David Baron—The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze That Captured Turn-of-the-Century America

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

THE MARTIANS:
THE TRUE STORY OF AN ALIEN CRAZE
THAT CAPTURED TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY AMERICA
David Baron
Liveright, August 26, 2025
Hardcover, $29.99, eBook, $28.49
Audio Book, $13.99
Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1324090663
eBook ASIN: B0DK4614VZ
Audio Book ASIN: B0FC7PXSYF

Baron reports:

My writing, long focused on contemporary science, took a turn with my second book American Eclipse, which was a work of narrative science history. I so enjoyed the archival research and bringing an old story to life that I decided to try it again.

I spent months exploring nineteenth-century science and brainstorming modern-day topics that might benefit from historical context. One day, hearing of Elon Musk’s dreams of colonizing Mars and NASA’s evidence that the red planet might once have been habitable, I recalled a whisper of memory from childhood.

In 1980, watching Carl Sagan’s Cosmos series, I learned about Percival Lowell, an erudite astronomer who had seen lines on Mars, interpreted them as irrigation canals, and fooled himself and a good portion of the public into believing in the existence of Martians.

What convinced me that I had found the right topic came when I dug into newspaper archives. In the early 1900s, even the sober New York Times printed banner headlines proclaiming the existence of a Martian civilization, and Nikola Tesla claimed he had received Martian radio signals. Here was a story about Mars, mass delusion, scientific obsession, the power of imagination—topics of perennial interest.

When my agent and editor endorsed the book idea, I dove in. I had no idea that it would become a seven-year odyssey. I am grateful to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for grant support and to the Library of Congress, which appointed me Chair in Astrobiology (a fellowship with a highfalutin name).

I don’t use any special software for keeping track of my enormous volume of research materials. I just use Word. I maintain a lengthy chronology of everything I’ve found, and in my manuscript, I footnote everything (for myself, not the reader) so I don’t forget how I know what I’ve written.

Although writing science history is neither quick nor easy, there is a side benefit. Anything published in the United States before 1930, including pictures, is in the public domain. That meant I was able to fill The Martians with more than one hundred historical illustrations, including depictions of the putative Martians themselves, without having to track down copyright holders or pay hefty royalties.

Contact info:

• David Baron: 303-641-3417, dhbaron@gmail.com
  • Baron's website: https://davidbaronauthor.com
• Book:
  • Liveright: The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze That Captured Turn-of-the-Century America
  • Baron's website: The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze That Captured Turn-of-the-Century America
• Publicist: Clio Hamilton, chamilton@wwnorton.com
• Agent: Todd Shuster, tshuster@aevitascreative.com

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Banner image adapted from original photo by David Baron.

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