Mit hintergründigem Humor schildert Daniel Kehlmann das Leben zweier Genies: Alexander von Humboldt und Carl Friedrich Gauß. Er beschreibt ihre Seh...
read full description
reviews
May 10, 2011
K.D.
rated it: 
Fascinating read. A scientific historical novel (first published in 2005) originally written in German by young author, Daniel Kehlmann (born 1975). It is said to be the worldwide bestselling German novel since Patrick Suskind's Perfume in 1985.
This is a story of a two scientists during the time of Napoleon reign in Europe. The first scientist is Alexander von Humboldt who is a botanist, geologist and an explorer. He has an elder brother Wilhelm von Humboldt who lives a "normal More...
This is a story of a two scientists during the time of Napoleon reign in Europe. The first scientist is Alexander von Humboldt who is a botanist, geologist and an explorer. He has an elder brother Wilhelm von Humboldt who lives a "normal More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Feb 01, 2008
Oceana2602
rated it: 
Daniel Kehlmann's Measuring the World was one of my birthday presents last year, and I waited almost a year to finally read it. Even though it had been on my wishlist, when it suddenly sat there on my shelf, the idea of reading about pre-industrialization Germany, about Humboldt and Gauß, two boring old scientist, seemed rather dreadful.
I should have known better. Measuring the World is not a science book. It's not about two boring old men either, though it is about two old scientist More...
I should have known better. Measuring the World is not a science book. It's not about two boring old men either, though it is about two old scientist More...
2 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Jan 24, 2009
Andrea
rated it: 
this book was a fine and immensely fascinating and satisfying read!
i read it in one setting last nite, even stayed up late to finish it! it's that kind of book! you learn a lot about living 200 years ago, when there were no dentists, only sailboats and berlin a small town with mostly huts and dirty streets! and at the same time you are entertained! this book was a mega-bestseller in germany, he has a new book coming out called "fame", which deals with the protection of privacy in More...
i read it in one setting last nite, even stayed up late to finish it! it's that kind of book! you learn a lot about living 200 years ago, when there were no dentists, only sailboats and berlin a small town with mostly huts and dirty streets! and at the same time you are entertained! this book was a mega-bestseller in germany, he has a new book coming out called "fame", which deals with the protection of privacy in More...
3 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 15, 2008
Kirsten
rated it:
Zwei exzentrische Charaktere, die Interessantes entdeckt und faszienierend gelebt haben. Denen sehr zu empfehlen, die sich für Naturwissenschaften, Mathematik, das Nichtkonventionelle, andere Kontinente und die Welt im Allgemeinen interessieren.
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Dec 17, 2009
Desiree
rated it:
"a real example of the pitiful arbitrariness of existence <is> 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."
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 29, 2012
R.
rated it:
Ce livre relate la vie de deux grands savants allemands aux spécialités et profils bien différents. Le premier est le célèbre mathématicien Carl Friedrich Gauss. C’est un véritable génie précoce qui est tellement en avance sur son temps qu’il s’en rend lui-même compte. Il ne n’a de cesse de se lamenter en se demandant pourquoi il doit endurer le sort si cruel d’être né et de devoir vivre dans un monde si arriéré. Il pense plus vite que tout le monde et c’est principalement pour cette raison que
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 07, 2007
Samuel
rated it: 
Erzählt werden zwei Geschichten, zwei Lebensläufe. Der eine von Alexander Hum-boldt, der andere Carl Friedrich Gauß. Einfach gegen einandergeschnitten werden die Lebensentwürfe dieser beiden Wissenschaftler nebeneinander gesetzt. Der Weg zum Ziel – so wohl die Grundaussage – ist unterschiedlich. Während Gauß kaum etwas von der Welt sieht und sich jeder Veränderung verweigert, reist Humboldt durch die Welt, kein Berg zu hoch, kein Fluß zu breit.
Während Gauß sich den Freuden der Liebe hingib More...
Während Gauß sich den Freuden der Liebe hingib More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Mar 12, 2009
Stephanie
rated it:
Admittedly, a novel starring two 19th century scientists might not sound like fascinating reading. However, in his first novel translated into English, German literary wunderkind Daniel Kehlmann, 32, has created a whimsical, diverting tale about two of Germany's -- and the world's -- most influential thinkers.
They are naturalist and georgrapher Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and mathematician and physicist Carl Gauss(1777-1855). The two men first meet by the end of the first chap More...
They are naturalist and georgrapher Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and mathematician and physicist Carl Gauss(1777-1855). The two men first meet by the end of the first chap More...
Dec 09, 2008
Mukikamu
rated it:
The reason why Daniel Kehlmann’s novel is listed on MUKIKAMU is because it is all about exploration. In every sense. It underlies the very essential of this blog, namely that you can travel and make discoveries even if you don’t leave your room. Naturally, the book is about so much more. Refreshing in every idea it presents, the characters (famous scientists Gauss and Humboldt) are charmingly passionate geniuses and the plots are really very funny. Humboldt travels to the New World to diligently
More...
Aug 12, 2011
Martina
rated it:
Die parallel verlaufenden Portaits zweier einzigartiger Forscher: dem Biologen Humboldt und dem Mathematiker Gauß. Beide streben danach die Welt zu vermessen und aufzuschlüßeln. Der erste bereist dafür jahrelang den südamerikanischen Kontinent, beweist sich an Vulkanen, verschneiten Gebirgszacken und von Insekten durchsetzten Flußlandschaften, und stellt in minutöser und schweißtreibender Arbeit Sammlungen und Messungen zusammen. Der andere verliert sich in seinen eigenen vier Wänden in Zahlen,
More...
Aug 12, 2011
Janneke
rated it:
When German author Daniel Kehlmann heard some beautiful story’s about Carl Friedrich Gauß, a famous scientist known for his gift for mathematics, he eagerly wants to write a book about him. For long he didn’t know how to take hold of it, until he discovered that at a conference in Berlin in 1828, Gauß met an other great scientist, named Alexander von Humboldt. They both had a passion for numers and calculations, but most fascinnating were there contrasting lives, nature and the way they set out
More...
Mar 07, 2011
Holger
rated it:
"Die Vermessung der Welt" ist ein heiteres Buch zwischen Satire und Abenteuerroman, zwischen Natur-, Gesellschaftswissenschaften und Philosophie, zwischen Posse und Gesellschaftskritik. Aber da genau liegt auch der Haken dieses Textes. Kehlmann reißt alles an und kratzt dabei letztlich lediglich an den Oberflächen. So muss "Die Vermessung der Welt" oberflächlich bleiben, geht nirgends in die Tiefe und führt zu Nichts. Womöglich liegt hier auch ein Grund begraben für den breit
More...
Jul 12, 2010
Daniel
rated it:
If you are, like me, sceptical about novels which meddle with historical settings, Daniel Kehlmann may manage to convert you. He describes the lives and works of two scientists, Gauß and Humboldt, two eccentric, highly contrasted archetypes of the "German Scientist": Gauß, the eerily gifted mathematician, represents the wacky Pen-and-Paper scientist. Humboldt, the dashing adventurer, on the other hand, is not particularly gifted, yet driven to extreme extents by ambition and competitio
More...
Feb 27, 2009
Cereza84
rated it:
"Measuring the world" is an absorbing historical novel dealing with the lives and researches of the mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauß and the natural scientist and discoverer Alexander von Humboldt.
Experience for yourselves the caning of Gauß, son of a gardener, at school and the discovery of his unusual talent regarding Mathematics, and come along with von Humboldt through the vast jungles of the Amazon.
Alongside, you will meet and read about doz More...
Experience for yourselves the caning of Gauß, son of a gardener, at school and the discovery of his unusual talent regarding Mathematics, and come along with von Humboldt through the vast jungles of the Amazon.
Alongside, you will meet and read about doz More...
Dec 13, 2010
Janani
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 02, 2011
This is a book from the fifth market. It was not written to entertain easily or to be escapistic. And altough it is amusing and ironicaly taking a view at the two main characters, nevertheless it maintains a certain distance towards the absurdity of the world of Humbold and Gauss. Both man are absorbed in their personal own world and have lost any contact with the realitiy of their peers or even of the rest of the world.
In some way both main characters are grotesque - pityfull jet in some charac More...
In some way both main characters are grotesque - pityfull jet in some charac More...
Aug 04, 2010
Mareike
rated it:
Mit "Die Vermessung der Welt" hat Daniel Kehlmann einen Roman geschaffen, der das Abenteuer Entdeckung im Leben der zwei Wissenschaftler Gauß und Humboldt nachverfolgt. Jeder verwendet hierbei seine eigene Methode zur Vermessung der Welt. So begleitet der Leser Alexander von Humboldt auf eine Reise nach Mittelamerika, vermisst mit ihm Berge, sammelt Steine und Pflanzen und durchlebt die Gefahren der neuen Welt.
Im Gegensatz dazu hasst Gauß es, auch nur irgendwohin zu fahren. Er b More...
Im Gegensatz dazu hasst Gauß es, auch nur irgendwohin zu fahren. Er b More...
Mar 09, 2010
Nuno
rated it:
"A Medida do Mundo" é um livro extremamente interessante na medida em que o autor provoca a reflexão do leitor sobre a natureza do ser humano ao descrever duas personalidades completamente distintas que se complementam numa busca por explicações racionais da natureza do mundo e mesmo do universo. Trata-se, no fundo, da história de dois sábios alemães que, no século XIV, tentaram, cada um à sua maneira, explicar o planeta e o cosmos, recorrendo ao pensamento científico e à sua pedra bas
More...
Mar 19, 2011
Mr_Power
rated it:
Kehlmann greift sich zwei der größten deutschen Köpfe des vorletzten Jahrunderts, drapiert sie in eine fiktive Geschichte um ihre Leben, die unterschiedlicher nicht sein könnten, würzt das ganze mit ihrer unendlichen auchsounbegreiflichen Genialität, streut noch ein paar Klischees des Preußentums sowie ein paar berühmte Zeitgenossen ein und fertig ist ein Bestseller....
...aber ein guter?
Es gelingt ihm zwar ab und an seine Hauptcharaktere glaubhaft in ihrem Forscherdrang wirken More...
...aber ein guter?
Es gelingt ihm zwar ab und an seine Hauptcharaktere glaubhaft in ihrem Forscherdrang wirken More...
Dec 14, 2009
Petya
rated it:
Oh, it couldn't have been easy to write this book!
There are many almost invisible subtleties about it that I noticed and certainly many more that I didn't - so from a literary point of view, I can appreciate why it is so highly praised. The language itself - the grammatical tense that Kehlmann used in German - supports the narrative wonderfully, it "sounds" like the reading of letters, and sometimes like the reading of thoughts, and underlines the importance of ideas and t More...
There are many almost invisible subtleties about it that I noticed and certainly many more that I didn't - so from a literary point of view, I can appreciate why it is so highly praised. The language itself - the grammatical tense that Kehlmann used in German - supports the narrative wonderfully, it "sounds" like the reading of letters, and sometimes like the reading of thoughts, and underlines the importance of ideas and t More...
Jan 25, 2011
Elsje
rated it:
Kehlmann beschrijft twee geniale geleerden, Alexander von Humboldt en Carl Friedrich Gauss, die aan het begin van de negentiende eeuw allebei op hun eigen manier de wereld in kaart brengen. Kehlmann doet in deze roman verslag van de levens van beide heren.
Mooie roman van Kehlmann, die bovendien een aardig kijkje geeft in de stand van de wetenschap begin 19e eeuw. Maar wat ik altijd heb met romans over historische personen had ik ook hier: wat komt uit het brein van de schrijver en wat More...
Mooie roman van Kehlmann, die bovendien een aardig kijkje geeft in de stand van de wetenschap begin 19e eeuw. Maar wat ik altijd heb met romans over historische personen had ik ook hier: wat komt uit het brein van de schrijver en wat More...
Jul 04, 2011
Charlie
rated it:
Measuring the World is a fictional account of two genius' lives. Daniel Kehlmann alternates the story between lives of two great mind, Carl Gauss, the father of mathematics, and adventurer Alexander von Humboldt. He deftly examines their lives, how they see the world, and traces the journey to their greatness.
These men were similar in their ambition and greatness, but they different how they see the world and interacted with it. Gauss' superior attitude and crass behavior is hil More...
These men were similar in their ambition and greatness, but they different how they see the world and interacted with it. Gauss' superior attitude and crass behavior is hil More...
Dec 14, 2010
Mrfishscales
rated it:
The structure of this book is part of its charm. It begins with a chapter that has von Humboldt and Gauss meeting as old men. It then goes back to each of their youths and alternates between them through the bulk of the book. Gauss measures the world deductively by apprehending first principles; he never goes anywhere and indeed hates to travel. Von Humboldt tirelessly gathers data through South America and measures the world inductively. They are completely different kinds of genius. Gauss is
More...
Jul 05, 2007
David
rated it: 
A huge success in Germany. For the life of me I can't figure out why. Which were more boring - the parts about Gauss, or the parts about Humboldt?
Trick question - they were equally soporific.
What in hell was the point of this book? if I hadn't been confined to an aeroplane, I'd never have finished it.
5 Yawns on the snoozometer.
Trick question - they were equally soporific.
What in hell was the point of this book? if I hadn't been confined to an aeroplane, I'd never have finished it.
5 Yawns on the snoozometer.
8 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Nov 29, 2011
Frederik
rated it:
Acheté dans un magasin de livres d’occasion á Copenhague au mois d’avril 2011, je savais en avance un petit trésor m’attendait. Les deux génies allemands Gauss et Humboldt font des aventures incroyables dans une quête pour mesurer le monde dans l’un des livres les plus drôles que je n’ai jamais lues. Surtout la scène oú Gauss á l’âge de 8 ans donne une leçon á son professeur de math sadique est hilarant. - Qui avait dit que les allemands n’avaient pas de sens de l’humour ?
En outre, More...
En outre, More...
Jul 11, 2011
Sơn Phước
rated it:
Đo thế giới là một minh chứng cụ thể rằng tiểu thuyết lịch sử không hề khô khan mà vẫn hấp dẫn và thú vị như thường. Bạn có thể đọc cuốn sách này một lèo rồi gấp lại và cho nó hai sao. Nhưng nếu bạn chịu khó tìm tòi, nghiên cứu thì mới thấy được tài năng của nhà văn trẻ tuổi Daniel Kehlmann và tình cảm của bạn dành cho cuốn sách cũng tăng lên. Bởi viết được một cuốn tiểu thuyết như Đo thế giới không phải là chuyện đơn giản. Với tôi, ba sao là đủ rồi.
Những tràng cười mà cuốn sách đem More...
Những tràng cười mà cuốn sách đem More...
Jan 15, 2012
Dilyana
rated it:
Има нещо симпатично, но и нещо твърде немско педантично в стила на Келман.
"Измерването на света" обаче върви с бодра крачка. Двама герои - абсолютна противоположност един на друг - очароват и дразнят едновременно по един труднообясним начин. Два противоположни подхода към света, два светогледа, две различни възприятия, обединени от обща крайна цел. Забавен - рядко, но по някакъв умиляващ и печелещ симпатиите и към двата полюса. More...
"Измерването на света" обаче върви с бодра крачка. Двама герои - абсолютна противоположност един на друг - очароват и дразнят едновременно по един труднообясним начин. Два противоположни подхода към света, два светогледа, две различни възприятия, обединени от обща крайна цел. Забавен - рядко, но по някакъв умиляващ и печелещ симпатиите и към двата полюса. More...
Nov 04, 2011
Michael
rated it:
A wonderful conceit for a book, in which two of the great German scientists of the 18th Century — the explorer and geographer Alexander von Humboldt, and the mathematician and physicist Carl Gauss — develop their respective means of measuring the world. The novel plays on the very different temperments and philosophies of science that were being developed in the era, the experiential and the experimental, and there is some delightfully subtle comedy and satire. Kehlman is a very young Austrian w
More...
Jul 10, 2010
Liana
rated it:
Upon finishing this book, I knew I would but tried not to be jealous of how much more some adults (privileged writers with high class educations) know than others (me). I cannot think so far from myself that I can come up with characters based on real characters and succeed in making them sound genuinely like the real people they may have been. Maybe all I need is practice (lol, probably more than practice). Here, Daniel Kehlmann expertly fictionalizes a few historic figures. And not just any hi
More...
Sep 09, 2008
Stef
rated it:
A fantastic book. I loved every page of it. It showed me that even geniuses are only human. It is well written. Not only for people who are interested in Humboldt and Gauß. It gives a good inside into the society at the end of the 18th / beginning of the 19th century.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
