Measuring America : how an untamed wilderness shaped the United States and fulfilled the promise of democracy / Andro Linklater.

By: Material type: TextPublication details: New York : Walker & Co., 2002.Description: 310 p. : ill. ; 22 cmISBN:
  • 0802713963
Subject(s): LOC classification:
  • E 161.3 .L46 2002
Contents:
1. The invention of landed property -- 2. Precise confusion-- 3. Who owned America -- 4. Life, liberty, or what -- 5. Simple arithmetic -- 6. A line drawn in the wilderness -- 7. The French dimension -- 8. Democratic decimals -- 9. The birth of the metric system -- 10. Dombey's luck -- 11. The end of Putnam -- 12. The immaculate grid -- 13. The shape of cities -- 14. Hassler's passion -- 15. The dispossessed -- 16. The limit of enclosure -- 17. Four against ten -- 18. Metric triumphant -- Epilogue : the witness tree.
Summary: Linklater's fascinating, provocative and eye-opening story of why America has ended up with its unique system of weights and measures, is explained in this volume that also shows how it has shaped the culture and country.
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Item type Current library Call number Status Barcode
Book Storms Research Center Main Collection E 161.3 .L46 2002 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 98624133

Includes bibliographical references (p. 289-292) and index.

1. The invention of landed property -- 2. Precise confusion-- 3. Who owned America -- 4. Life, liberty, or what -- 5. Simple arithmetic -- 6. A line drawn in the wilderness -- 7. The French dimension -- 8. Democratic decimals -- 9. The birth of the metric system -- 10. Dombey's luck -- 11. The end of Putnam -- 12. The immaculate grid -- 13. The shape of cities -- 14. Hassler's passion -- 15. The dispossessed -- 16. The limit of enclosure -- 17. Four against ten -- 18. Metric triumphant -- Epilogue : the witness tree.

Linklater's fascinating, provocative and eye-opening story of why America has ended up with its unique system of weights and measures, is explained in this volume that also shows how it has shaped the culture and country.

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