Is Mars Habitable?

by Alfred Russel Wallace

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Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Astronomy, Physics, Space

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist. He is best known for independently proposing a theory of natural selection which prompted Charles Darwin to publish his own theory.

Wallace did extensive fieldwork, first in the Amazon River basin and then in the Malay Archipelago, where he identified the Wallace Line that divides Indonesia into two distinct parts, one in which animals closely related to those of Australia are common, and one in which the species are largely of Asian origin. He was considered the 19th century's leading expert on the geographical distribution of animal species and is sometimes called the "father of biogeography". Wallace was one of the leading evolutionary thinkers of the 19th century and made a number of other contributions to the development of evolutionary theory besides being co-discoverer of natural selection. These included the concept of warning colouration in animals, and the Wallace effect, a hypothesis on how natural selection could contribute to speciation by encouraging the development of barriers against hybridization.

Wallace was strongly attracted to unconventional ideas. His advocacy of Spiritualism and his belief in a non-material origin for the higher mental faculties of humans strained his relationship with the scientific establishment, especially with other early proponents of evolution. In addition to his scientific work, he was a social activist who was critical of what he considered to be an unjust social and economic system in 19th-century Britain. His interest in biogeography resulted in his being one of the first prominent scientists to raise concerns over the environmental impact of human activity. Wallace was a prolific author who wrote on both scientific and social issues; his account of his adventures and observations during his explorations in Indonesia and Malaysia, The Malay Archipelago, was one of the most popular and influential journals of scientific exploration published during the 19th century.

Reviews

[Johan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book that can be downloaded from Project Gutenberg. It was written some 120 years ago.

Not an easy read, but a fascinating read. Alfred Russel Wallace, best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural selection, thoroughly debunks Percival Lowell's theory of life on Mars, a theory mainly based on the observed canals on Mars.

What I take away from this book, is that even though Alfred Russel Wallace disagrees with Lowell's theory and picks it apart piece by piece, he does so in a polite, respectful way even praising the man for all his work.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at early thinking about astrobiology and the Martian canal debate from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The Victorian language and sometimes lengthy discussions probably don't lend themselves to casual reading, though.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wallace was one of the first to dispute Lowell's theory of civilized Mars, and he puts down Lowell hard. Planetary science is no place for those with thin skins!

[Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

The alternate/collaborator of Darwin. And When i read some Darwin i thought i should read something by Wallace. Interesting enough, and clearly correct as a refutation, but - through no fault of his - quite dated. It is impressive how fast humanity has gone from hardly being able to see Mars to being able to land bots.

[Rex Libris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Book "Is Mars Habitable?" is a scientific critique of Percival Lowell's conjectures that intelligent life exists or existed on Mars and built the canals. Lowell was an amateur astronomer, whereas Wallace is a professional scientist and a little more rigorous in his application of science to Mars.

Wallace shows that water could not exist on Mars, nor the temperature be anything near life supporting. Additionally he gives geological alternatives to what could have formed the canals.

The irony is that scientifically rigorous Wallace was wrong on the canls too.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mostly for its insight into the thoughts of the time. When this was written, they obviously had no idea about the role of meteors in the formation of craters and the fracturing of the surface of Mars. Also, for some reason they thought the surface of Mars was one giant plane with little to no changes in elevation. Considering the enormous size of Olympus Mons, it's interesting to see an examination of Mars without this knowledge that we take for granted now.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The entirety of this books was picking apart someone else theory almost line for line and proving it wrong. Where as I am in agreement its wrong as it is an OLD theory, both are infact. I feel the book could have better been used to promote the author's own theory to stand on its own without attacking another. Still as I learned a good bit about different theories that have been out there in the past I can not say the book was a total waste.

[Timothy Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing what was observable and deducible with such primitve equipment.

[Peter J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry, but it really helped me grasp just how brilliant the early 1900's scientists were. And they did it all with slide rules and on paper.

[Luís Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

(lido em Chengdu, China)