|  Winner of the 2003 Dingle Prize awarded by the 
              British Society for the History of Science to the best general-audience 
              book published in the field of the history of science. From the 
              citation: "This is a marvellous book. The story is compelling 
              and wonderfully told. Alder doesn't compromise his scholarship in 
            spinning the tale."    Winner of the 2003 Watson Davis and Helen Miles 
              Davis Prize awarded by the History of Science Society to the best 
              general-audience book published in the field of the history of science. 
              From the citation: "Alder's new book is extraordinary geodetic 
              soap opera that deftly combines gripping narrative, a vivid sense 
              of place and local culture, and a very human exploration fo the 
              meaning, moral significance, and profound personal costs associated 
              with the Enlightenment's embrace of measurement, precision, and 
              rational standards."    Co-winner of the 2004 Donald Kagan Prize from 
              The Historical Society for the best book in European history published 
              in 2002-03. From the citation: "Alder's book is deeply empirical 
              in the way the work of historians can and should be. This is a brilliantly 
              written book." - A New York Times "Notable Book" 
              for 2002 - Cited as a "best book of 2002" by: 
              The EconomistDiscover Magazine
 Book Sense
 Library Journal
 The Sunday Times (London)
 The Sunday Telegraph
 The Spectator
 - 
              A Book Sense top 76 book pick for 2002 - 
              Second place, science-fact book of year, 2004, Buchjournal [Germany], December 2004. - A 
              Main Selection of Clio, Sweden's "History Book of the Month 
              Club"
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