Edward S. Morse, the zoologist best known for his studies of Japan, turned his attention to Mars and to Percival Lowell’s claim that its markings were canals made by intelligent beings. Writing for the general reader, he weighs the distances of space, the case for inhabited worlds, the testimony of astronomers and the difficulties of seeing and drawing planetary detail, and comes down on Lowell’s side.
A vivid record of the Martian canal controversy, long since disproved but fascinating as the history of an idea. Download the free EPUB.