Kenneth Franklin Gantz (1908–1980)

Published in 1959 this is a real oldy, describing action on the first trip to Mars. The basic story is good and the science is reasonable, but the author--for all that he's an Air Force officer--falls to the lures of stereotyping people in ways that just don't have anything to do with reality. I served in the Air Force and I tell you that no one is going to be chosen for interplanetary travel that isn't a) an officer; b) is college educated; c) is emotionally stable; d) self-confident show more without being arrogant. Even more, Gantz couldn't help adding a couple of characters that reminded me of the Marx Bros. pretending to be French & German. But, other than that it was okay. show less

On the cover it says "Specially Revised by the Author" - The original publication was in 1957 and I'd be interested in knowing what changes were made.
The first spaceship to land on Mars is a military expedition and it's a mighty big one - 125 man crew. That's a helluva big rocket... The text mentions the first Moon landing as having occurred "back in 2010", so I guess the author assumed a rather leisurely paced but massive near-earth space program, and as is common in this sort of novel, did show more not anticipate effective unmanned probes.
This is an engrossing novel which reminds me a bit of Stanislaw Lem. The Mars of "Not in Solitude" has a very thin atmosphere with no oxygen but is a planet with life, nonetheless. Martian life is in the form of lichen like vegetation which appears to conceal some hidden intelligence which produces electrical discharges that may be an attempt at communication.
[ I have since gotten a copy of the Doubleday Book Club edition from 1959 and the revisions appear to be very minor.] show less