Book Description

A Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer traverses the vast physical and cognitive distances between earth and Mars, offering an informed vision of the future of Martian exploration. "Mars Beckons" is a fascinating synthesis of myth, history, politics, and high technology, written with the momentum of a grand adventure story. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Is our planet's condition terminal? Whether or not you have faith in the mounting scientific evidence pointing toward potentially catastrophic effects of our atmospheric meddling, you must admit that if the prophets are right, we'd better learn to breathe carbon dioxide in a hurry. Physicist John E. Brandenburg and science writer Monica Rix Paxson warn that our big blue marble might become just another cold dead rock in Dead Mars, Dying Earth, a parallel study of our history and our neighbor's, drawing on the information amassed over decades of scientific research and exploration. The writing is florid, even a bit messianic at times, but the writers believe that our time is limited and that we must immediately stop deforestation and dependence on fossil fuel if we want our species to make it more than a few generations. Despite bringing in some unnecessary and controversial "evidence" (did they really need to tout the face on Mars to make their case for global warming?), they still make a compelling case that life did exist on Mars but was extinguished by an out-of-control greenhouse effect. Refreshingly, they suggest that we fight science with science, arguing that fusion power and space exploration are crucial to our continuing survival. This may be the argument that sways the nervous conservatives who fear economic recession or worse if we heed the environmentalists' call to action. If so, Dead Mars, Dying Earth could be the 21st century's Silent Spring. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Unflinching and provocative
"Dead Mars, Dying Earth" is a meticulous and elegantly crafted story of two worlds. The authors take us on a rigorous journey from dry and inhospitable Mars (where the remains of an apparent extraterrestrial civilization beckon) to Earth of the early 21st century, poised on the edge of ecological catastrophe as a result of global warming. Is our planet heading for the same fate that befell Mars, our closest planetary neighbor, and if so, what can we do about it? The questions raised by Brandenburg and Paxson are as horrifying as their proposed remedies are optimistic; Brandenburg, a plasma physicist, urges the development of clean fusion technology to take the place of our suicidal fossil fuel economy.

Urgent and arresting, "Dead Mars, Dying Earth" has already been called the "Silent Spring" of the new millennium. Read either as a behind-the-scenes expose of the forbidden science of planetary SETI or as an erudite work of comparitive planetology, this unflinching look at what our species is doing to our planet deserves a vast audience.

A Great Book
Dead Mars, Dying Earth is one of the most inspiring, scary and, ultimately, energizing books I've ever read--a sort of boot camp for planetary transformation.

Also, it's not just another serious, boring science book. Even though the book's science is authoritative, it reads like a Hollywood script: One remarkable, true story after another draws you further and further into the recognition of how planets live and die and of just how much trouble our Earth is in. Then, after the plunge into the dark night of Earth's possible future, authors Brandenburg and Paxson pick you back up, tell you a couple wonderful stories and leave you stoked to manifest its eminently sensible solutions-- solutions which show how we can reverse our current global warming crisis with both planet AND economy intact.

So pick up Dead Mars, Dying Earth and get on with the great work ahead. After all, what could be more satisfying than safeguarding this beautiful, living planet as the haven for all you know and love?

Content differs from the title...
The book is ok in opening the mind to an idea and a relevant one, and raises a fundamental question all right... but that needed 10 crisp pages. Most of the book is desultory and digressive, with a forced storylike approach that seems almost artificial and is definitely distracting. The author also is bold enough to come with his baggage of biases, which is again often re-narrated, to a point where his patriotism, anti communism, anti Russia and Cold war references bring about a nausea; since it seems unrelated to the issue being raised.

The issue really raised is how Earth is dying with Global warming, and is probably going to end up like Mars. But the book veers with so many different digressions and irrelevant narrations... it gets lost.

This is not a book you should read, instead a good Asimov novel is a better bet.

INTERESTING EXCURSION AVOIDS BECOMING HARD HITTING EXPOSE
DEAD MARS, DYING EARTH by John E. Brandenburg and Monica Rix Paxson, follows in the footsteps of R. Buckminster Fuller. Among Fuller’s final writings, his 1978 OPERATING MANUAL FOR SPACESHIP EARTH (reissued September 2000(...)) sounded dire warnings for sustaining life on Earth. Fuller’s thesis was that Earth is a spaceship carrying us around the sun. While mankind increasingly exploits Earth’s resources, global catastrophe will surely follow our collective failure to correct ongoing damage to Earth’s delicately balanced environment. Not mincing words, Fuller warned of the descendents of the "Great Pirates," blinded by their ambition and greed,who seek to control Earth’s economy at the cost of our natural environment in Spaceship Earth.

Brandenburg and Paxson tangentially refer to the seminal 1998 book on global warming THE HEAT IS ON: THE CLIMATE CRISIS, THE COVER-UP, THE PRESCRIPTION by Pulitzer Prize journalist Ross Gelbspan ((...)). In addition to reviewing the data leading to recent recommendations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, investigative reporter Gelbspan exposes the misinformation campaign by the three trillion dollar per year fossil fuel industry which has effectively confused the public. Brandenburg and Paxson stick more closely to science than to politics in discussing Earth’s environmental degradation.

In a less critical and hard hitting message than Fuller's and Gelbspan's, Brandenburg and Paxson review data from Mars and Earth at the turn of the millennium by updating what is known from scientific experiments conducted in space, in Earth's atmosphere and on the ground. Brandenburg worked as a geophysicist on several Mars space probe projects while Paxson concentrated on Earth's atmospheric changes. They do not speculate that Mars once supported life similar to Earth's, and that it destroyed itself. Rather, Mars is presented as a laboratory in which presently well defined conditions are a harbinger of what Earth's environment can rapidly evolve into under mankind's influence.

Adding to the book's interest are anecdotes from Brandenburg's and Paxson's personal scientific experiences. Their experiences support their underlying hypothesis that earth can become like Mars if nothing or too little is promptly done globally to stop the process. From time to time, the anecdotes cause the book to meander, risking losing the reader. Yet the authors manage to bring us back to the central thread of their thesis of this usually complicated subject. Here and there, a few errors should have been corrected during copy editing of this book. For example: page 147 and on

By and large, DEAD MARS, DYING EARTH is a good and interesting book. It contains many solidly scientific examples in making its case that unless Earth's citizens take collective action for correcting current trends, our planet will very rapidly in geo-astronomical terms become a dead planet resembling Mars. But if it had also provided specific politically practical ways in which to accomplish Earth's rescue mission, Brandenburg and Paxson may have possibly provided us with a great book. Nevertheless, DEAD MARS, DYING EARTH is an important book for those trying to visualize where our planet is heading, and who meanwhile can acquire up to date scientific information in layman's terms of what is known about our neighboring, dead planet Mars.

Ouch...
Ok, the book is good because it does try to open your eyes on environmental problems. The book is not so good because Brandenburg is a little bit alarmist, but I won't really complain about that. The but is quite bad because Brandenburg seems to have some score to settle with someone, and IT SHOWS! A little bit partial, uh? And the book is really bad, because some of the science in there is completely bogus, and it stains all the rest... ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good Book for Astronomers, OK for Space Enthusiasts
Patrick Moore is a prolific author of many books about space, astronomy and the solar system. In this book he covers the both the telescopic and robotic observation of the planet Mars. I feel that if astronomy is of interest to you, you will like this book, but if you are looking for information on the robotic exploration of Mars, you will only find a brief summary here.

The first half of the book is devoted to the historical telescopic observations of Mars over and presents numerous hand drawn pictures made over the centuries including some of the many Martian "channels" pictures. Patrick Moore also includes one of his own drawings. After this section, the remainder of the book focuses on the Russian and American efforts to explore the red planet and its satellites, and concludes with the possible manned exploration in 20-30 years. Included in the second half of the book are: Mariners 4, 6, 7, 9, the Viking probes, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor and the numerous Russian Mars Series probes.

One thing I found extremely interesting about this book is that Patrick Moore knew the first man to achieve powered flight (Orville Wright), the first man in space (Yuri Gargarin) and the first man on the moon. He may have even met the first person to walk on Mars. ... Read more

Book Description

What will be the next 'giant leap' in space exploration? Could it be a manned expedition to the Red Planet Mars? In this challenging and thought-provoking book, Martin Turner shows how modern technologies not only make such a journey possible, but that advances in those technologies will make it more probable, and that the first human mission to Mars will happen within our lifetime. The latest rocket propulsion, spacecraft technology and planned developments in nuclear and electric propulsion technologies are the key factors which will enable this journey to take place. Of particular importance is the necessity to transport cargo to Mars, and to provide essential life support for the crew food, water, air and fuel to enable the return journey. Expedition Mars challenges us to face the fact that, sooner or later, humans will have to make a choice: stay here on Earth or explore the Solar System beyond. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A very good book
Will the first Human mission to Mars be a historical fact in my liftime? This is the central question of the book and the answer from a technological standpoint is certainly positive. The book Expedition Mars covers all technological fields needed to make a manned mission to Mars happen. The orbital mechanics of such a trip described in this book are even for a non-expert easy to follow, while the section on launch mass makes clear that every kilogram of payload to be send to the Martian surface needs a major increase in the launch mass of the rocket lifting the mission of Earth's surface. In the chapter on possible propulsion systems the author takes into account the public distrust in nuclear propulsion and describes the necessary measures to be taken to test such an engine on Earth without the release of radioactive material. He also clearly explains that such a engine will only be used and activated in space, greatly diminishing the risks. Not only technical issues related to a mission to Mars are described in the book, but also the financial-economical and social part of such a mission are well covered, proving that scientists and engineers are able to explain their work to the man in the street. In the final chapters Martin Turner explains the NASA reference mission to Mars, greatly influenced by the work of Zubrin and coworkers, and shows that the improvement in the design of such a mission is ten fold in almost every aspect. The costs for a human mission to Mars is currently estimated at 55 billion dollars as much as the (ANNUAL agricultural subsidies of the European Union) to be spread over a period of 15-20 years, equalling 2 billion dollars a year. This fits in the American as the European space budget. It is even lower than the annual amount spend in the Space Shuttle programme. The last chapter is devoted to the social-economic arguments for and against a human mission to Mars and should be a must-read for every one in the space business. In a realistic way the pros and cons of a manned mission are explained with even new arguments, such that the money spend on space missions is mostly covered by the man hours in such a project. This refutes the statement by antagonists of the Mars programme that all money is launched into space instead it is launched into the local economy by the people who work in the space industry.

All in all this book should be on the list of all space enthousiasts and space professionals and can well be used in science classes to get students back to studying natural sciences and engineering.

Arno Wielders
Chairman Mars Society Nederland ... Read more

Book Description

The Truth About Mars answers the question: Is there human life on other terrestrial planets in our galaxy?It also addresses the nature of consciousness and man's ability to make use of the electronic design of the mind in the exploration of the universe.

This book however is not about the paranormal nature of life; it is the statement of one man's experience, validated by thousands of photographs returned by the Mariner, Viking, Pathfinder, and Global Surveyor space probes.

Yet the basic inquiry requires man's recognition that he carries within himself the substance which is recorded in so-called space and time.When we can assimilate this, it will serve to remove the amnesia that has blocked our memory of the reality of extraterrestrial life on other than one earth planet, in one solar system, in one small galaxy, in one universe.

Humankind will resolve the enigma of life and death and his purpose in the cosmic design that we see in the hundreds of billions of star systems within our galaxy.The Truth About Mars is a forerunner for other books that have been written by Ernest L. Norman about the interdimensional physics of life.They serve as a radio-telescope outlining our past, present, and future. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Truth of mars - view of the fifties - communism an ideal?
This book transmits the idea that the ideal society if the chinese community under Mao. It does not show any new idea, it's just a copy of what the communism propaganda is still proposing up to now.

People of mars as the writer see them have no freedom of choice. As soon as they are deviant, they are sent to "formation camp" to be electronically "fixed". What an hideous view of the ideal society with electronics fixing everything and people. At the same time, the writer has put a bit of religion in it, and then builds his sect around that book. Humandkind is supposed to follow a straight path decided by few and nobody is supposed to step out of it ---> we saw the result in Russia and China.

I will take into account that this book proposes an ideal which simply does not fit the human population and its complexity. I definitely hope that the martians if they exist do not leave in the proposed system, it would be horrible for them.

Pierre Daniel ... Read more

Book Description

The atmosphere and climate of Mars is a crucial factor, both for understanding the planet's past and appreciating the possibilities of its future. Given the high level of current interest in Mars, and the major advances afforded by recent space exploration, this book seeks to examine and review our knowledge and understanding of the meteorology and climate of Mars in its present state. This is based not only upon direct observations, but also on the newer techniques of modelling: numerical simulation and data assimilation. This authoritative discussion of Mars's atmosphere and climate, giving a balanced review of some of the hottest issues concerning Mars's environments, its present and past climate and potential to support life, and its possible future following manned exploration. ... Read more

Book Description

Throughout the ages, no planet has been the focus of more passionate dreaming than Mars. Perhaps the greatest proof of this widely held obsession is the extraordinary commitment of a group of NASA scientists-highly trained, brilliant men and women at the top of their fields, who have forgone high-paying prestigious jobs in private industry to devote their lives to the Red Planet. Not since The Right Stuff has there been such a diverse and charismatic group of space explorers, and Laurence Bergreen has been given unrestricted access to their work and their lives. In Voyage to Mars, he discovers who these visionaries are and what drives them to push the limits of science.

Voyage to Mars takes us beyond the last frontier in a new variation on the ancient theme of man striving against nature. It is an exciting, suspenseful, and dramatic narrative centered on a quest that is nothing less than transcendent: the meaning of life. As Bergreen has written, "To understand the Red Planet, even partially, is to understand something about the nature of the universe, to catch a glimpse of our distant past and our future, to extend perception to a scale much larger than ordinary human comprehension, to harness the imagination to the intellect, and the intellect to the stars." ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Behind the Scenes Book about Mars Exploration
While Laurence Bergreen's book "Voyage to Mars" does contain some information about Mars space missions, robotic probes, and scientific study of Mars, it is primarily about the scientists, both men and women, who study Mars and design experiments for NASA robotic explorers and how they dedicated their lives to the study and exploration of this planet.Most of the book covers the people involved in Mars research since the Mars Observer failure in 1992.

This book follows the lives (personal and professional) of several NASA scientists who study Mars, whether they're off in some remote location studying geology that's similar to Mars or designing an experiment for a robotic exploration mission.The book includes the many battles that each one fights, whether is with NASA bureaucracy, their personal lives, with each other for experiments to be flown on an upcoming Mars spacecraft, or dealing with each other's conflicting theories on Martian geological history.One of the things that I gleaned from reading this book is that while each of the people maybe specialized in a given area, they all have a board background in planetary sciences and spacecraft design.Also, there seems to be a lot jealously between scientists, especially for those people who worked on the "Life on Mars" Rock. It was also nice to see that a good portion of the people that NASA employs are women.

Since I've known several of the people involved in Mars research who are described in this book for over a decade, I can definitely say that the stories presented are true and I found the personal descriptions of various individuals to be dead on as well as those of NASA facilities.The book could, however, benefit from some photos and illustrations instead of the detailed of various Martian geological features.It also would have been nice to some parts of the book devoted to the engineers who help make these missions possible, but that might be an inappropriate topic for this book.

Excellent look inside a science team...
Bergreen's book is a very intimate look at how science really works. In successive chapters, he takes us inside four groups of men and women: the team of scientists that worked on the Martian meteorite ALH84001; the Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner team, the team in charge of the Mars Global Surveyor's laser altimeter, and finally, inside Dan Goldin's NASA. What we see is a far cry from the polished interviews on TV, or the neatly written articles in Nature or Science. The truth is that scientists rarely agree on anything other than very broad assumptions, and often not even on those. Instead, scientists, even those working together on the same project, can heatedly disagree with one another's assumptions or interpretations, making it difficult to agree on the best way data should be released to the public.

An example from the MGS laser altimeter team (specifically the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter or MOLA). This instrument shoots blasts of laser light from the orbiting spacecraft to the surface of Mars, and times their return to the sensor. By doing so, an incredibly accurate topographical relief map of Mars can be created. However, Mars has no absolute altitude marker like Earth (sea-level). Therefore, the scientists have to agree on an altitude reference against which all other measurements are compared. The specific reference chosen is critical because it will be used in all subsequent analyses of MOLA data. Any error could potentially be a spoiler for generations of future reserachers. Bergreen was there when they discussed whether they were ready to commit to an altitude reference and start releasing data (many team members argued "yes!") or whether more data and study were needed before the team published such critical information (other team members said "wait!").

Also typical was the conflict in choosing a landing site for the Mars Polar Lander. Scientists pour over the data from MGS and pick a site that is geologically interesting. Engineers pour over the MGS data and pick a site that is safe. The two goals are often at direct odds with one another. The engineers want stastical rock-counts so that they can ensure their craft won't topple over a boulder. Scientists argue that the sites chosen by the engineers will nullify all the science objectives of the mission. Such discussions can quickly become personal as emotions boil over and passionate beliefs give way to shouting contests.

Bergreen's book is in many ways reminiscent of Overbye's Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, only directed at Planetary scientists instead of cosmologists. This book will be of extreme interest to Marsophiles, but will also be enlightening to those who want an inside look at Dan Goldin's NASA, or at the process actually followed by scientists in the trenches. I recommend this book highly to these two groups as well as anyone else who hasn't updated their knowledge of Mars exploration since Viking.

In many ways, this book was not really about Mars!
Although on the surface this is a book about the recent robotic missions to Mars, the book is really an exploration of the culture of the project scientists at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Bergreen paints very full portraits of many key people involved in NASA, JPL, etc including the scientists, graduate students, industry representatives, etc. The book reminded me very much of Jim Watson's excellent account of his work to elucidate the structure of DNA, "The Race for the Double Helix" in that it showed the human side of science. Jim Garvin, Jim Head, Sean Solomon, and the other scientists in this book seek good and solid data, but also (understandably) seek publications in prestigious journals to advance their careers. They worry openly about funding and grant support. Jim Garvin has what sounds like a strained relationship with his wife, who does not really seem to understand her husband's passion and dedication. Some of the investigators don't like each other, and show this openly. These sorts of interludes were very interesting as many books about science and scientists are sterile and portray scientists as absent-minded-professor types who are not grounded in the real world (which is only very rarely the case).

The book is very readable and well written. My only complaint is that the book would have benefited from some illustrations. The images from the Mars Orbiter were discussed ad nauseum, but no representative images were between the covers of the book! Also, I would have liked to have seen a few photos of some of the hardware and researchers discussed.

Mars: A Personal Odyssey
Travelers often opine that the experience of a trip itself, the way stations and characters encountered, rather than the final destination, is the most exciting aspect of a journey.After reading Laurence Bergreen's latest offering, VOYAGE TO MARS: NASA'S SEARCH FOR LIFE BEYOND EARTH (hardcover edition), one may reasonably conclude that the peripatetic author is as fascinated with the personas and psyches of the various individuals he encounters along the way as he is with the ostensible subject of the book: Mars.Indeed, a glance at Bergreen's previous books, works covering the gamut from Al Capone to Louis Armstrong to Irving Berlin, shows that the author is a keen observer and no stranger to character studies; his most recent book is no exception.

Bergreen's tour, which starts on Surtsey, a volcanic island off the Icelandic coast, eventually ends on Mars.Throughout, he manages to weave an interesting narrative, replete with detailed personal observations of the scientists and engineers he encounters along the way, which is interspersed with some fairly decent Mars science written in layspeak.The author recounts the often-rancorous Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) team meetings and the clash of egos between scientists pushing their own competing theories and hypotheses about Mars.He encounters scientists in the nascent astrobiology community, some of who are veterans from the Viking mission to Mars of the mid-1970's, and who have bittersweet memories of the main finding from that mission, namely that Mars was a lifeless world.He smoothly segues into the modern view (based on more recent analyses) that the question of life on Mars, either extant or extinct, may not be a closed issue.The reader is caught up in the excitement and the glimpses into the inner sanctum, which is made all the more fascinating because the subject is the Red Planet.The reading is pleasurable (I read the entire book in two sittings) and insightful, but there are a few problems.As a scientist, I am trained to be alert to what is termed "observational bias", which, upon careful reading, appears to raise its head in the pages of the book. It is almost axiomatic that scientists, as well as science teams, tend to be very competitive.So it is not surprising that Bergreen appears to view the world primarily through the prism of the MOLA team.Indeed, he seems to accept their characterizations of others (especially competitors on the other MGS science teams); an interesting parallel to Stockholm syndrome.Additionally, given that Bergreen is really not a "participant" in the normal sense of the word, there are the inevitable factual errors (mostly minor) that are sprinkled throughout the book.Without wanting to appear as a nitpicker, I'll list a few that came to my attention:

Page 104: "...the same moment in 1993 when Mars Observer slipped behind Mars and never resumed contact with Earth."Fact: The failed Mars Observer spacecraft lost contact with Earth three days BEFORE Mars Orbit Insertion and Earth occultation.

Page 104: "For the first time in twenty-one years, a spacecraft [Mars Global Surveyor] was orbiting Mars."Fact: The author is apparently unaware of the Soviet Phobos 2 spacecraft, which successfully entered Mars orbit on January 29, 1989, although the spacecraft was lost in March of 1989 when controllers lost contact while it was approaching its primary target, Phobos, the larger of the two Martian moons.

Page 111: "...[Mars Observer] and finally launched in 1991."Fact: Mars Observer launched in 1992.

Page 114: "He's [Malin] a member of the MOLA team."Fact: Dr. Michael C. Malin is Principal Investigator for the Mars Orbiter Camera team and a Co-Investigator for the Thermal Emission Spectrometer team; he is not a member of the MOLA team, and would therefore normally not be expected to attend their meetings.This "factual error" by the author is less innocuous than it appears and perhaps was colored by observational bias accruing from his association with the MOLA team.Moreover, the misidentification is used to strengthen his claims that Malin is secretive, elusive, one who holds onto data, and one who does not respond to email, etc., which do not appear to be well-supported by the facts, although one can easily believe that the MOLA team encouraged this view.In fairness, though, it is possible that the author simply confused membership on the MOLA team with membership on the much larger and more inclusive MGS Project Science Group.

Page 138: "...and the Journal of Geophysics Review."Fact: After checking with the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) online database, I discovered that no such journal exists.It is likely that the author confused two separate journals, the Journal of Geophysical Research and Geophysical Research Letters, both of which are key publications for planetary scientists.

Page 205: "Stardust will swing around Mars..."Fact: The Stardust spacecraft did not and will not "swing around Mars." It does, however, travel beyond Mars' orbit, but never comes closer than several million kilometers to the Red Planet at any time during its baseline mission.

Page 216: "And a little camera will pop up..."Fact: The author, while apparently describing a portion of the mission profile for the two Deep Space 2 penetrators (part of the failed Mars Surveyor 98 mission), incorrectly describes their instrument packages. There was no camera aboard either of the impact probes; however, Bergreen may be referring to the Surface Stereo Imager, a camera system aboard the Mars Polar Lander.

Despite these errors (which might have been eliminated by more careful proofreading and better research), the book is a fascinating read and, given the relative lack of publicity on the subject, a good source of information on the current state of Mars exploration efforts.If for no other reason, though, I would recommend the book for its introduction to the reader of some of the key figures in Mars exploration, past and present, which gives a personality to the often obscure names that are only found in science journals. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Donna Shirley dreamed of going to Mars since she was a starstruck kid in Oklahoma, reading science fiction and staring up at the big Western sky.Managing Martians chronicles her life from flight-obsessed childhood to the realization of her dream as manager of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Exploration Program--the people who sent Pathfinder and the rover Sojourner to the red planet in 1997.

Shirley's story is extraordinary in its simplicity: she set her sights on what she wanted, and chased it fervently. Yet simple doesn't always mean easy, and Shirley owns up to getting sidetracked along the way, and having to work hard to get back to business. And what a business! Imagine having an expensive, delicate object you helped design strapped to a projectile hurtling toward a chunk of rock in space. The best parts of Shirley's story are the tense moments, when she struggled to maintain professional cool while under enormous stress. This book is part autobiography, part lesson to bureaucratic managers; Shirley has had to work with some temperamental folks in her lifetime of government work, and she's learned (the hard way) how to manage teams well. One gets the impression that she would have made an excellent military leader, or CEO.Mars buffs all over the world should be glad she stuck to the stars. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Shirley's story is motivational and intertaining.
For a person reviewing books before live audiences, Managing Martians by Donna Shirely is a winner! Shirley's story is multifold - from her childhood perched in a sycamore tree in rural Oklahoma to the realization of "getting to Mars" via the little robotic rover, Sojourner Truth. It is a 35 year journey with all its valleys and peaks associated with space exploration that keeps readers and listeners expectant. Donna Shirely's intellect, determination, courage and love of life shines through and could make an important movie in a time when young persons are hungry for a hero.

A unique insider's view of NASA's interplanetary missions
A century from now, when this year's Oscar-winning films, hit sitcoms, and top ten CDs are gathering dust in some media archive, and the feats of contemporary sports figures are known only to the most compulsive of trivia buffs, school children will be studying the pioneering missions of space exploration such as Mars Pathfinder-Sojourner. "Managing Martians" by Donna Shirley gives the reader a rare insight into the occupational culture that made these epic adventures possible.

Readers who are familiar with the "Mars and Venus" series of books on the psychological differences between men and women will no doubt catch the double meaning of the book's title. Much of Ms. Shirley's autobiographical narrative describes her struggle to reach her career goals in a historically male-dominated profession during the Sixties. It is a world in which pioneering women swim against the stream in a culture in which young women were (and to some extent, still are) taught that studying subjects such as science, math, and technical drawing was "unladylike", and the few women who did continue their education beyond high school were pressured to graduate with an "Mrs." degree and settle into the cozy, familiar role of middle class housewife-mother. Her interests in science fiction, flying, and a life of adventure set her apart from her peers, and she manages to avoid the cultural traps set for her and perseveres in her aim of becoming an aerospace engineer.

In the last part of the book, Shirley relates the challenges and frustrations of managing a space project against a background of tightfisted budgets. The NASA of the 1990's is no longer awash in cash, and a spirit of "make-do-or-do-without" pervades the organization. Competing groups fight over the dwindling pool of money, and rivalries can be fierce. Her team struggles not only with the technical problems of building their robot rover, but also the perception that it is an unnecessary frill that only adds weight and cost to a mission that is already stretched thin. Shirley herself is forced to defend her project in bitter confrontations that sometimes degenerate into shouting matches. Her account of the attempts to derail her rover are not only entertaining, but also uncover internal politics to which the lay person or the taxpayer seldom exposed. In the end, as we all know, the rover Sojourner is recognized as a technical triumph and captures the rapt attention of the world for weeks.

In conclusion, you don't have to be a techie or a woman to enjoy Shirley's narrative of growing up in pre-"Flower Power" America and becoming an aerospace engineer in the Golden Age of space exploration. Her book successfully conveys not only the incredible tension and exhilaration of participating in a planetary mission, but also the trials and frustration of achieving recognition in a traditionally male-dominated field.

NASA is really not visionnary!
The book is really interesting. Not so for the biographical element in it, but more for the NASA internal politics description. Is it normal for the supposedly "leading space agency in the (free) world" to have such a complicated and unproductive way of doing science?

In this book, you will learn how "the most successfull Mars mission" of the last few years (mainly a technology feat and not science, but, hey...) was build by a handful of people, without real support or confidence from the upper management... Visionnary? Not really! But this upper management didn't lose time, when it finally worked, to claim this success!

And, of course, you will also get some technical details, and feel a little what it's like to a "six wheels on the ground". An overall interesting book!

A big axe to grind...
While I'm sure that many readers found Ms. Shirley's tales of overcoming chauvanism uplifiting and fascinating, I personally found them irritating and grating. Much of the early part of the book (detailing her childhood and young adulthood) deals with the author coming into conflict, again and again, with overt male chauvanism. Each and every time the author overcomes such hardships through her hard work and gumption. While I have no objection to such tales in general, I felt that in this case they took a lot of momentum out of the book and revealed a lot of lingering anger (towards men in general) on the part of the author. Also, the author has little insight into these episodes and altercations, and recounts them in such a one sided way (i.e.-"I was honest and true and they were evil and prejudiced...") that I was hard pressed to believe that she was recalling them accurately.

Nonetheless, the book does finally move on to the story of the Mars Pathfinder Mission, which was what I was really interested in hearing about. Ms. Shirley gives a good description of life at JPL and also does a nice job in discussing the technical hurdles to be overcome in such a far-reaching endeavour. I especially enjoyed the chapters about the development of the rover, as they did not gloss over a lot of interesting technical details (as other books dealing with Pathfinder have).

Overall this was a good book that could have been a great book. Ms. Shirley has really given us two books:An autobiography and a book about the Mars Pathfinder. I would have preferred the latter without the former.

Excellent example of life in space exploration
This book vividly tells the story of the intense and exhiliarating adventure scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) experience at the cutting edge of the technological exploration of our solar system. In addition, it is a gripping and optomistic tale of the journey of one woman's success in a usually all male fraternity. It frankly portrays the difficulties and triumphs along the way. Ms. Shirley has broken ground for many young women in the future for careers in the area of science and engineering. In addition, it is a fun read for anyone interested in technology, management and the progress of women in our society. It also is a very accurate portrayal of life at JPL. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A great read -- informs and inspires.
While other reviews have mentioned some details of the books scope, I just want to urge anyone with an interest in Mars to read this book. It is informative, authorotative, and quite literate in its presentation and style.

Oddly enough, I think it is about due to get much more attention than when published...a case of being ahead of its time. Whether you have a professional or personal interest in the topic, this book is worth every minute spent with it.

One of my favorite topics was the explication of the advances in telescope design, told through the personalities and dramas of the times. The issues of resolution, lens design, mounting and atmospheric seeing problems are all explained and put in the context of the evolution of the "idea" of mars. This is a fascinating achievement in science writing.

Very informative
In this book, the author traces the history of man's knowledge about the planet Mars. Beginning in ancient times, he traces the evolution of theories about Mars, as it was influenced by the steady march of technological development. The reader gets to watch development of the belief in life on Mars, culminating in the humorous conjectures of Percival Lowell. Then, great detail is given on the facts learned from the Mariner, Viking and Russian Phobos missions. The final chapter is a real jewel, being an in-depth explanation on how an amateur astronomer should observe Mars.

This is a great book, the first chapters being history, and the later one providing a great deal of information about what was known about Mars in 1996. Not only are such things as the valleys and outflow channels examined, but also a whole chapter is devoted to Mars' moons, including how they would appear to an observer on the planet's surface.

The author does disparage the Imperial measurement system, and refuses to use any measurement but metric (except for temperatures for some reason), but this is not really a surprise. As such, this is a great book for those interested in the history of astronomy, but also a great book for those interested in what the planet of Mars is really like.

Well researched work on the red planet...
Amateur astronomer and historian of astronomer William Sheehan provides a thorough account of the study of the planet Mars. He takes us on a chronological tour of the major developments, from the early pre-telescopic days of Kepler's work on the orbit, to the telescopic investigations, to the Mariner probes and Viking landers. Extensive treatment is given to observers such as Lowell, Antoniadi, Schiapaelli, and others, practically an "opposition by opposition" account. Sheehan's "Planet Mars" is an indispensable addition to the library of any fanatic of the red planet.

The Planet Mars lives in your hands...and in your mind.

Sheehan's The Planet Mars is a welcome break from so many astronomy texts that wobble erratically with the imbalance of inaccurate and antiquated data, conceptual difficulty and/or poor production. Other books may have more cool pictures, but few match Sheehan's in historical range and accuracy.

If you want to know about the minds behind the exploration of Mars from pre-telescopic observation through the great astronomers to today's space scientists, then this is a great resource. If you want the data that will help you in your own study of the ruddy orb, then this is a fantastic starting point.

Recommended. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In 1976, NASA's Viking orbiters photographed the surface of Mars and sent pictures back to Earth. What some people see in these pictures, a distinctly humanoid face, has been hotly debated ever since, prompting the question, "Are there artificial structures on Mars?" If you haven't heard of the face on Mars, then you haven't been paying attention to the news about the photos taken by the recent Mars Global Surveyor mission or Art Bell's late night radio talk show about paranormal phenomena or even the covers of the supermarket tabloids. The face is nearly everywhere.

The Case for the Face examines the original NASA images using a battery of different techniques, from stereo imaging to fractal analysis, in an effort to determine if the face is simply a trick of the light or a structure fabricated by an extraterrestrial intelligence. Rather than handing out unchallenged assumptions, The Case for the Face explains how the evidence is gathered, what tests are used for analysis, and gives the reader a crash course in geometry, Martian geology, and computer-image enhancement. The authors present a strong case for the belief that the face, and many other structures in the area, were artificially constructed. In doing so, they also make a compelling argument for opening a new era of manned space exploration and further investigation of this enigmatic portrait in stone. --Brian Patterson ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Just Read the Book
Don't let your preconceived notions about what is possible and what is not possible prevent you from reading this book. It is objective and reasonable and quite possibly the best book on the subject I have read. Keep an open mind and understand the scientists who wrote this book just want a chance for a scientific study of the evidence, but the current climate at NASA is denying them the opportunity. How many other marvelous discoveries have been lost to us because of other people's closed minds? Why is it so impossible for people to believe there may have been an ancient civilization on Mars? We have them on Earth! They came from somewhere! Let them have their objective investigation, but don't close the door on the means to find out the truth, one way or the other. If the truth is stifled then we all loose out on what may be the most profound discovery of human history. We need to know one way or the other!

Give Me a Break
I can drive to Utah and Arizona tomorrow and see over 1000 rock formations, in a 1-week trip, which all resemble something, from Snoopy on his doghouse(near Sedona), to giant mittens(Monument Valley), to huge arches and phallic symbols(Arches Nat'l Park). Oh, and there are also a million rocks that look like...uhhhhhh....nothing but ROCKS. Big surprise!

The truth is, human beings throughout history have some bizarre need to look at things in the natural world(rock formations, clouds, etc) and somehow correlate them to man-made formations or animated objects. When a rock or a volcano or a canyon or whatnot, especially in conjunctions with shadows, the right combination of light, and viewed from a specific angle or distance, looks like some kind of symmetrical man-made form, there is a word for this kind of phenomenon; COINCIDENCE. With the billions of rocks on this world and other planets, I find it quite comical that people are doofus enough to not realize that, given enough wind and rain and erosion, a LOT or rocks are going to look like something besides a rock.

Sober and provocative cosmic wake-up call
"The Case for the Face" is a thoroughly sensible and compelling account of a small handful of resarchers with the intellectual clout to tackle an enigma mainstream science has labled "off-limits": the possible existence of alien artifacts in our solar system. The contributors raise fascinating possibilities that we would be wise to examine in depth. Validating the existence of probable artificial structures on Mars is an opportunity we can't afford to miss through fear of offending the status quo.

DRY, IMAGINATIVE and very FACTUAL
This book is a valuable tool and aid to anyone interested in obtaining certain information about the anomalies located on Mars. Some chapters are very interesting and provide compelling evidence for alien artifacts while others are very dry leaving the reader slightly bored. The book can definitely be used as a research aid from the library, but I do not recommend it for casual reading purposes. Although quite imaginative and informative I believe there are probably better books to read on the Martian anomalies than this one. I would consider other sources before choosing to purchase this book.

This is a must read for every astronomer .
The remarkable and revealing story of a group of dedicated scientists and engineers. Their testimony, details one of the most exciting and dramatic ongoing investigations of the 20th century. The compelling evidence for ancient alien ruins on Mars. ... Read more

Book Description

Both tantalizingly similar to and eerily different from our planet, Mars has fascinated the scientific mind and the popular imagination for hundreds of years. Thanks to robotic exploration missions by NASA over the past 20 years, we now have an increasingly sophisticated understanding of our neighboring planet, and a multitude of images to help fill out the portrait. In Visions of Mars space imaging specialist Olivier de Goursac takes us on an extraordinary visual tour of Mars through a selection of dazzling photographs, which he has processed to an unprecedented level of realism and detail.

This amazing group of images, almost all previously unpublished, captures vast sandy plains, ancient lakes, deep canyons, the highest mountains in the solar system, polar ice caps, and other remarkable aspects of the planet's dramatic landscape. The book also includes a summary of the data that has been gathered about the planet up to this time. An awe-inspiring book, Visions of Mars is sure to be both an education and a revelation for all. AUTHOR BIO: Olivier de Goursac is a space imaging specialist who has worked with NASA/JPL's Mars mission scientists since the Viking missions of the 1980s. Today, he generates superb Mars images from his home base near Paris. He is a coauthor of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space and a contributor to Le Figaro, the major French weekly. James B. Garvin is a Mars specialist who has just been named Chief Scientist of NASA, which he joined in 1984. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent view into current research on going to Mars
Reading the Red/Green/Blue Mars series of fiction from Kim Stanley Robinson led me to Zubrin's excellent 'Case for Mars' on what is needed to start colonizing Mars. The set of papers in 'Strategies for Mars" is an excellent and readable view on the current research and the reality of getting to Mars. Well worth the price! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

This is extreme!
As a Mars enthusiast, I originally bought this book because I just couldn't find anything really new in any other kind of book.

I knew some of this book would be outdated. Indeed, it predates by a few years PathFinder, Global Surveyor and the brand new Odyssey. But you just cannot invalidate 1500 pages of science in a few years, so I bought it.

Well, I was not disappointed! There is one (or more) chapter for every topic you could think of about Mars. And each chapter contains tons of scientifically accurate data, presented in an completely neutral way. Basically, everything is new, or if I thought I knew it, the book just goes way further.

This book is not for the casual reader. You must be highly motivated and/or and technically-educated to make the most of it.

And, of course, you must realize that this book is only a summary of what you could learn about the planet if you had the time (and mental capacity) to handle all of it.

And, you should also be aware that this book is only one book about one planet. Because the Arizona Press has "a few" other books, about "Mercury" (800 pages), "Venus II" (1500 pages), "Uranus" (1076 pages), "Neptune and Triton" (1249), "Pluto and Charon" (728 pages), etc.

As soon as I have finished "Mars", I will go and buy the rest (one at a time), because you just can't beat this collection.

Mars - The Viking "Bible"
If you want to seriously know things about Mars, our "brother" planet, you must have this book on your desk. This volume is totally indispensible for serious Mars students and is the distilled wisdom of the Mars Viking Missions, plus eveything else that went before.

Although new data is emerging about the Red planet, you cannot take it in isolation. The new data shows details within the framework of the old Viking-era Mars, which you must understand to be able to communicate with workers in the field.

Some new conceps and insights render parts of this volume dated, but it is dispassionate and unbiassed so the basic data and images are presented before too much interpretation is overlaid.

If you don't have this book, you aren't trying.

The only reason I gave this book 4-Star rather than 5-Star award is because it is written on a high technical/scientific level which renders it difficult for non-scientific readers. For scientists, it probably rates a Six!

Quality Mars reference
As the editors state, it is the next best thing to the full list of scientific literature about Mars (the list of references they refer to is 95 pages long, or about 3,000 publications). The next best thing is just fine by me. The editors also state that it is at a level appropriate for graduate study (like myself), however it would also suit a keen enthusiast.

As a reference book it isn't riveting bed time reading but, as a reference book, it is top quality and for its intended readers it is excellent. ... Read more

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Description of canals and oases of Mars by astronomer Perceval Lowell, placed here because, hey, at least he meant well. ... Read more

Book Description

A timely study of applicable military and civil lessons that emerge from historical small wars, and the overlooked role that combat officers play in creating operational and strategic doctrine from those lessons.

Keith B. Bickel challenges a host of military and strategic theories that treat particular bureaucratic structures, large organizations, and elites as the progenitors of doctrine. This timely study of how the military draws lessons from interventions focuses on the overlooked role that mid-level combat officers play in creating military doctrine. Mars Learning closely evaluates Marine civil and military pacification operations in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua, and illuminates the debates surrounding the development of Marine Corps' small wars doctrine between 1915 and 1940. The result is compelling evidence of how field experience obtained before 1940 played a role in shaping the Marine Corps' Small Wars Manual and elements of doctrine that exist today.How the Marines organized lessons at that time provides important insights into how doctrine is likely to be generated today in response to post-Cold War interventions around the globe. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Marines are learning machines
This is a fine study of early twentieth century marine corps tactical and operation military history. Recommend to any serious military history buff! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

GET THIS BOOK!!!
This is the clearest, easiest to read, most honest, understanding and compassionate guide to what is really going on between people Venus and Mars-wise I have ever read. Amazing that such simplicity, insight and profound wisdom should come from a couple of psychoanalytical types which usually screw up everything they touch by digging for buried bones which aren't there. Not these two...they are on the money. I think that a reading of the material up to the planets in the signs and houses should be required reading for anyone in a relationship or considering one. If people had a better handle on what was going on and what they were doing, they might be able to fix some of the messes they get into. THIS IS A GOLDMINE OF A BOOK.

Excellent treatment of subject matter
This author really goes into depth about the planets Venus and Mars through the houses and signs, as well as outer planet transits to each of them. She is psychologically oriented and looks at each placement thoroughly, avoiding superficial analyses like "Cancer Venus goes great with Pisces Mars" and the like. ... Read more

Book Description

Phlare's Mars Science Cards & Mars Map combine imagery and science from various NASA crafts including the Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Pathfinder, and Viking landers in 25 full-color and black & white question-and-answer cards and a full-color, two-sided 18" x 24" map and information sheet of Mars. This limited edition set was released in late February, 2004, and covers the history, geology, geography, climatology and features of the Red Planet, as well as information on travelling to Mars. Cards that cover physical features have coordinates on them, so they can be easily located on the accompanying map. ... Read more

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A Nice Collection of Paper about the Moon and Moon Bases
This softbound book contains a collection of papers from a conference held in Washington D.C. from October 29-31, 1984. These papers provide information about lunar geology, lunar science, construction techniques, transportation issues, base design, and various subsystem design (like, power generation, thermal control and life support) as well as many other topics. While the book contains many papers that provide a general overview of the lunar bases, many of the papers contain engineering formulae, which require knowledge of calculus and differential equations or even a specialization in a field of science or engineering. ... Read more