Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

THE DOUBLE PLANET - The fascinating story of how man has probed the secrets of Earth and Moon

Rate this book
The fascinating story of Man's drive toward the edge of space.

159 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

107 people want to read

About the author

Isaac Asimov

4,476 books27.4k followers
Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
13 (23%)
4 stars
23 (41%)
3 stars
16 (29%)
2 stars
2 (3%)
1 star
1 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for ياسر.
Author 9 books344 followers
March 18, 2017
«ولما كان الناس لا يزالون إلى اليوم عرضة للإغراء الذي دفع برجال من أمثال كولمبس وماجلان إلى اقتحام المجهول فإننا سنصل يومًا إلى هذه العوالم بشكل من الأشكال»

أسيموف مرة أخرى، ذلك الرجل المبدع، صاحب أشهر روايات الخيال العلمي في القرن العشرين. يستغل حبكته الجميلة وشاعرية أسلوبه في تقديم كتاب علمي جميل جدًا وسهل إلى أقصى حد.
الكتاب ربما يميزه (ولا يعيبه) أنه قديم، في عام ١٩٦٤ صدرت الطبعة العربية، فترى من خلال كلمات أسيموف شوقه وشغفه للصعود إلى القمر، وتلهفه على تلك اللحظات التي ستكون مجيدة في تاريخ البشرية.
الكتاب بسيط جدًا، يتحدث عن الأرض وخصائصها وتاريخ دراستها وجيولوجيتها وغلافها الجو الجوي وتأثيره على رؤيتنا للأشياء حولنا مثل لون السماء الذي يبدو أزرق مع أن الفضاء داكن لا زرقة فيه، وكذلك لون الشمس الأصفر ولون الغروب البرتقالي.
ثم يتحدث عن القمر وحلم الوصول إليه، وكيف تم معرفة الكثير من خصائصه مثل كتلته وانسجامه مع الأرض، وتأثيره على الأرض بالمد والجذر. الذي تسببه الشمس أيضًا (وهي معلومة جديدة علي).
المنظر العظيم..
في أفضل فصول كتاب "بين الأرض والقمر" لأسيموف ، والذي كتبه قبل صعود البشر للقمر، بعنوان "المنظر العظيم".. يبدأ فيقول:
"أي منظر سيطالع الإنسان عندما يقف فوق القمر؟!.. بلقع قفر، وسكون مطبق، فلا ريح ولا صوت ولا حركة".
ويردف:
"... أما في الليل فتكون النجوم أكثر لمعانًا منها على الأرض، كما يظهر عدد كبير من النجوم الخافتة حول الأرض، والتي يحول جو الأرض دون رؤيتها.. زد على ذلك أن النجوم لا تتلألأ، بل تلمع بانتظام"
ويقول عن الأرض:
"ومن المرجح أن يكون أجمل ما يرى من القمر منظر الأرض تتألق في السماء"
ويختم:
"ولما كان الناس لا يزالون إلى اليوم عرضة للإغراء الذي دفع بالرجال أمثال كولمبوس وماجلان إلى اقتحام المجهول، فإننا سنصل إلى هذه العوالم بشكل من الأشكال".
وبعد أن كتب أسيموف كلماته بأقل من عشر سنوات سيُرى ذلك المنظر من القمر للأرض.
Profile Image for Ron.
Author 1 book171 followers
September 16, 2008
The most interesting comment in an otherwise very readable book is Asimov's insight into the unlikelihood of a rocky inner planet (Earth) having a large, rocky moon . . . and the fallout from such. (He also speculates on the utility of Venus having a similar satellite to accelerate our exploration of the solar system.)
Profile Image for Liedzeit Liedzeit.
Author 1 book103 followers
October 14, 2019
One of the earliest science books by the master. He was still searching for his unique style. Interesting enough though, the story of the double planet - Earth and Moon.
Profile Image for Robu-sensei.
369 reviews26 followers
January 31, 2009
In The Double Planet, Isaac Asimov surveys what humankind has learned about the Earth and Moon, from the ancient Greeks to the lunar probes launched in 1966. Alas, Dr. Asimov wrote The Double Planet three years too early; Eagle would not land on the Moon until 1969. Naturally, some of the facts are out of date, but this work gives the modern reader a glimpse at the state of the art during the most exciting years of space exploration. As always with Asimov's non-fiction, the science history is first-rate.

Profile Image for Charissa Shepard.
149 reviews14 followers
April 8, 2015
I found this book at a book fair in Tulsa, OK.
Normally a sci-fi writer, Asimov writes here of the science itself, cataloging important facts and dates in an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand manner.
My science training was quite spotty during my younger years. It was fascinating to read from his perspective. To get this instruction and advice from an author who I highly respect felt worthy of some awe.
It's so outdated though that I wouldn't recommend it unless it was for sentimentality.
Profile Image for Stephen Starr.
50 reviews2 followers
July 3, 2010
Humans, and their inventions are always more complex than they may first appear
Profile Image for Preston Page.
40 reviews4 followers
Read
January 18, 2011
A most wonderful book of my science fiction childhood and adolescence.
Profile Image for aetnensis.
107 reviews6 followers
February 21, 2023
Semplice e chiaro, ovviamente un po' datato visto che è del 1965
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.