Customer Reviews

Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments

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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.

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!

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.

This is a wonderful book full of rich detail. As a layman, I found it daunting at first, and needed to get out my algebra book to go with it, but the effort was well worth it. Fogg does a good job of capturing the science, the issues, and the wonder of Terraforming.

Well, since 'M Class Planet Building for Dummies' is not due out for some time now, 'Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments' is the best book on the topic of building new planet Earths.

Starting with building up the atmosphere, and how to add water using comets, Martyn Fogg takes the reader from the dawn of time till today, with science and technology that would relatively speaking 'quick cook' a suitable planet into a new earth.

Not content to stop there, Martyn Fogg gives the proper technical explanations for how to construct a solar system, and push your favorite star into a perfect location using a form of a giant solar sail.

Hard Science, Solid Facts, Vivid Explanations, God-Like Vision.

Astounding. Worth much, much more than the few thousands each copy is selling for at today's prices.

This text examines the processes involved in terraforming other worlds. Using scientific data, it explores Mars, Venus, the moon, and other habitats as steps in our space exploration. It is a highly technical book written in scientific terms, not easily accessible to the lay person, which is it's only downfall.

Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments
Excellent text for an engineering survey course on terraforming. Contains fundamental information on planetary mechanisms that sustain habitability. This overview lays a foundation for understanding how to maintain our world and create new ones.

This is an excellent book which goes into the detailed geophysics and geochemistry of Terraforming. Its focus is on serious discussion (alternative approaches, current versus developing technologies, force/energy requirements, chemical equations, required time frames, etc). It also briefly discusses a few ridiculous alternatives, and tactfully discusses why they may be impractical.

Although ideal to have an engineering or science background to fully appreciate this book, although those with a solid understanding if year-12 chemistry, physics and maths would also be fine also.

A snippet from the Table of Contents is as follows:

Chapter 5 - The Ecopoiesis of Mars
5.2 Mars as an Abode of Life
5.3 Approached to Terraforming Mars
5.4 Early Ecopoiesis Models
5.5 Modern Ecopoiesis Models
5.6 Organisms for Pioneering Mars

Chapter 6 - The Terraforming of Mars
6.1 Problems with a Popular Paradigm
6.2 Tackling the Volatiles Problem
6.3 A Synergic Scenario for Terraforming Mars
6.4 The Problem of Attention Span

Chapter 7 - The Terraforming of Venus
7.1 A Fair Imagined Venus
7.2 The Revealed Venus
7.3 The Requirements of Terraforming Venus
7.4 Aerial Photosynthesis
7.5 Importation of Reductants
7.6 Impact Erosion
7.7 Freezing Out Carbon Dioxide
7.8 Disposal of CO2 by Chemical Weathering
7.9 The Problem of the Diurnal Cycle
7.10 A Comparison of Scale

Chapter 8 - Terraforming: Alternative Methods, Fringe Concepts, and Ultimate Possibilities
8.1 Fleshing out the Envelope
8.2 Paraterraforming
8.3 Terraforming the "Lesser Planets"
8.4 Planet Shifting
8.5 Cosmic Engineering Meets Terraforming
8.6 Terraforming and the Interstellar Future

As per some of the previous comments, I would love to see Dr Fogg update this excellent text (possibly in collaboration with a suitable senior planetary exploration/development engineer from NASA).