Mapping Mars: Science, Imagination, and the Birth of a World - Softcover

Morton, Oliver

Softcover

ISBN 10: 031242261X ISBN 13: 9780312422615

Publisher: Picador, 2003

Synopsis

How can you make sense of a world where no one has ever lived? Acclaimed science writer Oliver Morton tells the story of the heroic landscapes of Mars, now better mapped in some ways than the Earth itself. Mapping Mars introduces the reader to the nineteenth-century visionaries and spy-satellite pioneers, the petroleum geologists and science-fiction writers, the artists and Arctic explorers who have devoted themselves to the discovery of Mars. In doing so they have given a new world to the human imagination, a setting for our next great adventure.

About this title

Review

"Astonishing...mind-expanding...universe-expanding." --Los Angeles Times

"Compelling...evocative...Morton's prose is like Earth: humid, rich, swirling, alive...worthwhile for any reader interested in astronomy and space exploration." --The Boston Globe

"There is much to recommend in this book. The author has an encyclopedic grasp of the development of major discoveries of Mars science, and he summarizes them in a very understandable way.... And, I must confess, I am frankly envious of his engaging prose. This book will delight anyone interested in the exploration of the planet next door." --American Scientist

"Morton captures the revolutions in thought that come from envisioning another world and comparing it with our own." --The Dallas Morning News

About the Author

Oliver Morton is a contributing editor at "Wired," as well as a contributor for "The New Yorker, Science, "and "The American Scholar." He lives with his wife in Greenwich, England.

Edition details

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 031242261X
• ISBN 13: 9780312422615
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 384