The Ottoman Scramble for Africa: Empire and Diplomacy in the Sahara and the Hijaz

many discoveries about the universe outside our planet. Ralph D. Lorenz’s book chronicles the history of climate science and planetary exploration, investigating the expanding evidence concerning climatology on Earth and that bearing on planetary neighbors Mars and Venus and Saturn’s moon, Titan. Lorenz begins with historical observations from classical antiquity, the Islamic Golden Age, the Middle Ages, and Renaissance in Europe. The first chapter described how early scholars paved the way for the eras of telescopes, satellites, and climate-sensing technology. Eventually, changes in the world would be witnessed first-hand by astronauts from space, including the extent of the damage incurred by the Arctic ice and the shrinking of the Aral Sea. This timeline takes in the technological developments that have led to the acquisition of crucial satellite data bearing on climate projections and the development of solutions in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. The third chapter reaches the “Age of Numbers,” characterized by advances in climate science such as heat modeling using Stefan’s Law, infra-red spectrum monitoring on Earth, Mars, and Titan, the dawn of numerical weather forecasting, and classification of “habitable zones” on the surface of Mars. The 1900s to late 1980s were characterized by applications that utilized the heat of geothermal energy in melting permafrost on Mars. The identification of sources of water in Titan, as well as phosphine and other biogenic compounds in Venusian clouds, incited many novel discussions in the scientific community on the possibility of life outside Earth. The exponential growth of climate technology and planetary innovation is well documented in these chapters, with a large emphasis on the growing desire to investigate and understand climate change on Earth and habitability outside our planet. Lorenz moves on to characterize the period from 1990 to 2000 as one in which there was a growing interest in Mars. From 1994 onwards, there were many technological advances such as the Hubble Space Telescope, deployed for more careful observation of bodies like Titan. In addition, with the launch of rovers to Mars, and the discovery of methane there, both experts and laypeople entertained speculations concerning extraterrestrial life on that planet. However, there were differing views concerning the existence of methane, some contending that it was the result of chemical reactions concerning water and carbon dioxide, while others maintained that it was derived from microorganisms. Lorenz then describes the period from 2004 to 2012, calling it “Dune Worlds,” and it is apparent from his review that this is a fitting name. The landmark Cassini Saturn brought back a wealth of weather data, generally confirming the view that the planets are composed of harsh, desert-like environments. The nature of their weather remains anything but clear, however, following the Cassini observations. The final period, 2012 to 2020, is boldly entitled “Looking Ahead” and is remarkable for the way in which it is hoped that Titan circulation models may shed some light on these dune worlds. A good deal of uncertainty persists and may in part be resolved by data collected from future vehicles such as the Mars Curiosity rover Gale crater and the Maven orbiter.