Overview

The bestselling and hilarious investigation into space settlement Earth is not well. The promise of starting life anew somewhere far, far away - no climate change, no war, no Twitter - beckons, and settling the stars finally seems within our grasp. Or is it? Bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of original research, and interviews with leading space scientists, engineers and legal experts, they aren't so sure it's a good idea. Space tech and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the deep knowledge needed to have space-kids, build space-farms and create space nations in a way that doesn't spark conflict back home. In a world hurtling toward human expansion into space, A City on Mars investigates whether the dream of new worlds won't create a nightmare, both for settlers and the people they leave behind. With deep expertise, a winning sense of humour and art from the beloved creator of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, the Weinersmiths investigate perhaps the biggest questions humanity will ever ask itself - whether and how to become multiplanetary.

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9780141993300

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Reviews

Scientific, educational, and fun as hell -- Andy Weir, bestselling author of THE MARTIAN and PROJECT HAIL MARY Can a book be hilarious, deeply-researched, utterly original and wise all at the same time? If it's by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, of course it can. This is a sensational book; whether you read it in your snuggle tunnel or your pregnodrome, read it -- Tim Harford, author of HOW TO MAKE THE WORLD ADD UP A refreshing, clear-headed breath of life-support oxygen amidst all the tech-bro naivety and hype on space colonisation. Impeccably researched and argued, yet witty and very easy to read. Superb! -- Professor Lewis Dartnell, author of BEING HUMAN Listen up, humans. How to poop in space will be the least of our concerns. Herein are challenges most space-heads, including me, never even considered: not just technological, but legal, ethical, geopolitical. Despite the breadth and depth of research, this is a clear, lively, and hilarious read. Slam dunk, Weinersmiths! -- Mary Roach, author of FUZZ AND PACKING FOR MARS There's a tendency to have a rather ethereal and even utopian view of space settlement. Kelly and Zach Weinersmith bring us a highly entertaining and down to Earth (or should one say down to Mars?) view of our future in space, filled with humour and cogent insights -- Professor Charles Cockell Engaging, wildly informative, insightful and frequently funny * The Sunday Times Book of the Week * An exceptional new piece of popular science . . . Forceful, engaging and funny… an essential reality check for anyone who has ever looked for home in the night sky . . . hilarious. The breezy prose is studded with charming cartoons . . . This book will make you happy to live on this planet—a good thing, because you’re not leaving anytime soon * New York Times Book Review * If humanity's future looks to be in doubt, is living off-world not the ultimate insurance policy for our species? A City on Mars... answers this question very bluntly: don't pin your hopes on it... All this makes the book sound a much grimmer read than it is. It is peppered with cartoons and jokey-back references, and between each section are interludes tackling some enjoyable anecdotes from space -- James Ball * The Spectator * This might be the best book ever written about humans in space, or at least the funniest. I don't know of anything else quite like it: an extended, comical confrontation between the dreams of space colonies and the gross, dangerous, tedious realities. Read it before you go -- Scott Aaronson, University of Texas at Austin A very funny book, underpinned by deadly serious questions about the future of humanity * the Times * Of the many books and extensive literature on Space mission architectures, technical and otherwise, this is the only one that is a must-read -- Professor Sinead O'Sullivan, member of the Advisory Council of the European Space Policy Institute An excellent new book, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith’s A City on Mars, sets out persuasively and amusingly why you would have to be wildly optimistic or crushingly stupid to want to set up a space settlement any time soon. -- Stephen Bush * Financial Times * Laugh-out-loud-funny * Scientific American * An engaging new book… A City on Mars is a breezy read about human space settlement, blending together subjects like history, psychology, law and, of course, the sciences, into an honest yet hilarious summary of the field… despite the sobering outlook on humanity’s future beyond Earth, delightful cartoons sprinkled throughout the book are sure to pull chuckles out of you * Space.com * Inventive, funny, and informative . . . Filled with fun illustrations that bring the writing to life, this accessible and thought-provoking book explores what it will really take to build a society on another planet * American Scientist * Full of some of the choice-iest bits of awkward human space exploration histories and theories . . . could have been the research notes for an Ursula K. Le Guin, or a James S. A. Corey story, except that it’s filled with jokes, palette cleansing anecdotes and charming cartoon illustrations . . . a popular science book that reads like a conversation with a friend . . . you can’t get away from this book without thinking about how precious life on Earth is -- Mark Popinchalk * Astrobites * An investigation of space settlement that manages to be at the same time informative, sceptical and hilarious * Engineering and Technology Magazine *

Scientific, educational, and fun as hell -- Andy Weir, bestselling author of THE MARTIAN and PROJECT HAIL MARY Can a book be hilarious, deeply-researched, utterly original and wise all at the same time? If it's by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, of course it can. This is a sensational book; whether you read it in your snuggle tunnel or your pregnodrome, read it -- Tim Harford, author of HOW TO MAKE THE WORLD ADD UP A refreshing, clear-headed breath of life-support oxygen amidst all the tech-bro naivety and hype on space colonisation. Impeccably researched and argued, yet witty and very easy to read. Superb! -- Professor Lewis Dartnell, author of BEING HUMAN Listen up, humans. How to poop in space will be the least of our concerns. Herein are challenges most space-heads, including me, never even considered: not just technological, but legal, ethical, geopolitical. Despite the breadth and depth of research, this is a clear, lively, and hilarious read. Slam dunk, Weinersmiths! -- Mary Roach, author of FUZZ AND PACKING FOR MARS There's a tendency to have a rather ethereal and even utopian view of space settlement. Kelly and Zach Weinersmith bring us a highly entertaining and down to Earth (or should one say down to Mars?) view of our future in space, filled with humour and cogent insights -- Professor Charles Cockell Engaging, wildly informative, insightful and frequently funny * The Sunday Times Book of the Week * An exceptional new piece of popular science . . . Forceful, engaging and funny… an essential reality check for anyone who has ever looked for home in the night sky . . . hilarious. The breezy prose is studded with charming cartoons . . . This book will make you happy to live on this planet—a good thing, because you’re not leaving anytime soon * New York Times Book Review * If humanity's future looks to be in doubt, is living off-world not the ultimate insurance policy for our species? A City on Mars... answers this question very bluntly: don't pin your hopes on it... All this makes the book sound a much grimmer read than it is. It is peppered with cartoons and jokey-back references, and between each section are interludes tackling some enjoyable anecdotes from space -- James Ball * The Spectator * This might be the best book ever written about humans in space, or at least the funniest. I don't know of anything else quite like it: an extended, comical confrontation between the dreams of space colonies and the gross, dangerous, tedious realities. Read it before you go -- Scott Aaronson, University of Texas at Austin A very funny book, underpinned by deadly serious questions about the future of humanity * the Times * At a time when billionaires’ comments about space travel seem to be rarely out of the news, this comic illustrator and writer duo give a simultaneously entertaining yet measured analysis of the merits and numerous potential challenges of humans settling in space. In a wonderfully creative way, they analyse one of the biggest questions about the future of humanity in a conversational and refreshing tone * The Royal Society Science Book Prize * Of the many books and extensive literature on Space mission architectures, technical and otherwise, this is the only one that is a must-read -- Professor Sinead O'Sullivan, member of the Advisory Council of the European Space Policy Institute An excellent new book, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith’s A City on Mars, sets out persuasively and amusingly why you would have to be wildly optimistic or crushingly stupid to want to set up a space settlement any time soon. -- Stephen Bush * Financial Times * Laugh-out-loud-funny * Scientific American * An engaging new book… A City on Mars is a breezy read about human space settlement, blending together subjects like history, psychology, law and, of course, the sciences, into an honest yet hilarious summary of the field… despite the sobering outlook on humanity’s future beyond Earth, delightful cartoons sprinkled throughout the book are sure to pull chuckles out of you * Space.com * Inventive, funny, and informative . . . Filled with fun illustrations that bring the writing to life, this accessible and thought-provoking book explores what it will really take to build a society on another planet * American Scientist * Full of some of the choice-iest bits of awkward human space exploration histories and theories . . . could have been the research notes for an Ursula K. Le Guin, or a James S. A. Corey story, except that it’s filled with jokes, palette cleansing anecdotes and charming cartoon illustrations . . . a popular science book that reads like a conversation with a friend . . . you can’t get away from this book without thinking about how precious life on Earth is -- Mark Popinchalk * Astrobites * An investigation of space settlement that manages to be at the same time informative, sceptical and hilarious * Engineering and Technology Magazine *

Author Information

The Weinersmiths, a wife-and-husband research team, co-wrote the New York Times bestselling Soonish. Dr. Kelly Weinersmith is adjunct faculty in the BioSciences Department at Rice University. Her research has been featured in The Atlantic, National Geographic, BBC World, Science, Nature and more. Zach Weinersmith makes the acclaimed webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. His work has been featured in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Forbes, Science Friday and elsewhere.

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