My thanks to both NetGalley and University of Chicago Press for an advance copy of this book that looks at the history of the American military's attempt to understand and in some cases control the numerous hostile environments that they might find themselves in from deserts, snowy glaciers, and even outer space.

Battle have been lost and won by one side understanding the environment they find themselves in over the other. The Battle of Agincourt where the British defeated the French using mud, arrows and a bit of luck. The German High Command not understanding the Russian secret weapon of "General Winter" and how ice, snow and again mud could stymie the best of plans. Since the end of the Second World War the United States has spent a lot of time, money and resources on understanding the most hostile places on the planet. Places where life is difficult to sustain, but places that are important to war efforts. From this, much knowledge has been gained, knowledge that could help us move from the deserts and ice fields of Earth, to the Moon and beyond. Sand, Snow, and Stardust: How US Military Engineers Conquered Extreme Environments by historian, professor and writer Gretchen Heefner is a look at the thinkers, schemers, planners, and those on the ground who dealt with dust, sand, ice, cold, and lots of entrenched thinking.

At the start of World War II, America had a problem in that years of isolation and a a uniquely American lack of understanding of the world, was having a problem on military plans. The idea of America's involvement was the invasion of North Africa, conquering the area, and striking at the soft underbelly of Europe. The only problem was the lack of understanding of what North Africa was. Thought to be a desert, the equipment, clothing and water for the troops soon became a problem. North Africa is a unique area, prone to rain, cold weather at the time, and lots of sand. Engineers began to have to deal with how to move sand, where to put sand, how to keep runways clean of sand. What clothing was best for this area. And how much water would keep men alive, and fighting. This was all new, as was the science. Lessons learned was carried over the cold war, where America began to build bases to provide striking areas for nuclear equipped planes. Again the same problems, clothing building runways, concrete in cold is different than concrete in heat. Mistakes were made, tunnels were dug, but the knowledge gained could be used in the next hostile place. The airless dust covered Moon, or even the planet Mars.

A book that was far more than I expected, and one that I enjoyed quite a bit. A mix of military, survival, ecological, and what could have been. Heefner is a very good writer, and a great researcher, filling the book with lots of plans, some that went places some that went nowhere, or many that went under the earth. We sure did like tunnels and vast habitats beneath the surface. One can see why so many of these ideas would be critical on the Moon and Mars, with the radiation and lack of air. The book moves very well and never bogs down in science, history or in the numerous appearances of mud. Heefner talks about the experts who did not fit the mold of what the army wanted, strong white males of protestant faith, not natives or even people who lived and thrived in hostile places, who were never asked for their input, causing a lot of reinventing of the wheel. Heefner has a lot of stories of life at the extremes, plane crashes leaving people trapped on the ice for weeks, ideas that might have worked that went no where. Even space ideas that were pushed to the side. A fascinating read.

A mix of science, military and history, and again what might have been. Habitats on the moon, were planned, but cast aside due to cost and loss of interest. Which makes for really good reading. Fans of history and science will enjoy this, but I think science fiction writers can get some good ideas from this too. Also the book is quite fun. This is the first that I have read by Heefner, but will have to look for more.

Thank you to Netgalley and University of Chicago Press for providing me with an ARC of Sand, Snow, and Stardust! Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. While I was very excited to read a book tackling extreme environments, particularly how they were handled in a military context, I found that the text lacked a central through line. Chapters could vary in their content, and it was sometimes difficult to see how topics were related or to follow the general flow of the argument. Additionally, the text felt dry and wasn’t particularly engaging me throughout. This book may be a better fit for military enthusiasts as well as those interested in learning more about extreme environments and the engineering used to make them habitable for the military.

Very very interesting and informative. I learned more about the U.S military’s survival and harsh weather management tactics than I ever thought I’d want to, and I’m thrilled. Definitely recommend.

This was a really interesting book! I hadn't really given much thought to environments and what that would mean and so I found this book to be really engaging. I like how the book was organized (exactly how it was named!) and the inclusion of the pictures throughout gave some interesting context to the writing. Heefner's writing itself was also really well done, and I continually found myself taking notes as I learned new things.