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Percival Lowell
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Mars and Its Canals Hardcover – January 1, 1908

by Percival Lowell (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
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Eleven years have elapsed since the writer’s first work on Mars was published in which were recorded the facts gleaned in his research up to that time and in which was set forth a theory of their explanation. Continued work in the interval has confirmed the conclusions there stated; sometimes in quite unexpected ways. Five times during that period Mars has approached the earth within suitable scanning distance and been subjected to careful and prolonged scrutiny. Familiarity with the subject, improved telescopic means, and long-continued training have all combined to increased efficiency in the procuring of data and to results which have been proportionate. A mass of new material has thus been collected,—some of it along old lines, some of it in lines that are themselves new,—and both have led to the same outcome. In addition to thus pushing inquiry into advanced portions of the subject, study has been spent in investigation of the reality of the phenomena upon which so much is based, and in testing every theory which has been suggested to account for them. From diplopia to optical interference, each of these has been examined and found incompatible with the observations. The phenomena are all they have been stated to be, and more. Each step forward in observation has confirmed the genuineness of those that went before.
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    The Macmillan Company
  3. Publication date
    January 1, 1908
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B006X59J1M
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Macmillan Company; First Edition (January 1, 1908)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

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Percival Lowell

Percival Lowell

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
21 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Marcus Twain
5.0 out of 5 stars What magnificent piffle!
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2021
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This book's predecessor, Mars (1895), was the father of H.G. Well's The War of the Worlds (1898), all of the Barsoom books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and all of the Martian fantasies after that, right up to the present day (including Masters of Mars). Lowell really, really believed that Mars not only had canals tended by intelligent beings, but he also "saw" them through his 24-inch Alvan Clark & Sons refractor telescope at Lowell Observatory. Clyde Tombaugh (who I had the pleasure to meet) discovered the planet (no, not dwarf planet) Pluto at Lowell Observatory in 1930. But O what a believer P. Lowell was in those Martian canals! And those Martians! And, as I write this, little puffballs have been observed on Mars which may actually be alive, and proof of life outside Earth...
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W.T.M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Good reading copy. Accurate text.
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2022
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It's a print on demand book and the paper and binding good quality. The text is large and accurate; it's not a facsimile. If there is a drawback, the illustrations are black and white, but high quality copies are easily found online.

I have a first edition but I preferred a reprint rather tban handling a delicate old volume.
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A. Consumer
4.0 out of 5 stars Like it so far
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2019
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Have just started this book. Lowell's prose is unexpectedly rich, and I am enjoying seeing the evolution of science. From roughly 1880 to 1910 many astronomers believed they could see markings on Mars that they interpreted as canals. Shortly after Lowell wrote "Canals" telescopes advanced to where we could observe Mars more clearly, and see no canals whatsoever. We eventually realized that the impression of canals had been produced by atmospheric interference, the low power of early telescopes, and the human vulnerability to optical illusion. Also at that time our imaginations were influenced by our fascination with major engineering projects like the Suez and Panama canals. Knowing all this makes the book that much more interesting.
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Pat
5.0 out of 5 stars MARTIAN CANALS
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2018
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very nice find. Describes Lowell's work on the geography of the Martian surface. The question
remains, what did he see? It's not there, we know that from the fly-by missions. He was
a dedicated astronomer. What's going on?
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Clifford
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but sometimes hard to read
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2020
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There is a lot of detail that is hard to follow because it seems to assume prior knowledge of his geography of Mars.

His thinking in places is fascinating and shows serious consideration of what skeptics had to say. One criticism he addressed was the supposed misinterpretation of the Italian word "canali" which is channels to "canals". No, he knew what Schiaparelli meant. In fact he at one point mentioned reading Schiaparelli's latest book which probably would have been in Italian. He mentions communication with Schiaparelli. So they knew each other. He discusses the idea of the canals as being illusions and experiments he and his assistant(s?) did in regards to seeing long thin objects at far distances.

His thinking in other places seems a bit led by what he was seeing. For instance the reason for the canals; to provide water to large parts of a planet losing its water. Why over the entire planet instead of the inhabitants moving to the polar regions or near them when any transport of water through great desert regions would be inefficient and lose a lot of water? Why there was no evidence of large cities shining bright into space like ours do?

Still, we now know that there is a lot of water on Mars in the polar caps and probably underground. So the idea of canals to carry it somewhere as it melts is not farfetched. If it melts; which does not seem to be the case. So, what was it Lowell and other well-respected astronomers saw? That is the big mystery. Is it possible there was something there that was rapidly vanishing at the time they saw the markings? Something that had vanished at least visually by the time the first Mars explorers arrived? Perhaps covered over by the frequent dust storms on Mars? Like happens in the Sahara and was happening during the Dust Bowl days in America?
2 people found this helpful
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Eric Parish
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2014
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great - thanks!
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Captain
5.0 out of 5 stars Mars
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2017
Proves it all.
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Kflier66
2.0 out of 5 stars Of purely historical interest.
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2016
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Of purely historical interest. Lowell got some things right about Mars, but many of his firmly held conclusions are wrong. Some, like the canals themselves, don't exist. Others, like his estimate of Mars' temperature, were based on bad science. A useful reminder not to base conclusions on faulty or imagined data. Very difficult to read: Lowell never uses one word when twenty will do. To make it worse, his style is dense and full of obscure words. If you read this, you should also read Alfred Russel Wallace's short book, "Is Mars Habitable?", disproving most of Lowell's conclusions. It's also much more readable.
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Top reviews from other countries

Dr. C.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Martians are coming!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2015
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Interesting and well written little piece of astronomical nostalgia - though wrong in practically all respects knowing now what we do about Mars, courtesy of orbiters, landers and roving robots. However, when it was written, over a century ago, canals, oases, forests and jungles on a dying world seemed like quite a plausible hypothesis. Indeed, Percival Lowell was a Harvard Maths graduate, so certainly not a quack or a publicity seeker. He was rich enough to be beyond that. It's a serious and thoughtful piece of work that, if you have a little time on your hands and wish to see a little of the workings of the Edwardian scientific mind then you can't go too far wrong here.

Reading this prompted me to dig out a few pennies for a later classic, Ray Bradbury's 'The Martian Chronicles'... there's another highly recommended classic, both in book form and the DVD of the 3 parter TV series from 1980. Go on, knock yourself out... the Martians will love you for it!
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