Map Of A Nation: A Biography of the Ordnance survey by Rachel Hewitt is a excellent historical account of the history or the ordnance survey. Hewitt works well to fully document the various people and actions which in combination created one of the greatest maps in the world. Hewitt speaks in details as to the measurement of the first base line at Hounslow Heath and then consequently to the national triangulation and the challenges which this ensued. Particularly impressive is the mounting of the great theodolite (built by Jesse Ramsden) above St Paul’s Cathedral.
The book further describes the challenges faced by the ordnance survey in the sense of the Napoleonic wars and the continues distractions which they faced: In particular completing a full map of Ireland before completing the original First series, Measuring the distance between the Greenwich and Paris Observatory and mapping Jerusalem.
- Map of a Nation