Audiobook5 hours
The Big Book of Mars: From Ancient Egypt to The Martian, A Deep-Space Dive into Our Obsession with the Red Planet
Written by Marc Hartzman
Narrated by Johnny Heller
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Filled with entertaining history, pop culture ephemera, and interviews with NASA scientists, The Big Book of Mars is the most comprehensive look at our relationship with Mars-yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Mars has been a source of fascination and speculation ever since the ancient Egyptians observed its blood-red hue and named it for their god of war and plague. But it wasn't until the nineteenth century when "canals" were observed on the surface of the Red Planet, suggesting the presence of water, that scientists, novelists, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs became obsessed with the question of whether there's life on Mars.
Since then, Mars has fully invaded pop culture, inspiring its own day of the week (Tuesday), an iconic Looney Tunes character, and many novels and movies, from Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles to The Martian. It's this cultural familiarity with the fourth planet that continues to inspire advancements in Mars exploration, from NASA's launch of the Mars rover Perseverance to Elon Musk's quest to launch a manned mission to Mars through SpaceX by 2024. Perhaps, one day, we'll be able to answer the questions our ancestors asked when they looked up at the night sky millennia ago.
Mars has been a source of fascination and speculation ever since the ancient Egyptians observed its blood-red hue and named it for their god of war and plague. But it wasn't until the nineteenth century when "canals" were observed on the surface of the Red Planet, suggesting the presence of water, that scientists, novelists, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs became obsessed with the question of whether there's life on Mars.
Since then, Mars has fully invaded pop culture, inspiring its own day of the week (Tuesday), an iconic Looney Tunes character, and many novels and movies, from Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles to The Martian. It's this cultural familiarity with the fourth planet that continues to inspire advancements in Mars exploration, from NASA's launch of the Mars rover Perseverance to Elon Musk's quest to launch a manned mission to Mars through SpaceX by 2024. Perhaps, one day, we'll be able to answer the questions our ancestors asked when they looked up at the night sky millennia ago.
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Reviews for The Big Book of Mars
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a wonderful overview of the red planet. like many people who love astronomy, I have read a lot of science fiction as well. This book combines these aspects to produce an overview of our relationship to the red planet. From fact to fiction, from myth to science, this entertaining read is incredibly well researched and is a very satisfying read. Looking here at Goodreads, I can see the author has many other interesting books which I am now going to follow up. Highly recommended.