Customer Reviews
A tall tale - By: Sarakani, 17 Nov 2006 
I've given this five stars, as I did not have a clue about the issues involved & the people concerned that this book concerns, before I picked it up.
The best thing about it is it brings back two people & their associates, who had attained oblivion, to a sort of immortality.
Lucidly written & easy to get through, the book comes from a specialist on India with some fine books to his credit including a major history of the sub-continent.
I think this book makes a fine gift, & I've already started giving away copies.
Rarely are the hidden chapters of history which would ordinarily be considered too dry to even bother with returned to consciousness. The adventure, effort & facts about Indian Geography including the Himalaya & the lives of expatriate Englishpeople, stiching up an Empire - it makes absorbing reading.
A great tale of a great big survey. - By: , 25 Apr 2002 I've often wondered why Mount Everest was named so...what George Everest achieved in mapping a country as big as India is amazing. The challlanges he faced along the way; malaria killing hundreds of men, unpredictable natives, & of course the climate, & how he overcame these problems is fascinating.
Overalll the book gives a very good account of how important the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India was, & how accurate; the estimation of India's highest mountain over 150 years ago was only 100m off todays measurement by computers & satellites!
It would help if one had a qualification in Geodesy - By: tskinner@batesuk.com, 05 Apr 2001 
but luckily this is not entirely necessary for Mr Keay does attempt to initiate the novice with an understanding of the subject & ancillary sciences. However, through the mist of trigonometry & refraction coefficients, the author reveals a story of incredible human endeavour in measuring the spine & associated areas of India. The book paints vivid portraits of the two main architects; the modest William Lambton & the martinet George Everest. The personalities of these pioneers could not have been more different. However, both were men of integrity & both driven by a common, almost fanatical, dedication to the onerous task. A fine documentary, almost certainly the only readable account of the 'Great Trigonometrical Survey of India'.
