Describes the early 18th-century expedition of scientists sent by France and Spain to colonial Peru to measure the degree of equatorial latitude, which could resolve the debate between whether the earth was spherical or flattened at the poles.

"A biography of ancient Greek mathematician Eratosthenes, who used geometry to calculate the circumference of the earth. He is also known as the Father of Geography"--Provided by publisher.

A colorfully illustrated biography of the Greek philosopher and scientist Eratosthenes, who compiled the first geography book and accurately measured the globe's circumference.

For readers of Homegoing and The Leavers, a compelling and profound debut novel about a Tibetan family's journey through exile. International Bestseller Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize In the wake of China's invasion of Tibet throughout the 1950s, Lhamo and her younger sister, Tenkyi, arrive at a refugee camp in Nepal. They survived the dangerous journey across the Himalayas, but their parents did not. As Lhamo-haunted by the loss of her homeland and her mother, a village oracle-tries to rebuild a life amid a shattered community, hope arrives in the form of a young man named Samphel and his uncle, who brings with him the ancient statue of the Nameless Saint-a relic known to vanish and reappear in times of need. Decades later, the sisters are separated, and Tenkyi is living with Lhamo's daughter, Dolma, in Toronto. While Tenkyi works as a cleaner and struggles with traumatic memories, Dolma vies for a place as a scholar of Tibetan Studies. But when Dolma comes across the Nameless Saint in a collector's vault, she must decide what she is willing to do for her community, even if it means risking her dreams. Breathtaking in its scope and powerful in its intimacy, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies is a gorgeously written meditation on colonization, displacement, and the lengths we'll go to remain connected to our families and ancestral lands. Told through the lives of four people over fifty years, this novel provides a nuanced, moving portrait of the little-known world of Tibetan exiles.

Appalling secrets lie beneath the civility of a small town. Two boys joined in an unlikely alliance confront a world of body snatching, terror, and murder.Nathan Pickerel's hilarious difficulties adjusting to a new school lessen after Floyd Singletary, a gifted outcast, befriends him. The two boys hear tales from an old widow that set them on an exploration of Nathan's new home - an ancient two-story house full of secrets. In an attempt to find money hidden in the house they soon turn up a mummified corpse in a retaining wall in the basement and expose themselves to sinister forces that have remained out of sight since the 1930s.In a showdown between the boys and a sadistic family of grave robbers who feel they have a right to the missing money, Nathan is kidnapped and faced with torture. Floyd, unable to enlist the help of the police because of his reputation as living in a fantasy world, saves Nathan through cunning and bravery. But Floyd is later convicted of murder. Only Floyd's brilliance and Nathan's loyalty eventually save him.

The author of this history of mankind’s increasingly successful attempts to understand, to measure and to map the Earth’s gravity field (commonly known as ‘little g’ or just ‘g’) has been following in the footsteps of the pioneers, intermittently and with a variety of objectives, for more than fifty years. It is a story that begins with Galileo’s early experiments with pendulums and falling bodies, progresses through the conflicts between Hooke and Newton and culminates in the measurements that are now being made from aircraft and satellites. The spectacular increases in accuracy that have been achieved during this period provide the context, but the main focus is on the people, many of whom were notable eccentrics. Also covered are the reasons WHY these people thought their measurements would be useful, with emphasis in the later chapters on the place of ‘g’ in today’s applied geology, and on the ways in which it is providing new and spectacular visions of our planet. It is also, in part, a personal memoir that explores the parallels between the way fieldwork is being done now and the difficulties that accompanied its execution in the past. Selected topics in the mathematics of ‘g’ are discussed in a series of short Codas.

In the early eighteenth century, at the peak of the Enlightenment, an unlikely team of European scientists and naval officers set out on the world's first international, cooperative scientific expedition.Intent on making precise astronomical measurements at the Equator, they were poised to resolve one of mankind's oldest mysteries: the true shape of the Earth. In Measure of the Earth, award-winning science writer Larrie D. Ferreiro tells the full story of the Geodesic Mission to the Equator for the very first time.It was an age when Europe was torn between two competing conceptions of the world: the followers of René Descartes argued that the Earth was elongated at the poles, even as IsaacNewton contended that it was flattened. A nation that could accurately determine the planet's shape could securely navigate its oceans, giving it great military and imperial advantages.Recognizing this, France and Spain organized a joint expedition to colonial Peru, Spain's wealthiest kingdom.Armed with the most advanced surveying and astronomical equipment, they would measure a degree of latitude at the Equator, which when compared with other measurements would reveal the shape of the world.But what seemed to be a straightforward scientific exercise was almost immediately marred by a series of unforeseen catastrophes, as the voyagers found their mission threatened by treacherous terrain, a deeply suspicious populace, and their own hubris. A thrilling tale of adventure, political history, and scientific discovery, Measure of the Earth recounts the greatest scientific expedition of the Enlightenment through the eyes of the men who completed it -- pioneers who overcame tremendous adversity to traverse the towering Andes Mountains in order to discern the Earth's shape. In the process they also opened the eyes of Europe to the richness of South America and paved the way for scientific cooperation on a global scale.

This book describes in detail the various theories on the shape of the Earth from classical antiquity to the present day and examines how measurements of its form and dimensions have evolved throughout this period. The origins of the notion of the sphericity of the Earth are explained, dating back to Eratosthenes and beyond, and detailed attention is paid to the struggle to establish key discoveries as part of the cultural heritage of humanity. In this context, the roles played by the Catholic Church and the philosophers of the Middle Ages are scrutinized. Later contributions by such luminaries as Richer, Newton, Clairaut, Maupertuis, and Delambre are thoroughly reviewed, with exploration of the importance of mathematics in their geodetic enterprises. The culmination of progress in scientific research is the recognition that the reference figure is not a sphere but rather a geoid and that the earth’s shape is oblate. Today, satellite geodesy permits the solution of geodetic problems by means of precise measurements. Narrating this fascinating story from the very beginning not only casts light on our emerging understanding of the figure of the Earth but also offers profound insights into the broader evolution of human thought.

Long trackways, stone rows, circles, standing stones, and huge earthworks may be found all over Britain, monuments dating back well over 4000 years. The authors have made a remarkable breakthrough in understanding the system by which prehistoric monuments were designed and placed.

During geologic spans of time, Earth's shifting tectonic plates, atmosphere, freezing water, thawing ice, flowing rivers, and evolving life have shaped Earth's surface features. The resulting hills, mountains, valleys, and plains shelter ecosystems that interact with all life and provide a record of Earth surface processes that extend back through Earth's history. Despite rapidly growing scientific knowledge of Earth surface interactions, and the increasing availability of new monitoring technologies, there is still little understanding of how these processes generate and degrade landscapes. Landscapes on the Edge identifies nine grand challenges in this emerging field of study and proposes four high-priority research initiatives. The book poses questions about how our planet's past can tell us about its future, how landscapes record climate and tectonics, and how Earth surface science can contribute to developing a sustainable living surface for future generations.