lieve, objectively) recounts the fundamen- 

 tal differences in the thought patterns and 

 methods of those scientists who specialize 

 in the "quantitative" sciences (such as 

 physics and chemistry) and those who 

 work in the "descriptive" sciences (such as 

 geology and biology). Unraveling the 

 complex history of a planet requires both 

 approaches, but it is Wilhelms's thesis 

 (and one that I completely agree with) that 

 our fundamental understanding of the 

 moon came more from the "descriptive" 

 geological approach than from the highly 

 mathematical conjectures of certain physi- 

 cists and astronomers — Nobel Prizewin- 

 ners notwithstanding. 



Once President Kennedy articulated the 

 goal of a manned lunar landing, a space- 

 faring infrastructure had to be created al- 

 most literally from scratch. The story of 

 the engineering involved in this heroic feat 

 is recounted in several recent books (most 

 enjoyably in Apollo: The Race to the 

 Moon, by Charles Murray and Catherine 

 Bly Cox, published in 1989 by Simon & 

 Schuster). Wilhelms' great accomplish- 

 ment is to complement these narratives by 

 adding a perspective of science and scien- 

 tific planning, including insider accounts 

 of the fights, arguments, exhortations, and 

 contributions of the scientists who were 

 charged with the task of helping men land 

 safely on the moon and then explore it pro- 

 ductively. 



Although the idea of safely landing on 

 the moon seems obvious to us today, in 

 1962 perspectives were primitive, to say 

 the least. Like medieval cartographers, 

 some alarmists raised specters of dragons 

 in "bottomless pits of dust" and of lunar 

 soil so chemically reduced that it would 

 explode when it made contact with the 

 pure oxygen of the Apollo lunar module. 



Project Apollo was not merely a pro- 

 gram to land men on the moon, it was a 

 strategy for lunar exploration. Wilhelms 



THE INKA EMPIRE 



ANDITS ANDEAN 



ORIGINS 



Trace the story of the Andean peoples with this 



beautifully produced new appraisal of the ancient Inka 



and the remarkable cultures that preceded them. 



Written by Dr. Craig Morris, American Museum of 



Natural History Curator of 



Anthropology, 



and noted 



journalist 



Adrianna von 



Hagen, this 



comprehensive 



study describes 



their 



agricultural 



methods, social 



organizations, 



political 



structure, 



religious 



beliefs, 



ceremonial practices, technologies, and artistic 



expression.The text resonates with more than one 



hundred exquisite color photographs of objects from 



the Museum's rich collection of artifacts and offers 



compelling panoramas of the spectacular and diverse 



Andean landscape. 



252 pages, 9 Vs" x 9 Vg" 

 200 illustrations, Cloth 



To order send check or money order for $50.00 including 

 shipping and handling within the U.S. to Members' Choice, 

 American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th 

 Street, New York, NY10024 or caU toU-free 1-800437-0033 for 

 Mastercard and Visa orders. 



67 



