Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments [Hardcover]

Martyn J. Fogg (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: Society of Automotive Engineers Inc (July 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560916095
• ISBN-13: 978-1560916093
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,348,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a Terraforming "Textbook", March 25, 2000

By 

Brian L Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments (Hardcover)

While terraforming has been talked about for a long time in science fiction, it seems technical information about it is scarce. Martyn Fogg has compiled here the handbook of this diverse subject. Starting out by describing what terraforming is about (and what sort of grand engineering has been done to date), it then covers "engineering" Earth, Mars, Venus, and even the outer planets. How could you live "on" Jupiter? What would it take to make Io habitable? Spin up Venus? Shift the orbits of entire plants? It's here, and more. Rich in data, references, and calculations, it also covers both the planetary and biological aspects of the subject. Not for the math-phobic, but if you ever wondered "can you really do that?" about a science fiction terraforming idea, this will answer your question.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars World's Renewed/Repaired/Renovated, May 23, 2000

By 

R. B. Cathcart (Glendale, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments (Hardcover)

Dr. Fogg's near-textbook is a delicious read, erudite and well-informed (technically and socially). It is entirely UNIQUE, there simply is nothing like, equivalent, or even slightly as useful as his work of a lifetime. Yet, Dr. Fogg is a young man and certainly dedicated to advancing a new field of human endeavour which will most certainly benefit all humankind. I've bought one for myself and one for a physicist pal in Bucharest, Romania. Plenty of hard science, but all is clearly presented so that anyone can enjoy and be stimulated by it. A big thumbs up!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on terraforming to date, December 7, 2004

By 

Arkham71 "Arkham" (Richmond, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments (Hardcover)

After reading Oberg's somewhat dated New Earths I became quite interested in terraforming. As a result I was very happy to learn about Fogg's much more recent work which was published in the mid 90's. Fogg's book builds upon Oberg's work, in many cases using more recent data provided by interplanetary probes. Fogg also presents new and interesting terraforming theories which have been put forward by space scientists since Oberg's work was published in the early 80's.

Contrary to what an earlier reviewer said this book is easy to follow even for a layman. You should be able to understand even the most advanced concepts in this this well written book if you have ever taken an astronomy course and you can understand high school level chemistry and algebra.

The only problem I have had with this book is getting my hands on a copy. While I was able to get the book via interlibrary loan relatively easily I was unable to purchase a copy for over a year. I would love to see this book reprinted, or perhaps Fogg could write a new edition. Trust me, if you are a terraforming or space enthusiast interested in colonizing the solar system this book is a must have. If you can find a copy of it for sale at a reasonable price then BUY IT. It is by far the best book that I have found on the subject of terraforming.