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The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America
“There Is Life on the Planet Mars” —New York Times, December 9, 1906
The Times headline was no joke. In the early 1900s, many Americans actually believed that we had discovered intelligent life on Mars. The Martians—a truly bizarre tale reconstructed through newly discovered clippings, letters, and photographs by bestselling science writer David Baron—begins in the 1890s with Percival Lowell, a wealthy Harvard scion who was so certain of his Mars discovery that he (almost) convinced a generation of astronomers that grainy telescopic photographs of the red planet revealed meltwater and an intricate canal system, declaring “there can be no doubt that living beings inhabit our neighboring world” (New York Times). So frenzied was the reaction that international controversies arose. Tesla announced he had received Martian radio signals. Biologists debated whether Martians were winged or gilled. Martians headlined Broadway shows, and a new genre called science fiction arose. While Lowell’s claims were savagely debunked, his influence sparked a compulsive interest in Mars and life in outer space that continues to this day.
The Times headline was no joke. In the early 1900s, many Americans actually believed that we had discovered intelligent life on Mars. The Martians—a truly bizarre tale reconstructed through newly discovered clippings, letters, and photographs by bestselling science writer David Baron—begins in the 1890s with Percival Lowell, a wealthy Harvard scion who was so certain of his Mars discovery that he (almost) convinced a generation of astronomers that grainy telescopic photographs of the red planet revealed meltwater and an intricate canal system, declaring “there can be no doubt that living beings inhabit our neighboring world” (New York Times). So frenzied was the reaction that international controversies arose. Tesla announced he had received Martian radio signals. Biologists debated whether Martians were winged or gilled. Martians headlined Broadway shows, and a new genre called science fiction arose. While Lowell’s claims were savagely debunked, his influence sparked a compulsive interest in Mars and life in outer space that continues to this day.
322 pages, Hardcover
First published August 26, 2025
143 people are currently reading
1931 people want to read
About the author
David Baron
3 books61 followersDavid Baron is an award-winning journalist and author who writes about science, nature, and the American West. Formerly a science correspondent for NPR and science editor for the public radio program The World, he has also written for The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, and other publications. While conducting research for his latest book, THE MARTIANS, he served as the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation. David is an avid eclipse chaser, and his TED Talk on the subject has been viewed more than 2 million times. An affiliate of the University of Colorado’s Center for Environmental Journalism, he lives in Boulder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
November 8, 2025
Crazes..............they seem to come and go and this book takes on one of the most widespread and longest lasting. It swept like wildfire across many countries but seemed most prevalent in the United States. It divided people of all classes and professions and in the process ruined the reputations of many. It began right before the turn of the 20th century when astronomy was becoming more sophisticated and gazing at Earth's closest neighboring planet, Mars, was popular. Author H.G. Wells published The War of the World which was a huge success and the craze began.
Of course, the subject of this fascinating book is the belief in the "canals" of Mars and the presence of life on the Red Planet. One individual (who had no scientific training), Percy Lowelll, a wealthy Bostonian, became obsessed with this subject, built his own planetarium, and "discovered" the supposed canals. This led him to put forth the theory that only intelligent beings could have built these canals. The "yellow journalists (Pulitzer and Hearst) picked up this theory and milked it for all it was worth. with blazing front page headlines such as "Life On Mars Discovered". Lowell was either loved or hated for his theory and astronomers began attempting to debunk it.
What a story this is...........beautifully written, great source material, and full of information that will keep the reader interested from page one. There is just too much to put in a review, so I highly recommend this book. It is a fun read but also somewhat poignant.
Of course, the subject of this fascinating book is the belief in the "canals" of Mars and the presence of life on the Red Planet. One individual (who had no scientific training), Percy Lowelll, a wealthy Bostonian, became obsessed with this subject, built his own planetarium, and "discovered" the supposed canals. This led him to put forth the theory that only intelligent beings could have built these canals. The "yellow journalists (Pulitzer and Hearst) picked up this theory and milked it for all it was worth. with blazing front page headlines such as "Life On Mars Discovered". Lowell was either loved or hated for his theory and astronomers began attempting to debunk it.
What a story this is...........beautifully written, great source material, and full of information that will keep the reader interested from page one. There is just too much to put in a review, so I highly recommend this book. It is a fun read but also somewhat poignant.
September 12, 2025
In 1877, an Italian astronomer named Giovanni Schiaparelli looked through his telescope at Mars and saw lines. He called them canali, which means channels in Italian, but some fool translator turned them into canals in English, and just like that, Mars had plumbing. And plumbers.
The mistranslation was like a seed planted in the fertile soil of human loneliness. Americans, who had just finished connecting their own continent with railroads and telegraph wires, were ready to believe that somebody else, somewhere else, was doing the same thing on a grander scale. The idea that we might not be alone in this cold, indifferent universe was so appealing that nobody bothered to check the translation twice.
In waltzed the adventurous traveler Percival Lowell, a rich man from Boston with more imagination than sense and enough money to make his daydreams dangerous. Lowell was the sort of fellow who could look at a smudge through a telescope and see a civilization. He built himself an observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, about as far from Boston propriety as a man could get without leaving the planet, and dedicated his life to proving that Mars was crawling with intelligent life.
Lowell wrote books. He gave lectures. He drew detailed maps of Mars showing hundreds of canals crisscrossing the planet like a subway system designed by a madman with a ruler. According to Lowell, Mars was a dying world, and the Martians, noble, desperate creatures, had built these massive waterworks to carry precious moisture from the polar ice caps to their thirsty cities. It was engineering on a scale that made the Panama Canal look like a backyard garden hose.
The newspapers ate it up. The magazines couldn't get enough. Ordinary Americans, who had been content to worry about earthly matters like corrupt politicians and whether the iceman would show up on time, suddenly found themselves checking the evening papers for updates on interplanetary engineering projects.
And why not? This was America in the 1890s, when anything seemed possible. Electric lights were turning night into day. Railroads were shrinking the continent. Telegraph wires were making the world smaller by the minute. If humans could do all that in a few decades, imagine what an older, wiser race might accomplish given a few million years and the proper motivation.
The whole thing was, of course, complete nonsense.
But what beautiful nonsense it was! H.G. Wells, that crafty Englishman, took Lowell's dying Martians and turned them into monsters in The War of the Worlds, because apparently the only thing better than imagining we're not alone is imagining that our cosmic neighbors want to eat us. The book scared people silly, which was probably the point.
Meanwhile, the astronomers split into camps. Some, drunk on Lowell's vision, spent their nights squinting through telescopes, trying to spot signs of Martian agriculture. Others, possessed of that peculiar form of courage that allows scientists to be killjoys, pointed out that the canals might not actually exist.
They were right, naturally. Better telescopes and more careful observations eventually revealed that Lowell's canals were optical illusions, tricks of the eye, products of the brain's compulsive need to find patterns even where none exist. The human mind, it turns out, is like a conspiracy theorist: give it a few random dots, and it will connect them into a grand design.
So the canals vanished, one by one, under scientific scrutiny. The dying Martian civilization crumbled like a house of cards in a stiff breeze. Professional astronomy moved on to more respectable pursuits, leaving Mars to the pulp writers and dreamers.
But here's the thing about beautiful lies: they're harder to kill than ugly truths. Even after the canals disappeared from the textbooks, they lived on in the popular imagination. Edgar Rice Burroughs sent John Carter to Mars. Ray Bradbury filled it with melancholy poets. The idea that we might not be alone in the universe had taken root in the human heart, and no amount of scientific rigor could dig it out completely.
And perhaps that's for the best. The Martian canal craze lasted barely fifty years, but it launched a thousand science fiction stories and inspired generations of humans to look up at the night sky with wonder instead of fear. It planted the seeds of space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Not bad for a translation error.
Today, we know Mars is a cold, dead rock with no canals, no cities, and no desperate engineers trying to save their dying world. We've sent robots there to dig around in the dirt, and they've found nothing more exciting than evidence that water once flowed there billions of years ago.
But we keep looking. We keep listening. We keep hoping.
Because even though Lowell was wrong about Mars, he was right about something more important: in a universe this vast and strange, it would be the ultimate cosmic joke if Earth turned out to be the only place where matter had organized itself into something capable of wondering about its own existence.
The mistranslation was like a seed planted in the fertile soil of human loneliness. Americans, who had just finished connecting their own continent with railroads and telegraph wires, were ready to believe that somebody else, somewhere else, was doing the same thing on a grander scale. The idea that we might not be alone in this cold, indifferent universe was so appealing that nobody bothered to check the translation twice.
In waltzed the adventurous traveler Percival Lowell, a rich man from Boston with more imagination than sense and enough money to make his daydreams dangerous. Lowell was the sort of fellow who could look at a smudge through a telescope and see a civilization. He built himself an observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, about as far from Boston propriety as a man could get without leaving the planet, and dedicated his life to proving that Mars was crawling with intelligent life.
Lowell wrote books. He gave lectures. He drew detailed maps of Mars showing hundreds of canals crisscrossing the planet like a subway system designed by a madman with a ruler. According to Lowell, Mars was a dying world, and the Martians, noble, desperate creatures, had built these massive waterworks to carry precious moisture from the polar ice caps to their thirsty cities. It was engineering on a scale that made the Panama Canal look like a backyard garden hose.
The newspapers ate it up. The magazines couldn't get enough. Ordinary Americans, who had been content to worry about earthly matters like corrupt politicians and whether the iceman would show up on time, suddenly found themselves checking the evening papers for updates on interplanetary engineering projects.
And why not? This was America in the 1890s, when anything seemed possible. Electric lights were turning night into day. Railroads were shrinking the continent. Telegraph wires were making the world smaller by the minute. If humans could do all that in a few decades, imagine what an older, wiser race might accomplish given a few million years and the proper motivation.
The whole thing was, of course, complete nonsense.
But what beautiful nonsense it was! H.G. Wells, that crafty Englishman, took Lowell's dying Martians and turned them into monsters in The War of the Worlds, because apparently the only thing better than imagining we're not alone is imagining that our cosmic neighbors want to eat us. The book scared people silly, which was probably the point.
Meanwhile, the astronomers split into camps. Some, drunk on Lowell's vision, spent their nights squinting through telescopes, trying to spot signs of Martian agriculture. Others, possessed of that peculiar form of courage that allows scientists to be killjoys, pointed out that the canals might not actually exist.
They were right, naturally. Better telescopes and more careful observations eventually revealed that Lowell's canals were optical illusions, tricks of the eye, products of the brain's compulsive need to find patterns even where none exist. The human mind, it turns out, is like a conspiracy theorist: give it a few random dots, and it will connect them into a grand design.
So the canals vanished, one by one, under scientific scrutiny. The dying Martian civilization crumbled like a house of cards in a stiff breeze. Professional astronomy moved on to more respectable pursuits, leaving Mars to the pulp writers and dreamers.
But here's the thing about beautiful lies: they're harder to kill than ugly truths. Even after the canals disappeared from the textbooks, they lived on in the popular imagination. Edgar Rice Burroughs sent John Carter to Mars. Ray Bradbury filled it with melancholy poets. The idea that we might not be alone in the universe had taken root in the human heart, and no amount of scientific rigor could dig it out completely.
And perhaps that's for the best. The Martian canal craze lasted barely fifty years, but it launched a thousand science fiction stories and inspired generations of humans to look up at the night sky with wonder instead of fear. It planted the seeds of space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Not bad for a translation error.
Today, we know Mars is a cold, dead rock with no canals, no cities, and no desperate engineers trying to save their dying world. We've sent robots there to dig around in the dirt, and they've found nothing more exciting than evidence that water once flowed there billions of years ago.
But we keep looking. We keep listening. We keep hoping.
Because even though Lowell was wrong about Mars, he was right about something more important: in a universe this vast and strange, it would be the ultimate cosmic joke if Earth turned out to be the only place where matter had organized itself into something capable of wondering about its own existence.
Read
July 25, 2025Just a superb book about the history of Martians, the observations of the planet. The book focuses mainly on US pseudo astronomer Percival Lowell and his mapping of the Red Planet. Thanks to Lowell generations grew up thinking there were Canals on the planet, which in turn led to the idea that there were human like creatures who inhabited Mars, and that the canals were used to grow vegetation to feed the Martians, Lowell spend years observing the planet, and Tesla also got involved at one point in time trying to contact the planet. It is wonderfully researched and we get into the "yellow press", the building of bigger and better telescopes, H.G. Wells and his War of the Worlds book and how it was adapted for readers in New York & Boston when it came out in the 1890's. Yes, a true tour de force on our obsession with Mars, Martians, etc. This one is a fast read and one that is for me a true 5*****!!!
October 29, 2025
Let’s get this out of the way: this book is an objectively great work of historical science journalism. The author dives deep into the forgotten Martian craze of the early 20th century, when many in the scientific community truly believed there was evidence of life on Mars. There were some super interesting tidbits in here, and the topic is worthy of this level of exploration. So why the three-star rating? It’s purely a me thing. I overestimated how interested I was in this topic, and probably would have had a better time with an article or podcast episode than with a proper deep dive like this one. I think real history buffs will love this!
August 10, 2025
The Martians is a lyrical account of the Mars craze that sweeped the turn of the 20th century. From the perspectives of scientists, engineers, and visionaries with plenty of sensationalized journalism mixed in, this book provides an interesting lens into Earth's closest neighbor and the obsession that came from it.
Want to read
August 23, 2025WSJ review: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/book...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"Lowell’s depictions of Martian life were pure fantasy, but they appealed to the public. ...
Lowell’s wild conjectures inspired the rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard, the science-fiction pioneer Hugo Gernsback and the astronomer Carl Sagan. Ray Bradbury, whose books include “The Martian Chronicles” (1950), paid homage to the likes of Lowell in a 1971 interview: “I think it’s part of the nature of man to start with romance and build to a reality. There’s hardly a scientist or an astronaut I’ve met who wasn’t beholden to some romantic before him who led him to doing something in life.”
I plan to take a look, when our libraries get a copy.
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"Lowell’s depictions of Martian life were pure fantasy, but they appealed to the public. ...
Lowell’s wild conjectures inspired the rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard, the science-fiction pioneer Hugo Gernsback and the astronomer Carl Sagan. Ray Bradbury, whose books include “The Martian Chronicles” (1950), paid homage to the likes of Lowell in a 1971 interview: “I think it’s part of the nature of man to start with romance and build to a reality. There’s hardly a scientist or an astronaut I’ve met who wasn’t beholden to some romantic before him who led him to doing something in life.”
I plan to take a look, when our libraries get a copy.
June 27, 2025
Book Review: The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America by David Baron
David Baron’s The Martians is a captivating excavation of a forgotten cultural moment when America collectively hallucinated intelligent life on Mars—and in doing so, revealed more about human nature than extraterrestrial reality. As a woman and scholar of science communication, I was struck by how Baron frames this historical episode not as mere pseudoscientific folly, but as a lens for examining societal anxieties, class dynamics, and the seductive power of narrative. The book’s central figure, Percival Lowell—the aristocratic astronomer whose “canal” theories ignited Mars mania—emerges as a tragic emblem of how privilege can amplify speculative ideas, while the public’s fervent embrace of Martians (from Broadway shows to Nikola Tesla’s radio claims) exposes our timeless hunger for cosmic connection.
What resonated most deeply was Baron’s nuanced portrayal of gendered skepticism in the scientific backlash. While male critics like Alfred Russel Wallace dismantled Lowell’s theories with empirical rigor, Baron subtly highlights how women astronomers (like Williamina Fleming) were simultaneously making groundbreaking discoveries yet excluded from the Mars discourse—a tension I wished he’d explored further. The chapters detailing Lowell’s Atacama expedition and its sensationalized “proof” of canals evoked visceral frustration; I found myself aching for the marginalized voices (Indigenous Chileans, female scientists) sidelined in this Eurocentric quest. Baron’s prose, however, is masterful—equal parts wry and empathetic, transforming historical figures into flawed, fully human characters.
Structurally, the book occasionally struggles to balance its dual aims: a biography of Lowell and a cultural history of Mars mania. The middle sections linger on technical debates about telescopic optics, which, while academically rigorous, dilute the emotional momentum. A deeper analysis of how race and imperialism shaped Martian fantasies (e.g., the utopian society trope echoing colonial myths) would have strengthened Baron’s critique of projection as a cultural reflex. Still, his closing meditation on modern Mars colonization dreams—and their eerie parallels to Lowell’s era—left me chilled with recognition.
Strengths:
-Cultural Archaeology: Brilliantly contextualizes Mars mania within Gilded Age anxieties and scientific theater.
-Narrative Craft: Baron’s journalistic flair turns complex astronomy into page-turning drama.
-Provocative Parallels: Draws urgent lines between past delusions and present-day space rhetoric.
Critiques:
-Intersectional Gaps: Underdeveloped analysis of how gender/race shaped participation in and resistance to Mars narratives.
-Pacing Issues: Technical digressions disrupt the thematic flow in later chapters.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) – A dazzling but imperfect work that illuminates how our cosmic fantasies reveal earthly biases.
Thank you to W. W. Norton and Edelweiss for providing a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Final Thought: Baron’s greatest achievement is showing how Mars has always been a Rorschach test. As we today dream of terraforming it, The Martians warns: beware the stories we tell about red planets—they’re usually about us.
David Baron’s The Martians is a captivating excavation of a forgotten cultural moment when America collectively hallucinated intelligent life on Mars—and in doing so, revealed more about human nature than extraterrestrial reality. As a woman and scholar of science communication, I was struck by how Baron frames this historical episode not as mere pseudoscientific folly, but as a lens for examining societal anxieties, class dynamics, and the seductive power of narrative. The book’s central figure, Percival Lowell—the aristocratic astronomer whose “canal” theories ignited Mars mania—emerges as a tragic emblem of how privilege can amplify speculative ideas, while the public’s fervent embrace of Martians (from Broadway shows to Nikola Tesla’s radio claims) exposes our timeless hunger for cosmic connection.
What resonated most deeply was Baron’s nuanced portrayal of gendered skepticism in the scientific backlash. While male critics like Alfred Russel Wallace dismantled Lowell’s theories with empirical rigor, Baron subtly highlights how women astronomers (like Williamina Fleming) were simultaneously making groundbreaking discoveries yet excluded from the Mars discourse—a tension I wished he’d explored further. The chapters detailing Lowell’s Atacama expedition and its sensationalized “proof” of canals evoked visceral frustration; I found myself aching for the marginalized voices (Indigenous Chileans, female scientists) sidelined in this Eurocentric quest. Baron’s prose, however, is masterful—equal parts wry and empathetic, transforming historical figures into flawed, fully human characters.
Structurally, the book occasionally struggles to balance its dual aims: a biography of Lowell and a cultural history of Mars mania. The middle sections linger on technical debates about telescopic optics, which, while academically rigorous, dilute the emotional momentum. A deeper analysis of how race and imperialism shaped Martian fantasies (e.g., the utopian society trope echoing colonial myths) would have strengthened Baron’s critique of projection as a cultural reflex. Still, his closing meditation on modern Mars colonization dreams—and their eerie parallels to Lowell’s era—left me chilled with recognition.
Strengths:
-Cultural Archaeology: Brilliantly contextualizes Mars mania within Gilded Age anxieties and scientific theater.
-Narrative Craft: Baron’s journalistic flair turns complex astronomy into page-turning drama.
-Provocative Parallels: Draws urgent lines between past delusions and present-day space rhetoric.
Critiques:
-Intersectional Gaps: Underdeveloped analysis of how gender/race shaped participation in and resistance to Mars narratives.
-Pacing Issues: Technical digressions disrupt the thematic flow in later chapters.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) – A dazzling but imperfect work that illuminates how our cosmic fantasies reveal earthly biases.
Thank you to W. W. Norton and Edelweiss for providing a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Final Thought: Baron’s greatest achievement is showing how Mars has always been a Rorschach test. As we today dream of terraforming it, The Martians warns: beware the stories we tell about red planets—they’re usually about us.
November 29, 2025
In the 1890s, the wealthy Percival Lowell turned his attention to astronomy and changed the public perception of the planet Mars for decades to come. Untrained in the sciences, Lowell's money and charisma nevertheless brought him attention from the scientific community and the general population; he posited that the "canals" he claimed to see on the red planet through his telescope were evidence of intelligent life on Mars. While many scientists scoffed, and while Lowell's claims would eventually be debunked, the Martian craze would spark the imagination of writers like H.G. Wells and ignite the passion of space exploration throughout the twentieth century.
This book was really fascinating! I enjoyed this author's book about the 1878 solar eclipse and this one is written in a similar vein: a melding of history and astronomy, woven together in a compelling narrative. I think I might have followed this a little better if I'd read the book (there were enough unfamiliar people and events that it wasn't the easiest to follow on audio), but audio is the way I get through books lately; this was still definitely worth listening to.
I was captivated by the idea of this pseudo-scientist being led by confirmation bias to the conclusions he wanted (it rings eerily true of current events; I was reminded of the way ivermectin was the miracle cure for COVID or the MAHA push to tie autism to vaccines or Tylenol). But just as I was ready to dismiss Lowell as a blight on scientific history, the author convinced me in the epilogue that maybe a little bit of imagination in the sciences isn't all bad; maybe it inspires a future generation of scientists.
At any rate, I appreciated learning the history behind the man behind the Lowell Observatory -- I've been there!
I know that everyone out there has already read The Martian, but maybe it's time to also pick up The Martians!
This book was really fascinating! I enjoyed this author's book about the 1878 solar eclipse and this one is written in a similar vein: a melding of history and astronomy, woven together in a compelling narrative. I think I might have followed this a little better if I'd read the book (there were enough unfamiliar people and events that it wasn't the easiest to follow on audio), but audio is the way I get through books lately; this was still definitely worth listening to.
I was captivated by the idea of this pseudo-scientist being led by confirmation bias to the conclusions he wanted (it rings eerily true of current events; I was reminded of the way ivermectin was the miracle cure for COVID or the MAHA push to tie autism to vaccines or Tylenol). But just as I was ready to dismiss Lowell as a blight on scientific history, the author convinced me in the epilogue that maybe a little bit of imagination in the sciences isn't all bad; maybe it inspires a future generation of scientists.
At any rate, I appreciated learning the history behind the man behind the Lowell Observatory -- I've been there!
I know that everyone out there has already read The Martian, but maybe it's time to also pick up The Martians!
December 5, 2025
Before reading I knew about the Martian "canal" theory, but I had no idea just how much of a Mars-mania that it produced during this time period. Baron's book is a compelling read into the scientific and cultural history of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The author doesn't just get into why people believed what they did about Mars and potential intelligent Martian life, he dives into the psychological and cultural reasons for why they wanted to believe it. Overall, The Martians is an entertaining and informative read about a phenomenon that I was previously ignorant of.
August 27, 2025
What a crazy story! I had no idea that in the years around 1900, many folks were convinced that Martians existed, led by the persuasive Percival Lowell. And a strong nonfiction book like this one leads me to add many more books to my TBR! Looking forward to meeting the author & getting this book autographed at the National Book Festival.
April 21, 2025
This is a sprawling narrative (covering decades and involving such intriguing people as H.G. Wells & Nikola Tesla!) focused on how the bold claims of one Percival Lowell (that Mars held intelligent life), spread so far and wide in popular culture. It was fascinating to read about this hoax, and see just how many people got drawn into the argument. This all might have happened ages ago, but this 'Martian myth' read as very modern.
The conclusion of the book was a little more hopeful than the overall narrative, showing that despite Lowell's false claims, his work DID inspire others in the future to study & explore Mars.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.
The conclusion of the book was a little more hopeful than the overall narrative, showing that despite Lowell's false claims, his work DID inspire others in the future to study & explore Mars.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.
September 10, 2025
Interesting story, but disappointed by the audio narration. The book focuses heavily on Percival Lowell’s research on Mars and everyone’s fascination with the potential of Martian life. However, more interesting is the underlying story of the power of wanting to believe something so badly that it leads to closed mindedness even in the face of scientific evidence.
October 3, 2025
This was a fun look back at the evolving landscape of extraterrestrial beliefs. My major takeaway was a reminder that science does not always evolve linearly, but in fits and starts and some backpedaling.
It is interesting to see how cultural mindsets can impact the interpretation of scientific data, and often even the questions and theories being tested. The dawn of the era of marketing and advertising further stoked interest. It was thought-provoking to reflect upon how the lens through which Americans were likely filtered through more terrestrial but unfamiliar Korean landscapes and Algerian topography, etc. There is a sadly recurring theme about human degradation that is touched upon, with the "American" craze and beliefs being influenced by regressive opinions about fellow earthlings.
It is interesting to see how cultural mindsets can impact the interpretation of scientific data, and often even the questions and theories being tested. The dawn of the era of marketing and advertising further stoked interest. It was thought-provoking to reflect upon how the lens through which Americans were likely filtered through more terrestrial but unfamiliar Korean landscapes and Algerian topography, etc. There is a sadly recurring theme about human degradation that is touched upon, with the "American" craze and beliefs being influenced by regressive opinions about fellow earthlings.
December 23, 2025
an easy read, albeit occasionally florid. more so an autobiography of percival lowell, who pushed the theory that mars was inhabitable to the spotlight. kind of a tragic tale! vivid details from the archive b the author could exercise better discretion. not something that’ll stick w me
December 20, 2025
If you ever wondered why so many people thought the broadcast of War of the Worlds was real, read this and you will understand. A riveting must-read!
August 8, 2025
It is an inspiring epic of human inventiveness. It is a cautionary tale of mass delusion. It is a drama of battling egos. Ultimately, though, it is a love story, an account of when we, the people of Earth, fell hard for another planet and projected our fantasies, desires and ambitions onto an alien world. [Introduction]
This is an account of Percival Lowell's obsession with the planet Mars, and its profound consequences for the human race. Following the observations of Schiaparelli -- who described a network of long straight lines on the planet, 'canali' (channels, but mistranslated as 'canals') -- Lowell, a wealthy businessman, published a number of books about his observations and his interpretation of them. He also founded the Lowell Observatory, and inspired a generation of scientists and science fiction authors.
The first part of the book, 'Century's End - 1876-1900', recounts Lowell's early life, and the context in which his astronomical work was received: his first books were published in the 1890s, in a period where science and technology were celebrated. Several reputable figures had asserted that life was not only possible but probable on other planets, and there was much discussion -- in parallel with the fashion for spiritualism -- about how to communicate with the inhabitants of our nearest neighbour. Nikola Tesla was convinced that his work in 'wireless telegraphy' (radio) would enable him to signal Mars.
In the second section, 'A New Civilization - 1901-1907', the sense of the limitless possibilities of the new century is strong. Mars became fashionable: everything from stage plays to dance tunes, advertising, and a plethora of stories in the popular press. (Meanwhile in London, Edward Maunder, an assistant at the Royal Observatory, conducted a study at the Royal Hospital School in Greenwich, showing that schoolboys perceived straight lines on images of Mars if seated at a certain distance from the pictures. Closer, and they could distinguish the lines and curves that made up those 'straight lines': further away and it was all a blur.)
The third section, 'The Earthlings Respond - 1908-1916', describes the waning of popular enthusiasm for Lowell's ideas -- although he continued his lecture tours until his death in 1916, maintaining that "the difficulty in establishing the fact that Mars is inhabited lies not in the lack of intelligence on Mars, but rather the lack of it here." What he lacked in scientific rigour, he made up for in sheer stubborn belief.
Baron's epilogue, 'Children of Mars', celebrates Lowell's legacy. He suggests that the reason the American public were so ready to believe that Orson Welles' radio production of The War of the Worlds was real news was that many could remember all the newspaper reports about life on Mars. And, more importantly, 'intelligent eyes really had been watching human affairs keenly and closely': not aliens but children* who grew up hearing stories and theories about other worlds. A young man in Luxembourg was enthralled by Lowell's Mars: his name was Hugo Gernsback, and he is regarded as a key figure in the rise of science fiction as a genre. H P Lovecraft attended one of Lowell's lectures aged 16; H G Wells met Lowell and discussed Mars with him (this fact established by Baron's own research); and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars featured canals, deserts and dry lakes, just as Lowell had suggested. Burroughs' Barsoom, in turn, inspired another generation of writers and scientists, including Carl Sagan, Ray Bradbury and Arthur C Clarke.
This was a great read, full of fascinating detail and copious illustrations. Baron's authorial voice is unobtrusive: his accounts of his research expeditions are interesting but very much secondary to the main narrative. There's a good bibliography and extensive references. And I did like his conclusion:
... I thought I had set out to tell a tale of human folly, about how easy it is to deceive ourselves into believing things simply because we wish them to be true... I discovered another, perhaps more powerful takeaway: Human imagination is a force so potent that it can change what is true. Thanks to Lowell's Martian fantasies that helped inspire the early space age, visiting the Red Planet has become a potentially realisable goal for today's children. [loc. 3031]
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this full honest review. UK Publication Date is 26 AUG 2025.
* same thing?
June 24, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for an advance copy of this new look at an early 20th century craze that swept the nation, one that scared and intrigued people, one that inspired many, and gave rise to a lot of different stories, ideas and conspiracies that we are still enjoying, or dealing with today.
I never thought it about it much but while other men are thinking about the Roman Empire, I find myself thinking of Mars. The Red Planet was part of my childhood with Marvin the Martian, and his duels with Daffy and Bugs Bunny. Somehow I remember watching My Favorite Martian, but I am not that old. I read Martian Chronicles and John Carter adventures set on Mars one summer, two different sets of stories that inspired me in different ways. And honestly anything I read about the Mars Rovers always make me sad, thinking about those robots carrying on past the life expectancy doing work, and making science, with only a cold lonely fate to look forward too. I guess I am not alone as many a finance bro and billionaire think of Mars as the next great thing, a landscape to exploit, maybe even a shelter from a dying Earth. Thinking about Mars is not a new thing. At the start of the 20th century, science was progressing in leaps and bounds. The heavens were being explored, and Mars was being made visible to telescopes and thinkers. And people who loved stories more than facts. The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America by science writer David Baron is a look at a time when Mars was the place, to paraphrase Sun Ra, when thoughts of aliens, canals, invasions, and much more filled the newspapers and lecture halls, and their effect on art, science and our thinking today.
The beginning of the 20th century was one of scientific technology leaping forward, with ideas coming quick and fast. The world was being explored, telegrams and telephones were able to speed communications. And the heavens were suddenly closer. Especially Mars. There had been much speculation on the planet being full of life, as a mistranslation of an Italian work by Giovanni Schiaparelli where he saw channels that was translated wrongly into canals. This error meant that many thought these formations were created by intelligent life, though many at the time were sure this was not so. However the world had changed much in a short period of time. Much of this change affected how people saw the world, and their importance in it. Into this stepped a young scientist with money to fund his experiments. Percival Lowell had the family name, the background and the ability to communicate to people, which he did on a series of lectures about Mars. How could Martians survive? Did they fly? Did they have gills? As more and more interest became apparant, soon the newspapers were making up stories for their readers. Tales of creatures, tales of structures on the surface. Tales of what could happen if they came here. Discussions began about what was real, and what was not, but soon Martian fever began to seep into the public consciousness, and people wanted more.
I had known that Mars was a phenomena at one point, but I had no idea how big. Nor the effect that much of this had on not only science and scientific presentation and methods, but about art, and thinking. Baron is a very good writer, able to make the science clear and understandable, while also detailing the many different aspects in society that were being undergoing a lot of upheaval. Baron profiles many from Lowell, to H. G. Welles, and also a name that does not get enough attention. Maria Mitchell and her efforts to bring more women into science, when this idea wasn't even considered possible or useful. There are many good stories, and lots of asides of facts and information that really make the book quite enjoyable.
An interesting read for people who like to read about science, the fascinating people involved in science, both good and bad. Also science fiction fans will get a lot out of this. Probably like myself in thinking how different their life would be without Mars.
I never thought it about it much but while other men are thinking about the Roman Empire, I find myself thinking of Mars. The Red Planet was part of my childhood with Marvin the Martian, and his duels with Daffy and Bugs Bunny. Somehow I remember watching My Favorite Martian, but I am not that old. I read Martian Chronicles and John Carter adventures set on Mars one summer, two different sets of stories that inspired me in different ways. And honestly anything I read about the Mars Rovers always make me sad, thinking about those robots carrying on past the life expectancy doing work, and making science, with only a cold lonely fate to look forward too. I guess I am not alone as many a finance bro and billionaire think of Mars as the next great thing, a landscape to exploit, maybe even a shelter from a dying Earth. Thinking about Mars is not a new thing. At the start of the 20th century, science was progressing in leaps and bounds. The heavens were being explored, and Mars was being made visible to telescopes and thinkers. And people who loved stories more than facts. The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America by science writer David Baron is a look at a time when Mars was the place, to paraphrase Sun Ra, when thoughts of aliens, canals, invasions, and much more filled the newspapers and lecture halls, and their effect on art, science and our thinking today.
The beginning of the 20th century was one of scientific technology leaping forward, with ideas coming quick and fast. The world was being explored, telegrams and telephones were able to speed communications. And the heavens were suddenly closer. Especially Mars. There had been much speculation on the planet being full of life, as a mistranslation of an Italian work by Giovanni Schiaparelli where he saw channels that was translated wrongly into canals. This error meant that many thought these formations were created by intelligent life, though many at the time were sure this was not so. However the world had changed much in a short period of time. Much of this change affected how people saw the world, and their importance in it. Into this stepped a young scientist with money to fund his experiments. Percival Lowell had the family name, the background and the ability to communicate to people, which he did on a series of lectures about Mars. How could Martians survive? Did they fly? Did they have gills? As more and more interest became apparant, soon the newspapers were making up stories for their readers. Tales of creatures, tales of structures on the surface. Tales of what could happen if they came here. Discussions began about what was real, and what was not, but soon Martian fever began to seep into the public consciousness, and people wanted more.
I had known that Mars was a phenomena at one point, but I had no idea how big. Nor the effect that much of this had on not only science and scientific presentation and methods, but about art, and thinking. Baron is a very good writer, able to make the science clear and understandable, while also detailing the many different aspects in society that were being undergoing a lot of upheaval. Baron profiles many from Lowell, to H. G. Welles, and also a name that does not get enough attention. Maria Mitchell and her efforts to bring more women into science, when this idea wasn't even considered possible or useful. There are many good stories, and lots of asides of facts and information that really make the book quite enjoyable.
An interesting read for people who like to read about science, the fascinating people involved in science, both good and bad. Also science fiction fans will get a lot out of this. Probably like myself in thinking how different their life would be without Mars.
May 31, 2025
The idea of life on Mars in the 21st century is generally the stuff of science fiction or children's cartoons, but at the turn of the 20th Century most people believed that there were canals on Mars built by intelligent life. Were they were watching us here on Earth? Could we communicate with them via the new wireless radio? Newspapers as reputable as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal routinely published headlines contemplating aspects of Martian life, and amateur astronomers packed lecture halls with their thrilling talks on the red planet.
Chief among them was Percival Lowell, a wealthy young man whose fancy had always been with the stars and the endless expanse of the galaxy. Nikola Tesla was in the picture too (often disagreeing with Lowell's theories), as was H.G. Wells. They all followed the publications of Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. It was Schiaparelli who first identified the "canali" on our neighboring planet, a label that was mistranslated into "canals". But what if there were canals on Mars? What would it imply about the sophistication and mastery of their world of creatures with the ability to build perfectly straight structures that ran for thousands of miles?
The concept fired the world's imagination. Casual astronomers routinely traveled the globe to get better views of astronomical events like eclipses. Lowell, blessed with great riches thanks to his wealthy family, built an observatory in Arizona, then another in South America, the better to see and map those canals. But what he saw with his limited telescopes was as much an optical illusion as the actual features of the distant planet, and ultimately his entire theory of intelligent life was disproven.
Science writer David Baron offers up a fascinating history of this era of Martian fever, approximately the late 1800s up to the 1920s, when wars and other global matters pushed the imagined Martians off the front pages and out of people's drawing rooms and casual conversations. The book is very focused on Lowell, however, suggesting that it might be better with the subtitle "How Percival Lowell ignited Western imaginations about the red planet" or similar. Still, a very engaging read, recommended for space enthusiasts and people who are intrigued by how crowds and groupthink can influence the national agenda and conversation.
Disclosure: I received this book through NetGalley in return for this candid review.
Chief among them was Percival Lowell, a wealthy young man whose fancy had always been with the stars and the endless expanse of the galaxy. Nikola Tesla was in the picture too (often disagreeing with Lowell's theories), as was H.G. Wells. They all followed the publications of Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. It was Schiaparelli who first identified the "canali" on our neighboring planet, a label that was mistranslated into "canals". But what if there were canals on Mars? What would it imply about the sophistication and mastery of their world of creatures with the ability to build perfectly straight structures that ran for thousands of miles?
The concept fired the world's imagination. Casual astronomers routinely traveled the globe to get better views of astronomical events like eclipses. Lowell, blessed with great riches thanks to his wealthy family, built an observatory in Arizona, then another in South America, the better to see and map those canals. But what he saw with his limited telescopes was as much an optical illusion as the actual features of the distant planet, and ultimately his entire theory of intelligent life was disproven.
Science writer David Baron offers up a fascinating history of this era of Martian fever, approximately the late 1800s up to the 1920s, when wars and other global matters pushed the imagined Martians off the front pages and out of people's drawing rooms and casual conversations. The book is very focused on Lowell, however, suggesting that it might be better with the subtitle "How Percival Lowell ignited Western imaginations about the red planet" or similar. Still, a very engaging read, recommended for space enthusiasts and people who are intrigued by how crowds and groupthink can influence the national agenda and conversation.
Disclosure: I received this book through NetGalley in return for this candid review.
August 16, 2025
The Martians by David Baron is a highly recommended entertaining and historical account of the obsession with Mars that occurred at the turn of the 20th century. As science journalist Baron explains in the prologue this fixation on Mars and it's potential canals and intelligent life forms is an example of human imagination and inventiveness but it is also a cautionary tale of mass delusion and battling egos. Ultimately, it is a historical account of people projecting their fantasies, desires, and ambitions onto an alien world.
Involved in the claim of observing and recording of canals on Mars and the contention of intelligent life were primarily Percival Lowell in America, Camille Flammarion in France, and scientist Giovanni Schiaparelli in Italy, who first purported seeing ancient canals. The narrative mainly follows Lowell's obsession with canals and a civilization. He even went on lecture tours and wrote books about Mars. Inventor Nikola Tesla was sure he would be able to invent a way to signal Mars. Also encouraging the obsession were numerous science fiction writers. The text includes many photos and illustrations.
Beginning with the Prologue, the book is then presented in three parts: Century's End - 1876-1900; A New Civilization - 1901-1907; The Earthlings Respond - 1908-1916. This is followed by an Epilogue, Children of Mars, which follows the impact of the Martian mania on popular culture. This is followed by Notes on Sources, an Abbreviations index, Notes, a List of Illustrations, and a Select Bibliography. Baron notes that the research for the book has involved hundreds of books, thousands of newspaper and magazine articles, and tens of thousand of pages in dairies, scrapbooks, logs, and letters form a wide variety of archives.
Anyone who enjoys history and associated pop culture trends will be entertained by The Martians. Thanks to W.W. Norton & Company/Liveright for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2025/0...
Involved in the claim of observing and recording of canals on Mars and the contention of intelligent life were primarily Percival Lowell in America, Camille Flammarion in France, and scientist Giovanni Schiaparelli in Italy, who first purported seeing ancient canals. The narrative mainly follows Lowell's obsession with canals and a civilization. He even went on lecture tours and wrote books about Mars. Inventor Nikola Tesla was sure he would be able to invent a way to signal Mars. Also encouraging the obsession were numerous science fiction writers. The text includes many photos and illustrations.
Beginning with the Prologue, the book is then presented in three parts: Century's End - 1876-1900; A New Civilization - 1901-1907; The Earthlings Respond - 1908-1916. This is followed by an Epilogue, Children of Mars, which follows the impact of the Martian mania on popular culture. This is followed by Notes on Sources, an Abbreviations index, Notes, a List of Illustrations, and a Select Bibliography. Baron notes that the research for the book has involved hundreds of books, thousands of newspaper and magazine articles, and tens of thousand of pages in dairies, scrapbooks, logs, and letters form a wide variety of archives.
Anyone who enjoys history and associated pop culture trends will be entertained by The Martians. Thanks to W.W. Norton & Company/Liveright for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2025/0...
August 6, 2025
"Why Mars?" is the question asked not only by the author, but of the reader. Why this fascination with the red planet, one of Earth's closest neighbors? And why was there this fixation on canals and intelligent life on Mars? Where did that come from and what has it spawned? Those are some of the questions that David Baron seeks to answer in The Martians.
David Baron divides his tale into three parts - Part One - Century's End - 1876-1900, Part Two - A New Civilization - 1901-1907, and Part Three - The Earthlings Respond - 1908-1916. David Bruce brings in all of the big guns of the day - Percival Lowell who became enthralled with the Far East before he turned his vision onto the heavens, the Widow Guzman who funded the Pierre Guzman prize for communication with another planet, or star, Camille Flammarion, a French astronomer, and color-blind Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli who mapped Mars and drew in the canali or channels that he saw on the surface which caused much confusion when the term migrated into English as "canals." Later on Nicoli Tesla makes his appearance along with H. G. Wells who brings a Martian invasion to his local village. A whole host of British and American astronomers who argue both for and against the concept of Martian life spend decades going back and forth over the evidence that Lowell and others produce until newer and better telescopes clarify the view of Mars from Earth. David Baron not only tells the tale of the Martian craze, he also provides the context in which it occurred giving the reader a feel for the popular culture that existed alongside it and the consequences and influence the craze had on American and world culture.
If a well-written true science tale mixed with popular culture is what you crave, pick up David Baron's The Martians and be prepared to enjoy yourself!
Thanks Netgalley and Liveright Publishing Corporation for the chance to read this title!
David Baron divides his tale into three parts - Part One - Century's End - 1876-1900, Part Two - A New Civilization - 1901-1907, and Part Three - The Earthlings Respond - 1908-1916. David Bruce brings in all of the big guns of the day - Percival Lowell who became enthralled with the Far East before he turned his vision onto the heavens, the Widow Guzman who funded the Pierre Guzman prize for communication with another planet, or star, Camille Flammarion, a French astronomer, and color-blind Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli who mapped Mars and drew in the canali or channels that he saw on the surface which caused much confusion when the term migrated into English as "canals." Later on Nicoli Tesla makes his appearance along with H. G. Wells who brings a Martian invasion to his local village. A whole host of British and American astronomers who argue both for and against the concept of Martian life spend decades going back and forth over the evidence that Lowell and others produce until newer and better telescopes clarify the view of Mars from Earth. David Baron not only tells the tale of the Martian craze, he also provides the context in which it occurred giving the reader a feel for the popular culture that existed alongside it and the consequences and influence the craze had on American and world culture.
If a well-written true science tale mixed with popular culture is what you crave, pick up David Baron's The Martians and be prepared to enjoy yourself!
Thanks Netgalley and Liveright Publishing Corporation for the chance to read this title!
December 1, 2025
The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze That Captured Turn-of-the-Century America. David Baron. Liveright, 2025. 336 pages.
The 1890s were an unsettled decade. (I feel like I write that about nearly every decade, come to think of it.) Radical socialists and anarchists used riots, bombings, and assassinations to further their political aims across both Europe and the United States. The United States fell into a deep economic depression in 1893 that lead to unemployment, hardships, and desperation. The labor movement was gaining steam, and robber barons and management responded harshly, and violent clashes between strikers and strike-breakers ensued. Women began agitating for political rights and attempting to crack through long-established barriers in occupations, science, and the arts. Fanning the flames of unrest, the "Yellow Press" proliferated and spread the wildest, most sensationalized stories, usually by twisting facts or excluding them altogether, in order to sell newspapers. (I know: it was such a wild and unbelievable time.) Naturally, all of this made for fertile ground for a crazy mass delusion to take hold in popular culture. (Again, such an incredibly foreign time to us currently.) In this case, two astronomers, one Italian and one French, independently theorized that Mars, seen from the Earth, displayed evidence of intelligent life, specifically "canals" (a mis-translation of the Italian word for "channels"). American amateur astronomer Percival Lowell became the leader in the movement to prove life on Mars and maybe even to establish contact with Martians. Brilliant scientist and engineer Nikola Tesla even hopped on board. For the next couple of decades, basically up to the outbreak of WWI, the scientific world was embroiled in debates and arguments, and the average Joes, Giuseppes, and Jacques, imagined all sorts of ramifications of the discovery of, and contact with life, on Mars. This book is a really fun and enlightening look at the whole episode in our history, and the ramifications that are still with us today, specifically the inspiration for many 20th century scientists and for the whole genre of science fiction.
The 1890s were an unsettled decade. (I feel like I write that about nearly every decade, come to think of it.) Radical socialists and anarchists used riots, bombings, and assassinations to further their political aims across both Europe and the United States. The United States fell into a deep economic depression in 1893 that lead to unemployment, hardships, and desperation. The labor movement was gaining steam, and robber barons and management responded harshly, and violent clashes between strikers and strike-breakers ensued. Women began agitating for political rights and attempting to crack through long-established barriers in occupations, science, and the arts. Fanning the flames of unrest, the "Yellow Press" proliferated and spread the wildest, most sensationalized stories, usually by twisting facts or excluding them altogether, in order to sell newspapers. (I know: it was such a wild and unbelievable time.) Naturally, all of this made for fertile ground for a crazy mass delusion to take hold in popular culture. (Again, such an incredibly foreign time to us currently.) In this case, two astronomers, one Italian and one French, independently theorized that Mars, seen from the Earth, displayed evidence of intelligent life, specifically "canals" (a mis-translation of the Italian word for "channels"). American amateur astronomer Percival Lowell became the leader in the movement to prove life on Mars and maybe even to establish contact with Martians. Brilliant scientist and engineer Nikola Tesla even hopped on board. For the next couple of decades, basically up to the outbreak of WWI, the scientific world was embroiled in debates and arguments, and the average Joes, Giuseppes, and Jacques, imagined all sorts of ramifications of the discovery of, and contact with life, on Mars. This book is a really fun and enlightening look at the whole episode in our history, and the ramifications that are still with us today, specifically the inspiration for many 20th century scientists and for the whole genre of science fiction.
November 4, 2025
This was a really interesting story I had almost no knowledge of, and I was really surprised by just how many connections there were to famous figures, technological developments, and sociocultural movements of the era that I was familiar with but never noticed this astrological thread tying them all together. The writing was really accessible and lively, hardly a dry recitation of dates and facts, and it's clear that the author really did his research (although I'm personally not a huge fan of nonfiction writers inserting themselves into the narratives this much--but this guy really did the work, and I can't fault him for wanting to talk about that process and the discoveries he made). Lots of primary sources, and direct quotes from the same...
Unfortunately, the audiobook narrator kept doing these wild accents for all of those quotations, and it really took me out of the text every single time, in part because they were often a little indecipherable. I'll be the first to admit that I also can't do a French accent to save my life, but this was like Steve Martin Inspector Clouseau levels of ridiculous. Italian and Irish didn't fare much better, to the extent that it kinda felt like witnessing white-on-white violence, and it colored my whole reading experience with a real slapstick goofiness that was hard to shake even in more serious passages. I'd definitely recommend this book, but I also recommend going for the physical or ebook version unless you're really in the mood to feel weird secondhand guilt towards France.
Unfortunately, the audiobook narrator kept doing these wild accents for all of those quotations, and it really took me out of the text every single time, in part because they were often a little indecipherable. I'll be the first to admit that I also can't do a French accent to save my life, but this was like Steve Martin Inspector Clouseau levels of ridiculous. Italian and Irish didn't fare much better, to the extent that it kinda felt like witnessing white-on-white violence, and it colored my whole reading experience with a real slapstick goofiness that was hard to shake even in more serious passages. I'd definitely recommend this book, but I also recommend going for the physical or ebook version unless you're really in the mood to feel weird secondhand guilt towards France.
November 11, 2025
Ebook note: Narrative was ~56% of the whole book. Remainder was notes, etc.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. There were some minor grammatical errors (due mostly, I think, to formatting; most of them were words that should have been capitalized but were not. These always occurred within the first three or four lines of a new chapter. I don't know if this was due to the ebook formatting or if it was caused by my reader's settings.) Occasionally, Baron's prose was a little florid for no good reason. For example:
This was in the context of Percival Lowell giving a speech at commencement. It really felt unnecessarily portentious. There were similar examples throughout the text that I didn't really feel added much to the narrative. Apart from that minor complaint, this was an interesting read; exactly my cup of tea, since it's definitely in the "Short Title: Long Descriptive Subtitle About Book's Contents" genre that I read so much of.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. There were some minor grammatical errors (due mostly, I think, to formatting; most of them were words that should have been capitalized but were not. These always occurred within the first three or four lines of a new chapter. I don't know if this was due to the ebook formatting or if it was caused by my reader's settings.) Occasionally, Baron's prose was a little florid for no good reason. For example:
As it is with the creation of worlds, so it is with the emergence of worldviews. A society's understanding of itself and of its place in the universe coalesces out of a diffuse collection of ideas. These concepts interact in complex ways as notions evolve and clash, and movements begin. At Harvard University on June 28, 1876, such a process was commencing. The vortex was beginning to spin.(typos or other errors mine)
This was in the context of Percival Lowell giving a speech at commencement. It really felt unnecessarily portentious. There were similar examples throughout the text that I didn't really feel added much to the narrative. Apart from that minor complaint, this was an interesting read; exactly my cup of tea, since it's definitely in the "Short Title: Long Descriptive Subtitle About Book's Contents" genre that I read so much of.
November 6, 2025
Mars! Canals, aliens, socialism! So many thought around 1900, after Percival Lowell, peering through his borrowed reflector up in the San Francisco Mountains near Flagstaff, proclaimed his observations of the Red Planet, confirming the claims of the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli that the planet was laced with irrigation canals, bringing water from the poles to fertilize a desert world. (Initially, Schiaparelli thought these "canali" were natural features.)
Baron explores this Martian craze from multiple angles in The Martians. He examines the controversy around Lowell's claims--professional astronomers rejected them roundly--fictions that the Mars craze spawned, and a passel of other effects of the fascination with Mars. He did a good amount of research, digging into archives across the US and Europe and reading widely, but the final result doesn't dig deeply into any of the themes he addresses. For the general reader unfamiliar with this moment in our history--not unlike other crazes recorded in Charles Mackay's Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, published in 1841 and referenced by Baron at pp. 183-184--The Martians provides an entertaining introduction, and reasons to think about the effects of failure to exercise critical thinking.
Baron explores this Martian craze from multiple angles in The Martians. He examines the controversy around Lowell's claims--professional astronomers rejected them roundly--fictions that the Mars craze spawned, and a passel of other effects of the fascination with Mars. He did a good amount of research, digging into archives across the US and Europe and reading widely, but the final result doesn't dig deeply into any of the themes he addresses. For the general reader unfamiliar with this moment in our history--not unlike other crazes recorded in Charles Mackay's Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, published in 1841 and referenced by Baron at pp. 183-184--The Martians provides an entertaining introduction, and reasons to think about the effects of failure to exercise critical thinking.
August 12, 2025
Partly a biography of Gilded Age dilettante-turned-amateur astronomer Percival Lowell, and partly an exploration of the Mars mania that gripped America and Europe from 1876-1909, this is an erudite, accessible and engaging cautionary tale about infectious self-delusion. The text is supplemented with numerous historical black-and-white and grayscale images throughout. The book is carefully researched and thoroughly documented with extensive endnotes keyed to citations in the text; in addition to the notes, the end-matter contains a list of abbreviations, a list of illustrations, and a select bibliography. While the book encompasses about 310 pages, fully 71 of those pages are devoted to the end-matter.
Occasionally, author David Baron inserts himself into the narrative to share his personal impressions when he has visited historic locations that are important to the story. These anecdotes help to humanize the story, and are always brief and don't feel intrusive. Including these reflections was a good decision.
I awarded the book 4 stars, but it probably deserves 4.5; however, it did not earn 5 stars (in my opinion) because it is a bit repetitive and is sometimes overwritten.
Occasionally, author David Baron inserts himself into the narrative to share his personal impressions when he has visited historic locations that are important to the story. These anecdotes help to humanize the story, and are always brief and don't feel intrusive. Including these reflections was a good decision.
I awarded the book 4 stars, but it probably deserves 4.5; however, it did not earn 5 stars (in my opinion) because it is a bit repetitive and is sometimes overwritten.
October 6, 2025
This was a fun short history of the Mars-mania which flooded the western world during the late Victorian period and early 20th century. I found the narrative style engaging and the history itself fascinating. I was previously only familiar with the broad brush version of this story, and I loved having the details filled in, which colors much of the history differently.
This book highlights the challenges associated with bad science communication, the importance of humility as a scientist, and the importance of clearly highlighting uncertainty in our science. All of this is demonstrated through a history of science that in hindsight will seem self-apparent and silly. But most scientific foibles do. The author leaves the parallels to modern conspiracies and critiques of science journalism to the reader, which I think makes it better.
I will likely recommend this book to others, but only to those with an interest in histories of science, science communication, or astronomy. I found the historiography meh which is why I'm not rating the book highly, but I am also not a historian so trust others more than me on this count.
This book highlights the challenges associated with bad science communication, the importance of humility as a scientist, and the importance of clearly highlighting uncertainty in our science. All of this is demonstrated through a history of science that in hindsight will seem self-apparent and silly. But most scientific foibles do. The author leaves the parallels to modern conspiracies and critiques of science journalism to the reader, which I think makes it better.
I will likely recommend this book to others, but only to those with an interest in histories of science, science communication, or astronomy. I found the historiography meh which is why I'm not rating the book highly, but I am also not a historian so trust others more than me on this count.
September 10, 2025
As I am a SciFi enthusiast, it was fun to read about the beginnings of the Martian craze. When telescopes were strong enough to catch blurry glimpses of Mars - the canals, the seas, the polar ice caps - and imagine the life that must be there. Many famous people became obsessed with this idea, including Edison, Marconi, Lowell, Schiaparelli, and tried different ways of communicating with them. H.G. Wells wrote THE WAR OF THE WORLDS during this time. Although we now have stronger telescopes, and know there are no canals, nor is there any water, our fascination continues. Why else would we have a recent popular movie called THE MARTIAN and many sci-fi movies and books about that very thing? This book covers the years 1897 through WWI, the years when the above-mentioned men were alive. Mars craze did not die with them, but it inspired many to look to the sky and imagine the possibilities. THE MARTIANS is just the beginning. An interesting read for Mars buffs and anyone else that likes history.
October 19, 2025
This book explains the origins of our Mars obsession and covers the late 1800’s to the Early 1900’s when Mars was in the news the most. When scientists first started postulating the existence of life on mars in the 1880’s only the most disreputable news papers examined the issue. Finally, in 1907, the New York Times declared that life existed on the red planet. The scientific community at large never seriously entertained this issue, but rogue scientists hogged the spot light. This was a time when the most active scientists were the idle elite, before scientists were found mostly with the government, academia, and large corporations. Although a strong peer review program like scientists shackle themselves with today would have prevented this fiasco, the hype it created gave the science fictions genre a strong cult following that allowed it to enter the mainstream between the 1930’s and 1970’s!
October 18, 2025
This book held my interest and enjoyment throughout. The writing style took me from page to page and had me thinking of life in the 1900's. What a time and what a "focus". I was amazed at the development of the observatories and the financial outpouring of benefactors to learn about Mars but also the sky. The ability of these "seekers" to travel and transport equipment was a surprise to me. The communications between the researchers and transportation of information really contrasts with our instant ability today. And oh, the masses of humanity wanting to know another world made me see how easily we want to believe. It is a rousing period of history.
It is a great read . I loved the science, the research, the societal reaction to a longing for knowledge.
The epilogue is really terrific. Great ending to a great book.
It is a great read . I loved the science, the research, the societal reaction to a longing for knowledge.
The epilogue is really terrific. Great ending to a great book.
October 22, 2025
"The trouble with our liberal friends," Ronald Reagan said, "is not that they're ignorant it's just that they know so much that isn't so." The crude telescopes available at the end of the 19th century didn't just show a fuzzy portrait of Mars, but they also allowed wide-eyed open-minded astronomers the latitude to see things that just weren't there. Baron does an outstanding job in retelling the story of Percival Lowell, refugee from a prominent Boston family, who reinvented himself as a Mars expert and spent his lifetime spinning tales about an inhabited Red Planet, subject to both seasonal adjustments and large-scale irrigation management. Counterintuitively, Baron determines that the colorful version of the Mars story actually was helpful in terms of sparking scientific careers. Excellent work of the dangers of futurism and drawing too many conclusions from scant data.
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