Measuring the World: A Novel Audiobook (Unabridged)

" Brilliant evocation of Victorian intellectual ambition and its limitations and blind spots. "

" Read original: Die Vermessung der Welt. "

" A very fast read, I couldn't put it down in the end. Truly a remarkable portrait of two great men, but also a philosophical journey; full of humour, but also serious... A book that is very hard to describe, so just read it :) "

" A german bestselling book. Easy to read, a biography of two of the most famous german scientists from the last few centuries, the mathematician Gauss and the traveling researcher von Humboldt. But..., don't read it. The book leaves you empty. Somehow Kehlmann's descripitions remind me of Garcia Marquez, but less brilliant, less crazy, somehow more made up. In between the pages you recognize two or three popular philosophical subjects, but the author has mixed them in with too much purpose, the book is not breathing them. It's too sleek, to well made, without giving the answer that is being promised throughout the book. Humboldt may have discovered the world - not so the reader. You don't know more about life after this book. "

" Zonder twijfel een kluifje voor wiskundigen, natuurwetenschappers en... landmeters. Ik daag in elk geval alle winezen uit voor een kritische lezing! "

" Okay. So I have tried and failed miserably to read this book. It started out interestingly enough but I lost interest in the book fast. I don't know why exactly, but something about the book made it extremely tiring to read. "

" My favorite kind of historical novel, which is to say a good novel that just happens to be set in the past & involve real people. In this case, the scientist-explorer Humboldt (namesake of the squid) & Gauss the mathematician. "

" witzig, klug - einfach wunderbar unterhaltsam. Das Leben von zwei Genies auf so eine humorvolle Art darzustellen, das schafft nicht jeder! "

" at first this was like reading two books...the stories of the mathematician gaus and the explorer von humbolt went their separate ways. when the two met up though the tone totally changes and kehlmann's flip, episodic style seems to come to life--not always easy to follow, but definitely lively. "

" This is about two really funny German guys. I laughed at them and sorta kinda learned that adventure can happen wherever you want...if you're a psychotic genius. So I'll be off to new lands (1 out of 2 isn't enough). "

" Never thought I'd enjoy a book about science so much, read it nearly in one go. Dry humour and well narrated on the lives of the two geniuses. "

" "a real example of the pitiful arbitrariness of existence that you were born into a particular time and held prisoner there ... It gave you an indecent advantage over the past and made you a clown vis-a-vis the future." "

" Very funny book about Gault and Humbolt "

" Two scientists become human. Interesting style and subtle (often dark) humor. I wonder what the translation will be like. "

" Loved it! I believe it's historically solid (the author is a historian), some facts were completely new to me (there is connection between the Rio Negro and the Orinoco), and Gauss is just not a nice guy! "

" Read original: Die Vermessung der Welt. "

" brilliant, magical and hilarious. rich with history and the irreplaceable company of two equally great and eccentric characters. the agile style and touches of witty humor makes it a very pleasant read. "

" Two grumpy old men recounting their great ambitions and the journeys these ambitions became? It was very funny. "

" Inhaltlich gut. Idee gut. Art des Erzählens war definitiv nicht die Weise, die ich lesen möchte. "

" I am always amazed to find that a translation reads as brilliantly as the original, but according to my German friend this does. This was pure pleasure to read, for the language, the story, the characters, the humor, everything. "

" Very interesting book about two interesting persons: Gauss and Alexander von Humboldt. "

" Two scientists become human. Interesting style and subtle (often dark) humor. I wonder what the translation will be like. "

" I really liked the parts about Humboldt, but Gauss were harder to read. Mostly because he was so antisocial that it hurt. Humboldt wanted to measure the world so he explored it, and Gauss measured the world from his house. Interesting, and good. There are some crude parts. "

" Interesting but it didn't really grip me for some reason. Both the main characters are eccentric geniuses from start to finish so there's not a lot of character development going on. There is a bit of humour though especially from the Humboldt's poor assistant who increasingly wants to kill him. "