The Grand Tour: A Traveler's Guide to the Solar System

by Ron Miller, William K. Hartmann

Hurricanes so enormous that the earth itself could be lost in one; a volcano larger than the state of Missouri and higher than Everest; a planet with a billion moons; a planet that rotates on its side; worlds made of solid ice; a world where it rains gasoline. These are not inventions of fantasy or science fiction, but are places that really exist-in our own solar system.

Now with 190,000 copies in print, here is a spectacular Grand Tour of the solar system featuring a unique blend of science and art-photographs along with dazzling full-color paintings, drawings, and maps based on years of astronomer William Hartmann's research, personal observation, and interviews with colleagues.

In text and diagrams, too, The Grand Tour explains how the strange and uncanny worlds on the journeys came to be, and what it would be like to actually set foot upon them today. The book includes an atlas of the planets and their satellites, and of the Earth's moon.

Complete with a selection of previously unpublished photographs taken by the Apollo astronauts, and by the Mariner, Viking, and Pioneer planetary probes, The Grand Tour is unique and breathtaking, majestic and eerie, and wonderful, taking the reader to more, and to the beyond. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club , Quality Paperback Book Club , and Newbridge Book Club .

Genres: Science, Astronomy, Nonfiction, Art, History, Space

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

For the science illustrator/writer, see Ron Miller

Reviews

[Baal Of · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous book with excellent layout and beautiful pictures. I like the organization structure of moving through the solar system in order of descending size, which gives a different perspective than by distance from the sun. Of course nearly 40 years later we have much more detail about many of these bodies, and now you can go to Google maps and actually browse the planets and a handful of the moons just as you can the earth - if you have not done so, go check it out. In any case, this book gives lots of detail about the planets and their friends, and because of the nature of science, our knowledge of the solar system builds on what was learned before, making most of the information still useful, and still just as cool.

[Rob Frampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although now 40-years old, Miller & Hartmann's book still holds a firm place in my affections. The clue is in the title; this is not so much a scientific guide to our little corner of the galaxy (even though there's plenty of fascinating data in there) so much as a guidebook to what it would be like to be on Titan, or in the clouds of Jupiter.
The language used is almost poetically-evocative at times. "Cold winds blow down lonely canyon floors on Mars; morning mists form in craters and valleys; clouds condense over high volcanic mountains... All these events are happening now... Mars is awaiting our next visit."
Combined with a plethora of gorgeous painted illustrations, if you have yearning for the stars (or at least the nearby worlds of our solar system, then this is a book to stir the imagination, for all that some of the scientific facts have been superseded, and is worth searching out to take its place on your bookshelf.

[Wendelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artists' illustrations and the descriptions really intend to help the reader visualize, imagine, feel themselves stepping into these worlds.

[Sereen Gallichio]

The book The Grand Tour written by Ron Miller is an interesting guide to the solar system. This book explains what is circling the sun as observers studied information about Saturn and its rings. One important fact is that Saturn’s rings are tipped to earth’s position, and as Saturn orbits around the sun we see them from different angles. These rings have a separation between them, which are caused by gravitational effects; they are composed of many chunks of ice. This book goes through each planet with many details. Oceans, take up most of the space on earth. Earths environment was different in the past but has changed after time. The closest planet to Earth is Venus. Venus is the most astonishing and unusual planet because of its impressive environment in the solar system. Venus has many volcanoes from which lava flows around. Another important planet is Mars, which is the fourth planet from the sun, and has a red tin which makes this planet very unique. Some people believe that there is life on Mars, although it is not for sure as it is hard to study Mars in detail.


There are many details in this book about the planets circling the sun and the solar system as a whole, that make this book a very fascinating book to read. The most interesting part as a reader is learning about Comet P/ Schwassmann Wachmann 1, which is a Comet with outburst. Two German observers discovered this Comet. There is only little information about this Comet Schwassmann Wachmann because it is very far away and difficult to observer. Moreover, this comet moves around the sun in a circular orbit. This book also has different photographs of planets. As a reader the best picture is the one of Venus’ landscape, which is rocky and hot. It was first photographed in 1982, and is nearly the twin of the earth’s size. This book is definitely worth recommending to a friend or anyone interested in science. Students especially could enjoy this book in many different ways as this topic is sometimes mentioned in every day life. Also, this book has clear detail, which makes it an enjoyable read for students as it goes through the topic of the different planets circling the sun.

I would recommend this book anyone who would like to learn more information about planets. This book goes through a lot of topics about the Earth, Sun and the Planets, which circle the sun. As a reader it has many important points, which is good to know because it teaches you about the different planets including life on Mars, which happens to be my favorable part. I would recommend this book to people who want to learn more additional information about the planets, especially to sixth graders as some learning this topic in class, as well as any age student as it has fascinating information.

[Scout Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book with tons of information about space. Taught me a lot when I was little. Love it!

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Embark on a journey through the solar system, discover worlds of ice, of erupting volcanoes, of swirling acid clouds, Astronomer William Hartmann’s years of research, personal observation, and interviews with colleagues combine with science, art-photography, paintings, drawings, and maps to give readers a spectacular look at our amazing solar system.

Discover the strange and the uncanny, learn how planets came to be, explore what it would be like to set foot on them today. It’s a not-to-be-missed adventure in the pages of this unputdownable book.

Highly recommended.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up on super sale at Borders and boy, am I ever glad that I did! I am fascinated with astronomy and have difficulty finding materials that aren't too easy/childish or too difficult (geared for the professional). This strikes a wonderful balance for the intelligent, interested adult. It goes through the different objects in our solar system by order of size, and the illustrations and photographs are worth the price alone.

[Darya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains up-to-date pictures of planets, moon, asteroids, satellites, etc. taken from Hubble and flybys of other crafts. It covers every conceivable aspect of everything in our solar system in terms that almost anyone can understand, from mass and composition to volcanism and oorts. An astonishing and eye-opening book.

[Frank Ashe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this first edition when it first came out. I'd like to see one of the later editions. So much more has been learnt over the last 35 years.

[Rowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It must be a little dated by now, but the artwork alone is worth the price. Fantastic book.