List of Illustrations
Prologue: Mars in the Time of COVID-19
Introduction: Keeping Up with Mars
1 Mars and the Cosmic State
2 Mars in the Medieval Imagination
3 Restructuring the World
4 The Making of Modern Mars
5 Cold War Red Planet
6 Mars and the New Millennium
Conclusion: The Human Future of Mars?
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Matthew Shindell curates the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s collection of spacecraft, instruments, and other artifacts related to the exploration and study of our Earth and solar system. He cohosts the museum’s AirSpace podcast. A historian of science, he is also the author of The Life and Science of Harold C. Urey, coauthor of Spaceships and Discerning Experts, editor of Lunar, and coeditor of Smithsonian American Women.
“Shindell describes his book as ‘the history of human ideas about
Mars’, and he thoughtfully follows its winding path through
religion, literature and pop culture. . . . [He] persuasively
argues that Mars is most instructive when it sheds light on how we
see ourselves.”
*New York Times*
“[Shindell’s] fascinating narrative details how today’s discussions
have been conditioned by distant antecedents. The book is a compact
yet expansive survey, delving judiciously into the histories of
religion and science, mass culture and popular literature, the Cold
War and the Space Race—highlighting past mistakes and commending
new possibilities.”
*Wall Street Journal*
"Shindell crafts a human-centered history of an alien
world. For the Love of Mars offers a readable history of
speculation and exploration about Mars, beginning with the
skywatchers of ancient Mayan, Chinese, and Babylonian civilizations
and ending with the scientists and engineers who work on current
robotic missions."
*Science*
“Armchair astronomers and history buffs alike will find this to be
a fresh and engaging account.”
*Booklist*
"This insightful history will charm readers of popular science,
science fiction, and history."
*Library Journal*
"Shindell describes efforts to understand a celestial body closer
to home, tracing the red planet’s evolution in the popular
imagination."
*Publishers Weekly*
“If you want to be surprised and inspired by humankind’s
fascination with the Red Planet, For the Love of Mars is a great
read.”
*BBC Sky at Night Magazine*
“This is the right voice to bring Mars vividly to life. Shindell’s
history of what we know about the red planet goes beyond Western
ideas, bringing valuable knowledge from many times, places, and
cultures both into our view and into rich conversation. Its diverse
perspectives and cast of characters make For the Love of Mars an
essential read.”
*Janet Vertesi, author of Shaping Science: Organizations,
Decisions, and Culture on NASA’s Teams*
“Through a wonderful combination of scholarly scientific research
and thoughtful humanist perspective, Shindell’s For the Love of
Mars provides a delightfully educational and entertaining history
of our exploration of the red planet.”
*Jim Bell, Mars researcher and coauthor of Discovering Mars: A
History of Observation and Exploration of the Red Planet*
“Shindell has done the impossible: setting out the long history of
human engagement with the red planet over thousands of years in a
single book. For the Love of Mars is compelling reading for anyone
who has ever looked at, or even just wondered about, the fourth
world from the sun and whether we'll set foot on it someday.”
*Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical
Society*
"Humans are unsettled by incomplete data, unanswered questions.
Show us objects in the night sky, and we create worlds. So it
has been with Mars, conspicuous to us Earthbound gazers as one of
the heavenly bodies that wanders from place to place against the
backdrop of the stars. . . . a world that could share features
with our own, as images of the known and unknown were both
refashioned through intertwined changes in observation,
understanding, exploration and belief. It’s that long
evolution of ideas – not yet concluded – that Matthew Shindell
relates in this compact survey."
*The Arts Desk*
"More than justifies itself as ‘another book about Mars’ in
exploring the planet from a distinct and thought-provoking
perspective."
*E&T*
"By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and
behind the robots we know and love, Shindell shows how Mars
exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge
about other facets of the universe. Captained by an engaging and
erudite expert, For the Love of Mars is a captivating
voyage through time and space for anyone curious
about Curiosity and the red planet."
*Sandbox World*
"Because of its visibility and striking color, everyone from Mayan
priests to modern scientists have sought to center [Mars] in some
way in human life. In this book, Shindell explores the ways our
curiosity and subsequent exploration of the planet has led us to
understanding the rest of our world as well."
*Bookriot*
"Historians of science are already well-acquainted with Mars’
centrality to science itself, as the Red Planet’s retrograde motion
through the night sky led Renaissance and Enlightenment astronomers
to toss out the wisdom of the Greeks and map out a series of laws
of motion we now call physics. Science, though, is only part of
this story: faith, fear, imperialism, and demonstrations of
national prowess all figure in Shindell’s stories of Martian
exploration, from the construction of telescopes to the landing of
rovers on the Martian surface and preparations for future human
settlement."
*Quest*
"By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and
behind the robots we know and love, the author shows how Mars
exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge
about other facets of the universe. This book is a captivating
voyage through time and space for anyone curious about Curiosity
and the Red Planet."
*LPIB*
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