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A Passion For Mars, Intreped Explorers of the Red Planet
The quest for Mars is chronicled by bestselling author Andrew Chaikin in this story of a passionate band of Earthbound explorers caught in the irresistible pull of the Red Planet.They include celebrated astronomer Carl Sagan, who champions the idea of life on Mars-; rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, drawing up plans for human Mars expeditions; and science-fiction author Ray Bradbury, standard-bearer for Mars’s crucial place in human destiny. Readers also meet the rogue grad students known as the “Mars Underground,” keepers of the flame when Mars falls off NASA’s radar; biologist Jerry Soffen, looking for signs of life in a Martian meteorite; geologist Mike Malin, who defies skeptics to reveal a Mars no one imagines; and many others, including Chaikin himself, who served on the first Viking Mars landing and covered Mars exploration as a science journalist.Based on extensive interviews, illustrated with compelling images, and animated by the author’s own passion, Chaikin’s account will resonate with anyone who has ever dreamed of a journey to Mars.
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First published October 1, 2008
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About the author
Andrew Chaikin
29 books92 followersAward-winning science journalist and space historian Andrew Chaikin has authored books and articles about space exploration and astronomy for more than 25 years. Writer-director and explorer James Cameron (Titanic, Aliens of the Deep) called him “our best historian of the space age.”
Chaikin is best known as the author of A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts, widely regarded as the definitive account of the moon missions. First published in 1994, this acclaimed work was the main basis for Tom Hanks' 12-part HBO miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon, which won the Emmy for best miniseries in 1998. Chaikin spent eight years writing and researching A Man on the Moon, including over 150 hours of personal interviews with 23 of the 24 lunar astronauts (Apollo 13's Jack Swigert was already deceased). Apollo moonwalker Gene Cernan said of the book, "I've been there. Chaikin took me back." A new edition of the book, with a new afterword for the 50th anniversary of the space age, was published by Penguin in 2007.
Chaikin’s newest book is A Passion for Mars, published in September 2008 by Abrams. Apollo 11 astronaut and author Michael Collins called it a “masterpiece of a book,” and Rocket Boys author Homer Hickam said, “I am completely and utterly in love with this book.”
Upcoming works to be published in May 2009 are Voices from the Moon (Viking Studio) featuring excerpts from his conversations with Apollo astronauts, and Mission Control, This is Apollo (Viking Childrens) a book for middle-school readers illustrated with paintings by Apollo moonwalker Alan Bean.
He is also the author of Air and Space: The National Air and Space Museum Story of Flight, published in 1997 by Bulfinch Press. Chaikin's illustrated narrative of space exploration, SPACE: A History of Space Exploration in Photographs, was published in 2002 by Carlton Books. He co-authored the text for the highly successful collection of Apollo photography, Full Moon, which was published by Knopf in 1999.
Chaikin collaborated with moonwalker-turned-artist Alan Bean to write Apollo: An Eyewitness Account, published in 1998 by the Greenwich Workshop Press. He also co-edited The New Solar System, a compendium of writings by planetary scientists, now in its fourth edition. His essays include the chapter on human spaceflight in The National Geographic Encyclopedia of Space, published in 2004, and Live from the Moon: The Societal Impact of Apollo for NASA’s 2007 book The Societal Impact of Spaceflight.
From 1999 to 2001 Chaikin served as Executive Editor for Space and Science at SPACE.com, the definitive website for all things space. He was also the editor of SPACE.com's print magazine, Space Illustrated.
Chaikin is a commentator for National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, and the NPR programs Fresh Air and Talk of the Nation. He has been an advisor to NASA on space policy and public communications.
A former editor of Sky & Telescope magazine, Chaikin has also been a contributing editor of Popular Science and has written for Newsweek, Air&Space/Smithsonian, World Book Encyclopedia, Scientific American, and other publications.
A graduate of Brown University, Chaikin served on the Viking missions to Mars at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and was a researcher at the Smithsonian's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies before becoming a science journalist in 1980. He is an amateur musician and songwriter; he has also been an occasional space artist, and is one of the founders of the International Association of Astronomical Artists.
Chaikin is best known as the author of A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts, widely regarded as the definitive account of the moon missions. First published in 1994, this acclaimed work was the main basis for Tom Hanks' 12-part HBO miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon, which won the Emmy for best miniseries in 1998. Chaikin spent eight years writing and researching A Man on the Moon, including over 150 hours of personal interviews with 23 of the 24 lunar astronauts (Apollo 13's Jack Swigert was already deceased). Apollo moonwalker Gene Cernan said of the book, "I've been there. Chaikin took me back." A new edition of the book, with a new afterword for the 50th anniversary of the space age, was published by Penguin in 2007.
Chaikin’s newest book is A Passion for Mars, published in September 2008 by Abrams. Apollo 11 astronaut and author Michael Collins called it a “masterpiece of a book,” and Rocket Boys author Homer Hickam said, “I am completely and utterly in love with this book.”
Upcoming works to be published in May 2009 are Voices from the Moon (Viking Studio) featuring excerpts from his conversations with Apollo astronauts, and Mission Control, This is Apollo (Viking Childrens) a book for middle-school readers illustrated with paintings by Apollo moonwalker Alan Bean.
He is also the author of Air and Space: The National Air and Space Museum Story of Flight, published in 1997 by Bulfinch Press. Chaikin's illustrated narrative of space exploration, SPACE: A History of Space Exploration in Photographs, was published in 2002 by Carlton Books. He co-authored the text for the highly successful collection of Apollo photography, Full Moon, which was published by Knopf in 1999.
Chaikin collaborated with moonwalker-turned-artist Alan Bean to write Apollo: An Eyewitness Account, published in 1998 by the Greenwich Workshop Press. He also co-edited The New Solar System, a compendium of writings by planetary scientists, now in its fourth edition. His essays include the chapter on human spaceflight in The National Geographic Encyclopedia of Space, published in 2004, and Live from the Moon: The Societal Impact of Apollo for NASA’s 2007 book The Societal Impact of Spaceflight.
From 1999 to 2001 Chaikin served as Executive Editor for Space and Science at SPACE.com, the definitive website for all things space. He was also the editor of SPACE.com's print magazine, Space Illustrated.
Chaikin is a commentator for National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, and the NPR programs Fresh Air and Talk of the Nation. He has been an advisor to NASA on space policy and public communications.
A former editor of Sky & Telescope magazine, Chaikin has also been a contributing editor of Popular Science and has written for Newsweek, Air&Space/Smithsonian, World Book Encyclopedia, Scientific American, and other publications.
A graduate of Brown University, Chaikin served on the Viking missions to Mars at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and was a researcher at the Smithsonian's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies before becoming a science journalist in 1980. He is an amateur musician and songwriter; he has also been an occasional space artist, and is one of the founders of the International Association of Astronomical Artists.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 16, 2008
I've read only one other book about space exploration - a detailed history of the pre-space-age thinkers and astronomers who dreamed of space travel and the Soviet and American space programs and missions which followed them. This book deals specifically with the exploration of the planet Mars - the early observations by the astronomers Schiaparelli and Lowell and a brief history of NASA Apollo moonshot. The bulk of the book then deals with attempts to land unmanned craft on Mars, a history of observing Mars, and finally a history of the Mars exploration from the Mariner and Viking missions of the 60s & 70s up to today's Mars Exploration Rovers (which are taking amazing pictures and seem to be unstoppable - lasting far longer than they were originally expected to). Here is a picture send of Mars from one of these missions: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia...
The book also details the scientific aspects of Martian geology and even exobiology. There is no conclusive proof of life on Mars, but water has existed there along with many suitable conditions for life. The author, Andew Chaikin, who worked on the Viking 1 mission, details the history of various NASA missions and personnel to give an engaging and illuminating history and outlook for what many believe (myself included) will be the planet in the solar system best suited for eventual terraforming and colonization, with manned missions expected mid-century. With the progress of technology, the only thing stopping us is bureaucracy and lack of resolve, and I fully expect that both states and private enterprises will open up the martian frontier and establish ongoing colonies.
The book also details the scientific aspects of Martian geology and even exobiology. There is no conclusive proof of life on Mars, but water has existed there along with many suitable conditions for life. The author, Andew Chaikin, who worked on the Viking 1 mission, details the history of various NASA missions and personnel to give an engaging and illuminating history and outlook for what many believe (myself included) will be the planet in the solar system best suited for eventual terraforming and colonization, with manned missions expected mid-century. With the progress of technology, the only thing stopping us is bureaucracy and lack of resolve, and I fully expect that both states and private enterprises will open up the martian frontier and establish ongoing colonies.
July 14, 2017
Beautiful and fascinating.
March 31, 2019
Well written and I found some interesting anecdotes and interviews, but I found the narrative a little confused.
February 21, 2019
What a beautiful Red Marble.
This book is pretty well written and explains the turning points during NASA's struggle to reach Mars, and what came after. The images are outstanding, and really give you a sense of what you're reading about.
This book is pretty well written and explains the turning points during NASA's struggle to reach Mars, and what came after. The images are outstanding, and really give you a sense of what you're reading about.
February 1, 2010
If you want to know why Barack Obama is making a huge mistake today (Feb. 1st, 2010) by killing the "Constellation" space exploration program that was supposed to put astronauts back on the Moon and later send them to Mars, this book will enlighten you and explain why no human being has explored Mars yet. We should go to Mars for reasons ranging from scientific to aesthetic, but also for more practical ones, like how can the Earth possibly sustain ten billion people in a peaceful way with disappearing mineral resources, a climate going astray, and no possibility to expand outwards? Mars could be the future of Earth as America became the future of Europe a few centuries back, and without the native American tragedy. Chaikin's well documented and elegantly written book is fun to read and will appeal not only to would-be Martians but also to more reasonable world citizens who wonder what happened to the ambitious US space exploration program that had started so wonderfully in the 1960s.
November 17, 2008
More about the minds of men and women who have loved Mars throughout the years, than Mars itself. And wonderful for that reason. From Schiaparelli's canali and Lowell's canals, to the megalomania of von Braun's Marsproject, to the Mars Underground's attempts to get Mars back on NASA's radar in the 80s, its about all the people who loved the red planet so much that it took over their lives and made them do, think, and say crazy things in pursuit of the dream.
December 15, 2016
(Oh-ho, the surprise, I see it, it's on your face)
This book is amazing! The foreword is captivating, the images even more so, and the bulk text lifts you up like the fizziest of drinks.
Best purchase of that one week in October 2k14.
If you love Mars, like Mars, or would be interested in learning more about Mars to see how things progress from there, no pressure, really, you just wanna be sure-
This book is for you.
This book is amazing! The foreword is captivating, the images even more so, and the bulk text lifts you up like the fizziest of drinks.
Best purchase of that one week in October 2k14.
If you love Mars, like Mars, or would be interested in learning more about Mars to see how things progress from there, no pressure, really, you just wanna be sure-
This book is for you.
Read
February 11, 2013Excellent book, but that's not [just] because I'm in it ;-). Chapter 6, The Underground is about The Case for Mars group that I was a co-founder of, and Andy (who is a friend) used a lot of my interview for this chapter, and many of my Photographs.
May 23, 2011
Title says it all: this book is about people laboring for decades to explore Mars any way possible to them. Amazing what individual obsession can accomplish
March 19, 2017
Chaikin brings his usual skills to the story of Mars. Detailed, breezy, fun.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews