A review by tome15
The Martian Way and Other Stories by Isaac Asimov
4.0
Asimov, Isaac. The Martian Way. 1955. Signet, 1957.
This 1957 paperback with the iconic cover of astronauts spacewalking above the rings of Saturn is the first paperback science fiction book I remember purchasing off the rack in a local drugstore. Asimov has said he is proud of having introduced the idea of spacewalking into science fiction—and maybe even inspiring NASA. The title story, first published in 1952, is the one that stuck with me. An overpopulated earth is short of fresh water and it is politically unacceptable to sell water to a struggling Martian colony. Our desperate heroes head to Saturn to bring a chunk of the water-laden rings back to Mars. It is always intriguing to read hard science fiction from decades ago because you get real clarity on what was predicted, what missed, and what surpassed. Spacewalking was on target. So was the idea that finding propellant for trips across the solar system would a challenge. The picture of we get of Mars is surprisingly accurate, though of course Asimov could not know about how much water we would find locked in Martian soil or buried deep underground. Finally, he was probably right that fresh water will be a major issue in the future, given current trends in population growth and climate change. Surprisingly for the creator of the positronic brain, he missed the importance of the transistor which had been invented a few years before and would not generate a Nobel prize until 1956. Without miniaturized electronics, radio communication is difficult and mining robotics are impractical. The story is a classic and still exciting to read. It by itself makes this collection of stories worthwhile.
This 1957 paperback with the iconic cover of astronauts spacewalking above the rings of Saturn is the first paperback science fiction book I remember purchasing off the rack in a local drugstore. Asimov has said he is proud of having introduced the idea of spacewalking into science fiction—and maybe even inspiring NASA. The title story, first published in 1952, is the one that stuck with me. An overpopulated earth is short of fresh water and it is politically unacceptable to sell water to a struggling Martian colony. Our desperate heroes head to Saturn to bring a chunk of the water-laden rings back to Mars. It is always intriguing to read hard science fiction from decades ago because you get real clarity on what was predicted, what missed, and what surpassed. Spacewalking was on target. So was the idea that finding propellant for trips across the solar system would a challenge. The picture of we get of Mars is surprisingly accurate, though of course Asimov could not know about how much water we would find locked in Martian soil or buried deep underground. Finally, he was probably right that fresh water will be a major issue in the future, given current trends in population growth and climate change. Surprisingly for the creator of the positronic brain, he missed the importance of the transistor which had been invented a few years before and would not generate a Nobel prize until 1956. Without miniaturized electronics, radio communication is difficult and mining robotics are impractical. The story is a classic and still exciting to read. It by itself makes this collection of stories worthwhile.