Overview
"THE FIRST POPULAR HISTORY OF THE MAKING OF THE MASON-DIXON LINE The Mason-Dixon linesurely the most famous surveyors line ever drawnrepresents one of the greatest and most difficult scientific achievements of its time. But behind this significant triumph is a thrilling story, one that has thus far eluded both historians and surveyors. In this engrossing narrative, professional surveyor Edwin Danson takes us on a fascinating journey with Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two gifted and exuberant English surveyors, through the fields and forests of eighteenth-century America. Vividly describing life in the backwoods and the hardships and dangers of frontier surveying, Drawing the Line discloses for the first time in 250 years many hitherto unknown surveying methods, revealing how Mason and Dixon succeeded where the best American surveyors of the period failed. In accessible, ordinary language, Danson masterfully throws the first clear light on the surveying of the Mason-Dixon line. Set in the social and historical context of pre-Revolutionary America, this book is a spellbinding account of one of the great and historic achievements of its time. Advance Praise for Drawing the Line ""Drawing the Line combines a fast-moving story, a human drama, and a clear account of surveying in the era of George Washington. An intriguing interaction of politics and science.""CHARLES ROYSTER, Boyd Professor of History, Louisiana State University, and Winner of the Bancroft Prize in History"
Full Product Details
Author: Edwin Danson
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Imprint: John Wiley & Sons Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 16.20cm
, Height: 2.00cm
, Length: 23.80cm
Weight: 0.516kg
ISBN: 9780471385028
ISBN 10: 0471385026
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 06 December 2000
Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
General
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Unknown
Availability: Out of print, replaced by POD
We will order this item for you from a manufatured on demand supplier.
Reviews
...thoroughly researched... a good story shines through... (Sunday Times -- Book of the Week, 18th March 2001)
.,. thoroughly researched... a good story shines through... (Sunday Times - Book of the Week, 18th March 2001)
Author Information
EDWIN DANSON is a geodetic surveyor with some 35 years of experience working on assignments in many countries, including the United States. He is a Chartered Surveyor of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors. He has made many contributions to professional journals and books and is a prominent authority in his field. He lives near London, England.
