The Book of Mars; NASA SP-179

Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Technology Utilization, Scientific and Technical Information Division, 1968. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. good. vii, [1], 315, [3] pages. Color frontis illustration. Illustrations. Figures. References. Index. Some wear to board and spine edges and board corners. Samuel Glasstone (May 3, 1897 - Nov. 16, 1986) authored over 40 popular textbooks on physical chemistry, reaction rates, nuclear weapons effects, nuclear reactor engineering, Mars, space sciences,and nuclear energy and nuclear testing. Glasstone was described as "perhaps one of the best technical writers of the last century." He received two doctorates, in 1922 and 1926 (Ph.D. and D.Sc.), in chemistry at London University. Glasstone discovered the C-H···O interaction in 1937. Perhaps his best known book, co-authored with Philip Dolan, was The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, which came out in three editions in 1957,, 1962, and 1977 (originally titled The Effects of Atomic Weapons). The book is considered one of the most authoritative texts on the effects of nuclear explosions. Similar in many respects to Earth, yet different, Mars has long figured importantly in science and technology and is currently a primary target for further efforts to gain fundamental knowledge of the solar system that is needed to meet challenges on Earth. This is a summary of what rnen knew about Mars before the Mariner-Mars 1969 flights. Dr. Samuel Glasstone reviews centuries of studies of the red planet, explains its place in the solar system, and sets forth clearly what is known about its atmosphere, clouds, haze, and surface. He turns then to theories concerning the origin of life, the formation of prebiological materials, and the possibility of finding life on Mars. After clarifying the challenge, he describes plans and requirements for detecting life on Mars, and avoiding contamination of this neighbor of the Earth while continuing its exploration. This Special Publication won the Federal Editors Association's Blue Pencil Award as one of the outstanding Government publications of the year. It will serve as the baseline for future reports on Mars.