Review of A City on Mars

A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly Weinersmith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'm not obsessed with Mars - I can stop thinking about it any time I want to. ;-) Yesterday was not that day - I read the new book A City on Mars. Part of the subtitle is "Have We Really Thought This Through?" This may be a bit of a spoiler, but the answer is no.

The authors very competently, clearly and in an entertaining manner outline all the important stuff we don't know about living in space, from pregnancy to running closed-system ecologies. Rand Simberg, somebody I've sparred with online on occasion, is quoted at least twice in the book, neither time favorably. I personally didn't learn anything I didn't already know, but the book was a useful compellation of all the known unknowns facing space settlement.

The authors conclude with making a reasonable argument that humanity should do a lot more research before attempting any permanent colonization. Unfortunately, I expect this advice to be ignored. Simply put, once getting "there" becomes possible, the most optimistic people will go. I expect there will be a number of tragic deaths which will serve as object lessons for what not to do.

In any event, this is a well-written book and definitely worth your time to read.



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