Audiobook · read by volunteers
Is Mars Habitable?
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913)
Read by Caliban · 9 chapters · 3 h 01
About the book
In the early years of the twentieth century, the question of life on Mars had captured the public imagination. Percival Lowell argued that the canals he had drawn on the surface of the planet were the work of intelligent beings. Alfred Russel Wallace did not agree, and in 1907 he wrote this short, forceful book to say why. Having spent months in research and having consulted specialists, Wallace goes through the evidence in an orderly way: the early observers, Lowell’s discoveries and theories, and the climate and physical geography of the planet itself. The case is made with scientific care and a fair amount of spirit. It is a pleasing example of a famous naturalist stepping into a new field and arguing his corner. Nine recordings, around three hours, and a fascinating episode in the history of astronomy.
Introduction
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) is best known as the naturalist who arrived independently at the idea of evolution by natural selection, at about the same time as Charles Darwin. Late in his long life he turned his attention to other questions, and in 1907 he published Is Mars Habitable?, a critical examination of the claims made by the American astronomer Percival Lowell.
Lowell believed that the markings he saw on Mars were canals built by an intelligent civilisation. Wallace brought his scientific training and his habit of weighing evidence to bear on the issue. He looked at the temperature, the atmosphere and the physical conditions that would exist on the planet, and he concluded that the case for such a civilisation could not be sustained.
The book is arranged as a sequence of short chapters: a preface, a survey of early observers of Mars, a discussion of Lowell’s theories, and an analysis of the planet’s climate and physiography. It is a good example of how scientific debate was conducted in the popular press and in book form at that time.
The recording consists of nine files and lasts about three hours. It was read by a LibriVox volunteer. It will appeal to anyone interested in astronomy, in the history of science, or in a rigorous argument made in clear and lively prose. The argument is accessible to a general listener, and no mathematics or technical training is needed. It is interesting to hear a debate that has since been settled by spacecraft and telescopes, and to see how the arguments were put at a time when the evidence consisted of drawings made at the eyepiece of a telescope.
Public domain
Alfred Russel Wallace died in 1913: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text