Percival Lowell Books

Strauss is not content with telling us the story of Lowell's fascinating life--he portrays each milieu in which Lowell worked and lived with a complexity that gives us the tools to understand Lowell in context. For example, he gives us piquant details about life in the upper reaches of Boston Brahmin culture. One of the more interesting stories is Lowell's move from prominence in academia to the position of crank and critic of the increasing professionalization of astronomy.

This is the portrait of a restless mind, worth delving into.

Strauss' historical look at Lowell is extremely engaging and I found this book hard to put down. Some great historical context about Boston and Japan really give you the feeling of what is was like to be there back in the 1800's. I recommend this to all.

The first fully satisfying biography of a man who helped to change astronomy, sustained its popularity and mystery, and tested the wills of mainstream astronomers.

This book originated as four essays that were published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1895. The four essays each cover a part of Percival Lowell's (1855-1916) speculations on what is the meaning of recent "discoveries" about the planet Mars. Article I covers the Martian atmosphere, article II covers the presence (or more truthfully lack) of water on Mars, article III covers the recently discovered "canals," and article IV covers oases or areas of vegetation at the confluence of the canals. His shocking conclusion that Mars was a dying planet, populated by a race of intelligent beings that were building canals to try to delay their inevitable extinction, caught to popular imagination and made this book a bestseller.

Overall, I found this book to be quite a fun read. Yes, the book was subsequently discredited, and now enjoys the reputation of being one of science's greatest pieces of flummery, but it was very well written and it is easy to see why it attracted such a large audience. The book had very wide reach, in its time, influencing such writers as H.G. Wells (War of the Worlds came out in 1898) and Edgar Rice Burroughs (A Princess of Mars came out in 1911).

I highly enjoyed this book and think that you will too. Read it for its historical value. Read it for its influence on science-fiction. Read it because it is just plain an interesting book!