LIMITED TIME OFFER. Get 3 months for $0.99 a month. Get this deal.

World In the Balance

The Historic Quest for an Absolute System of Measurement

Preview

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to Cart failed.

Please try again later

Add to Wish List failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wish list failed.

Please try again later

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

$0.00 for first 30 days

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Get 3 months for $0.99/mo

Get this deal

Try for $0.00

Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm PT.

Amazon Prime member exclusive: get any 2 titles with your free trial. Terms apply.

Just $0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.

1 audiobook per month of your choice from our unparalleled catalog.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.

Auto-renews at $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.

Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

World In the Balance

Written by: Robert P. Crease

Narrated by: William Roberts

Get this deal

Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offers ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm PT.

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $31.26

About this listen

The epic story of the invention of a global network of weights, scales, and instruments for measurement.

Millions of transactions each day depend on a reliable network of weights and measures. This network has been called a greater invention than the steam engine, comparable only to the development of the printing press.

Robert P. Crease traces the evolution of this international system from the use of flutes to measure distance in the dynasties of ancient China and figurines to weigh gold in West Africa to the creation of the French metric and British imperial systems. The former prevailed, with the United States one of three holdout nations. Into this captivating history Crease weaves stories of colorful individuals, including Thomas Jefferson, an advocate of the metric system, and American philosopher Charles S. Peirce, the first to tie the meter to the wavelength of light. Tracing the dynamic struggle for ultimate precision, World in the Balance demonstrates that measurement is both stranger and more integral to our lives than we ever suspected.

Science

World

Technology

Mathematics

Africa

Ancient History

No reviews yet