Measuring the World

A charming satire and re-imagined biography of two German giants of science, mathematician Gauss and explorer Humboldt. They are not only united in their desire to understand and measure the world, but also in their dislike of and inability to navigate everyday society and its norms.

A wonderful and entertaining book. Plus early 19th century measuring devices and stories of geniuses forgetting the world with their heads stuck in abstract calculations. Which is definitely my sort of thing.