Axel Firsoff

Axel Firsoff held an MA degree in languages and worked as a Swedish translator and in the United Kingdom Patent Office. He was a keen mountaineer and skier, as some of his earlier books reveal, and he was a ski instructor for the British Olympic Ski Team in the 1950s. He developed an interest in science, in particular geology and astronomy and this led him to publish numerous books on the moon and inner planets. In a 1977 review for Firsoff's book The Solar Planets in the New Scientist, Ian Ridpath commented that "the author queries the now well-established 234-day rotation period of Venus, introduces the concept of superheated steam in that planet's atmosphere, and proposes seas at the Venusian poles. An inexperienced reader, seeking reliable information on our modern knowledge of the Solar System that the book promises, will not know that these views are unorthodox." ==Honors==

Firsoff crater, located in Meridiani Planum on the planet Mars, is named in Firsoff's honor. Firsoff Crater is located at 2.63° North, 350.58° East. ==Selected publications==

• Ski Track on the Battlefield - 1942 • The Tatra Mountains - 1942 • The Unity of Europe - 1947 • The Cairngorms on Foot and Ski - 1949 • Arran With Camera and Sketchbook - 1951 • Our Neighbor Worlds - 1953 • ''In the Hills of Breadalbane: Illustrated from the author's photos and drawings'' - 1954 • Moon Atlas - 1961 • The Surface of the Moon - 1961 • Strange World of the Moon - 1962 • The Crust Of The Earth - 1962 • Life Beyond the Earth: A Study in Exobiology - 1963 • Facing the Universe - 1966 • Life, Mind and Galaxies - 1967 • The Interior Planets - 1968 • The Old Moon and the New - 1969 • The World of Mars - 1969 • Gemstones of the British Isles - 1971 • Life among the Stars - 1974 • Working with Gemstones - 1974 • ''The Rockhound's Handbook'' - 1975 • The Solar Planets - 1977 • At the Crossroads of Knowledge - 1977 • The New Face of Mars - 1982 == References ==