The Great Arc: the dramatic tale of how India was mapped and Everest was named

JOHN KEAY

ISBN 10: 0002570629 / ISBN 13: 9780002570626

Published by HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD, 2000

About this Item

Used - Very Good.

Seller Inventory # 3-VVV-2-0186

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Great Arc: the dramatic tale of how India was mapped and Everest was named
• Publisher: HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0002570629
• ISBN 13: 9780002570626
• Binding: hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

About this title

Synopsis

A vivid description of one of the most ambitious scientific projects undertaken in the 19th century, and the men who undertook the measurement of the Himalayas and the mapping of the Indian William Lambton and George Everest.The graphic story of the measurement of a meridian, or longitudinal, arc extending from the tip of the Indian subcontinent to the mountains of the Himalayas.Much the longest such measurement hitherto made, it posed horrendous technical difficulties, made impossible physical demands on the survey parties (jungle, tigers, mountains etc.), and took over 50 years. But the scientific results were commensurate, including the discovery of the world's highest peaks and a new calculation of the curvature of the earth's surface.The Indian Mutiny of 1857 triggered a massive construction of roads, railways, telegraph lines and canals throughout all depended heavily on the accuracy of the maps which the Great Arc had made possible.

About the Author

John Keay is an author and broadcaster specialising in Asian history and current affairs. His other books include (in addition to his HarperCollins backlist above): Into India, When Men and Mountains Meet, Eccentric Travellers and Explorers Extraordinary. He lives with his wife Julia in Argyll, Scotland.