Measuring the World

De: Daniel Kehlmann

Narrado por: Rider Strong

Scientist-explorer Alexander von Humboldt summons the great mathematician Carl Gauss to Berlin before embarking on an ambitious expedition across Russia, determined to measure the world. The story tells of Von Humboldt's focused and robust adventures—as he negotiates savannah and jungle, climbs the highest mountain, counts head lice on native's heads, and explores every hole in the ground—and Gauss, a man born in poverty who will be recognized as the greatest mathematician since Newton and whose greatest trials in life are his wife and that everyone else thinks too slowly.

©2006 Daniel Kehlmann (P)2006 Phoenix Books

Interesting for initiates not sure about everyone else

If you have had more than your fair share of the sciences, this book will feel like an old friend. I thoroughly enjoyed and understood it. Quixotic, Godotesque, and scientific all wrapped up in the humanities. An honest book.

Deadly deadpan

The neutral deadpan recounting of the exploits of these two geniuses in a terrible reading by someone who does not understand the function of the full stop (period) makes for a poor experience - such a disappointment after the superb reading of The Director by the same author.

Interesting but confusing

This is a fascinating story but the fact that it's translated I think led to some confusing passages. The narrator also didn't delineate the characters well, which sometimes made it harder to follow who was speaking and what was going on.

Worst reader ever. No respect for a comma.

The story was interesting but I couldn't get past the awful narration of the reader. The reader was so off-putting that I had to slog through. With so many excellent narrators on Audible, it's astounding that a German best-seller novel with good translation was list in poor cadence.

How bad this book is.

Difficult to follow. Not sure if it was intentional but makes all the characters look like buffoons. Lots of scientific obsevations and jargon.