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 | | The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600 by Alfred W. Crosby ISBN-10: 0521554276 ISBN-10: 0-521-55427-6 ISBN-13: 9780521554275 ISBN-13: 978-0-521-55427-5 Hardcover 1996-11-28 Cambridge University Press Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Amazon.com The Measure of Reality is the third book in a series in which Alfred Crosby, a noted historian, asks how it is that Western European societies could have conquered so much of the world in the space of a few generations. The answer, he finds, is in certain agricultural and technological techniques. In this volume he turns to one set of techniques in particular: the precise measurement of time, number, and distance. That precise measurement enabled European armies to march in step, enabled navigators to find faraway ports, and enabled gunsmiths and chemists to formulate the weapons of conquest. These inventions were refined over centuries, but most came heavily into play in the years between 1250 and 1300, the period Crosby examines in closest detail. The Measure of Reality offers a fascinating, big-picture view of the artifacts that changed history. | ||
Product Description Western Europeans were among the first, if not the first, to invent mechanical clocks, geometrically precise maps, double-entry bookkeeping, precise algebraic and musical notations, and perspective painting. More people in Western Europe thought quantitatively in the sixteenth century than in any other part of the world, enabling them to become the world's leaders. With amusing detail and historical anecdote, Alfred Crosby discusses the shift from qualitative to quantitative perception that occurred during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Alfred W. Crosby is the author of five books, including the award-winning Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 (Cambridge, 1986) | ||
Reviews | ||
Part 3 of a Trilogy An important consideration when reading this book is to remember that it is the third part of a trilogy, with the first two parts being (1) "The Columbian Exchange" and (2) "Ecological Imperialism." Crosby's case studies in this book on the development of quantitative thinking in Europe are fascinating in and of themselves. But the overall impact of the shift from quanlitative to quantitative thinking in the emergence of Europe as a world power is absolutely critical to the understanding of the world today. I find this concept to be both more compelling and more predictive than the arguments put forth in G. Diamond's "Guns Germs and Steel." By way of example, look at what India, China and other East Asian countries have done with the adoption of quantitative thinking. | ||
Necessary but Inefficient Professor Crosby has done a well written work on history of quantification and western society, but it's quite flawed on substance. Crosby believes that there is a special "mentalite" which has driven Europeans to their "amazing success of European imperialism." He provides many examples on the "distinct" European mentalite which were not quite unique. Among them are 1) Ptolemy's grid map system which he believes to be of European Orgin. However, the Chinese scientist, Zhang heng, created the map grid system in China during Han dynasty and it was used in both city planning and navigation. 2) European double bookkeeping which he believes to be vital in European history because of its emphasis on accuracy and part of this mentalite. However, advance bookkeeping methods were also evident in merchants of the Islamic Gun Powder Empires. In historic research, when one dedicates all his effort to find a particular trait in a culture, he will be bound to "find" it. As in Crosby's case, he tries to find this mentalite in Europe and he did find it. However, so can an Islamic, Chinese, Indian, scholar....if he looks hard enough. | ||
An overview of the shaping of a technological world. Crosby does a fantastic job covering a vast change in the overall society changes from 1250-1600. For the amount of vast knowledge packed in you'd think the book would be 3,000 pages. He brings us an interesting approach to the actual birth and uprise of modern techonology, arts and literature as we know it. | ||
Interesting, well-written, and enlightening Crosby takes on a very difficult and complicated subject here and manages a book of remarkable clarity and balance. The book is lightly written and though the footnotes were a bit distracting (I'd have preferred they be set out in an appendix) it's a fast, friendly read. I would recommend it to readers with a wide range of interests from general world or medieval European history, to those interested in the roots of western business practices, music history and notation, physics, astronomy, mathematics . . . Bravo, Mr. Crosby! | ||
highly recommended The author does a spectacular job of building a bridge from Medieval thought to a nascent scientific era using the theme of quantification. He uses an entertaining and readable style to document the emergence of measurement schemes in disciplines and activities as diverse as bookkeeping and music. I found the book both enjoyable and enlightening, and plan to cite it frequently in my teaching. | ||