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| | | Location: Home » Whales » Guyana » Masters of All They Surveyed: Exploration, Geography, and a British El Dorado | |
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| Masters of All They Surveyed: Exploration, Geography, and a British El Dorado | 
| Author: D. Graham Burnett
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Category: Book
List Price: $32.50
Buy New: $26.97
You Save: $5.53 (17%)
New (5) from $26.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 1294284
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 314
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 0226081214
Dewey Decimal Number: 900
EAN: 9780226081212
ASIN: 0226081214
Publication Date: September 20, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new in publisher's shrinkwrap, fresh from publisher. Careful packing with strong boxes. Ship quickly.
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| Customer Reviews:
 The View From the Non-Expert April 30, 2001
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
As an aficionado of the history of the British Empire, I found this book to be very informative and readable. Knowing nothing of the subject beforehand, being easy to read is important. The erudition of the author's style may intimidate some, but, in the end, it is precisely the element of the book which carries the reader beyond a mere chronology of events and through synthesis and interpretation gives perspective and colour to what comes out as an adventuresome story, well told, about, of all things, surveying. The experts in the field will probably have their nits to pick, just as Schomburgk had to deal with the RGS and Harrison had to suffer the nabobs of longitude, and the bridge-builder at Szavo had to contend with the lions, but the story will remain alive long after the lions are stuffed and relegated to museums.
 Masters of All That They Surveyed January 7, 2001
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
An interesting, well researched book about Robert Schomburgk's attempts to obtain a place for himself in history within the context of setting forth British Guiana's borders using the science and land surveying techniques available to him in the 19th century. The prose of book, however, is what native Guyanese would call 'high falautin' and, toward the end, I disagree with a few of his political theories on modern Guyanese politics; moreover, significantly, there is some repetition. In the end, Graham adds a human and scientific aspect to the discourse concerning the disputed boundaries. The editors should have allowed for a rewrite and/or the author should not have rushed to market or allowed for more maturity. I would recommend the paperback.
 total waste of time November 1, 2000
13 out of 37 found this review helpful
This book was a total waste of time. Full of high-blown, flowery prose, lofty hypotheses, and absolute nonsense. Sometimes a Ph.D thesis--which this apparently was before the University of Chicago Press was convinced to publish it--ought to remain a Ph.D. thesis. A waste of trees, a waste of ink, and a waste of time. Save your money and read the yellow pages--you will enjoy it more than Masters of All They Surveyed
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