Editorial Review:
From the cubit used by Noah to build the ark to the angstrom in spectroscopy, units of measure have been integral to science and engineering. Throughout history, countless systems of measurement have been devised and then discarded as more precise and more logical systems have come along. While most of the world has adopted the metric system, the United States -- with the curious exception of soda bottles -- adheres to the imperial system, even though the country has officially been a metric nation since 1893, when Thomas Corwin Mendenhall declared metric prototypes the country's "fundamental standards of length and mass." The convenience of the base-ten metric system is undeniable, and so are the costs associated with not converting to metric. Yet, Americans still cling to inches, quarts, and ounces. Clearly, there is more to measurement than logic. In Measure for Measure, Alex Hebra offers a delightfully engaging and instructive history of measurement systems from ancient times to the present, exploring how and why such units as the stadium, the span, and the parsec first came about. Tracing civilization's various efforts to calculate distance, volume, mass, energy, and time, he explains how units of measurement are applied in such fields as mechanical engineering, physics, optics, and astronomy. In particular, Hebra focuses on the development of the metric system, arguing that even the United States will eventually join the worldwide metric community. Deeply informed and imaginatively told, Measure for Measure chronicles humanity's imperfect search for the perfect system with which to quantify reality.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Interesting material, but dreadful organization  2004-01-26
This book covers a lot of information which could be done quite interestingly. However, its organization leaves so much to be desired that I was very disappointed in the book. It covers things like dimensional analysis and the effect of choice of units on physical formulas, as well as the history of units (as promised in the title), but it jumps from topic to topic in a chaotic manner, with topics that are closely related scattered among different chapters and things that ought to be separated lumped together in one chapter.Another reviewer talked of the errors in some of the equations in this book. They are there, but I don't think that this is the biggest problem with this book. Rather, it is the totally incomprehensible lack of any sensible organization.
Very Promising But a Little Disappointing 2003-12-18
I just love books like this. They guide the reader through various physical concepts using simple calculations, often to arrive at interesting conclusions. The author of this book has attempted to do this in an accessible way while mixing in historical snippets to add to ones reading pleasure. Unfortunately, I must agree with the prior reviewer who commented on the fact that the book was very poorly edited. There are, indeed, too many errors and typos, especially in the equations, and many explanations lack the clarity and completeness that one would expect in such a book - things that may discourage neophytes and induce feelings of impatience and mistrust in the minds of the initiated. But because of the interesting topics discussed, a thorough, proper and careful revision of this book, including careful re-thinking and re-writing of some of the discussions would easily make it five-star material. Such a revised version would be an asset to popular science literature.
Different systems are juxtaposed and examined  2003-12-13
Measure For Measure is an informed and scholarly history of imperial, metric and other units of measurements blends science, engineering, and human discovery in a historical survey which examines standards of length and mass. Different systems are juxtaposed and examined during the course of Hebra's coverage, providing an excellent, engaging survey of past, present and possible future measurement systems and how they came to be.
Great little science book 2003-08-29
I was not the best student in high school or college, but now that I'm a "mature grownup" I enjoy reading science journals and books - as long as they're not too dry or massive. Who has time to plow through a 600 page tome? I enjoyed reading Measure for Measure. Mr. Hebra uses lively text, formulas and plenty of clear drawings to help explain the subject matter. In every chapter I found fascinating details. Like how close we came to adopting a metric clock (10 hours per day, 100 minutes per hour) or that the great Thomas Edison electrocuted stray dogs to prove how dangerous AC electricity was, compared to DC. Yikes! As with all disputes, the opposing sides of the metric vs. "standard" debate can sometimes be very polarizing and shrill. Mr. Hebra does not try to sway us one way or another but instead explains the logic and history behind our systems of measurement. He sometimes strays off the subject, but that's part of this book's charm. Hebra's anecdotes are amusing and help put a human face on the evolution of science and measuring systems. If you want to learn a little more about and how mass, size, heat and time are all related and measured I strongly recommend picking up a copy of Measure for Measure.
The whole nine yards (8.23 meters) 2003-08-27
The great science myth is that all scientists use metric units. In this marvelous little book, which is thoroughly enjoyable to read, Hebra shows that they don't. Astronomers have parsecs, particle physicists use barns, and engineers and mathematicians often don't use units at all. To prove his point, Hebra shows us how to instruct space aliens to build a hydroelectric dam, without knowing what fluids they may use, how big their planet may be, how strong its gravitational force may be, etc. Along the way, there are some fascinating anecdotes about hogsheads and jereboams, the thirteen-month year proposed by the League of Nations, and the size of Noah's ark. I now have a far greater appreciation of the scientists and engineers who struggled so hard, and for so long, to come up with a standard system of units. I wish I could have read this book when I was taking physics in college. It's entertaining and breathes life into the science of measurement.
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