician or geographer to revel in the extraordinariness of this story. Mesmerising and compelling.
Published 3 months ago by Mike
Everest
I tend to want a high degree of technical data in my books, the only modern Author I have come across who gets close to this is Simon Singh. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Bill
An epic tale. Nothing to do with Noah.
In the 21st century it is a trivial matter to find out where you are using such devices as GPS. In the 18th Century it was really very difficult indeed. Read more
Published 17 months ago by waterloggedcat
A fascinating story about science perseverance and resourcefullness...
Trigonometry is a boring topic that we learn in school. The application in map-making is quite difficult, but also exciting, demanding and rewarding. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2010 by Dr. H. Folgering
The Great Arc
A fascinating tale of surveying, enterprise and wonderful standards of work at such an early stage in world discovery.
a great read.
a great read.
Published on 25 Dec 2009 by Prof John Cowan
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