Measure for Measure: A Musical History of Science

by Thomas Levenson

Book Overview

In Measure for Measure, Thomas Levenson offers a compelling account of how scientific thinking development from the day 2,500 years ago when Pythagoras discovered the musical scale to the present day.

The story unfolds through the tales of instruments scientific and musical: the organ, the microscope, the still, the scales, Stradivari's miraculous violins and cellos, computers, and synthesizers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684804344
• ISBN13: 9780684804347
• Release Date: December 1995
• Publisher: Touchstone Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Highly recommended for those interested in music and science

This is a must-read for anyone interested in music and/or science and the history thereof. It is not an exhaustive history, nor is it intended to be. Rather, specific examples are carefully selected as illustration of parallel historical trends in both disciplines. The book is carefully researched and thought-out. Levenson has a lovely lyrical style of writing, richly expressive, complemented by well-chosen illustrations. I came away from the book with a new understanding and appreciation of the evolution of these two surprisingly similar arts, music and science, and what they have to teach us. Very highly recommended!