ABOUT THE SIZE OF IT

Warwick Cairns (Macmillan, £12.99)

If you're easily wound up about metric measures having taken over from imperial, then this passionate defence of traditional measuring systems will surely provide solace.

Prior to writing this, his first book, Cairns spent ten years in advertising, and conducted opinion polls to ascertain what people thought of the changeover to metric.

Becoming something of an authority on the issue, in due course he appeared in court as an expert witness for market traders determined to continue selling their bananas by the pound.

It turns out that consumers remain attached to old-fashioned measuring systems for more than merely jingoistic reasons. Rather, it is because they work, based as they are on common-sense approaches developed over generations.

Take, for instance, the measurement of distance. Cairns demonstrates that traditional measures are largely derived from the proportions of the human body. Four inches', or thumbs', make up a hand' - a measurement still used in equestrian circles; three hands' make a foot' - about the size of, well, a foot; and three feet' equate to a yard' - a stick about as long as your leg'.

Meanwhile, almost every society in history has had a measure of weight equating to roughly that of a hand-sized stone, divided in half over and over to make sub-units, most commonly of 16.

So far, so good, but matters become complicated with the shift to metric. There is no problem where distance is concerned, a metre being broadly comparable to a yard. But a kilogram is significantly greater than a pound - try holding a kilo of apples in one hand and you will immediately see why it is so unpopular a measure.

All-in-all, a light-hearted and entertaining defence of traditional approaches, that more than measures up.