Customer Reviews

The Science of Measurement: A Historical Survey

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NB this review refers to the 1988 reprint of the 1974 edition. So you thought Jack and Jill were just a couple of clumsy kids trying to get some water from the well? Think again - the familiar nursey rhyme is a piece of political satire from the time of Charles 1. Klein's book is full of similar snippets that will serve you in good stead at a dinner party! "Science of Measurement" is an excellent coverage of the SI units - although even this reprint is missing the major redefinition of the metre in 1983. Use this book as a history, and as a guide to the physics behind measurements, but for the most up-to-date definitions of the units you'll want to check a more recent publication.

There's a lot of history in this book, but little analysis. He doesn't even provide analyses of specialized forms of measurement, let alone put forth an attempt to analyze the concept. And, while he obviously knows the history, he doesn't do much to show how it relates to contemporary science.

This book was mostly boring with a few interesting items thrown in here and there. I suppose if I cared about all the millions of different measurements all over the world and how many of one equals how many of another, it might have been interesting. However, I have been trying to read all 700 pages for the last month and am not even half way through it.