Title: A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?
Author: Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
Published: 2nd November 2023, Particular Books
Status: Read January 2024
++++++++
My Thoughts:
Though we’ve known since the early 20th century that Mars is essentially a lifeless wasteland, humans have been reluctant to relinquish the dream of one day living there. In A City On Mars, self-described space geeks, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith explore the feasibility of life among the stars.
As technology advances providing continued innovation in space travel the dream may seem closer than ever but it’s only a single practical challenge among many. Drawing from several years of original research including interviews with a myriad of experts, the Weinersmith’s explore topics with regards to the the ability of both the human body and mind to withstand life in space for long periods, and the obstacles to creating safe, self sustaining biomes at scale among hostile environments. It’s surprising to realise just how much we don’t know about living in space, and I found these sections to be the most engaging.
A large section of the book is also devoted to examining legal and ethical concerns regarding space settlement, and though I found myself skimming a fair bit of the detail that covered the former, the issues raised were interesting to consider. The analogy with company towns is a clever comparison, I look at the mess Musk’s ego has made of Twitter, and know I could never trust him to act in my (or society’s) best interests.
The Weinersmith’s interject some humour into their work, which enhances its readability and their enthusiasm for the topic comes across well. Zach’s illustrations are a lighthearted, if superfluous, addition. I do think readers will require at least a casual interest in the subject to stay engaged with the narrative. The length of the book works against it slightly, though I appreciate the authors’ thoroughness.
A City on Mars is a pretty pessimistic view of the viability of space colonisation, there are still many questions to be answered and I agree with the Weinersmith’s conclusion that just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. Life in space is no guarantee of utopia, in fact we’d just be taking all the same problems with us, and likely creating many more.
++++++++
Available from Penguin Australia
Or help support* Book’d Out
*As an affiliate of Booktopia I may earn a small commission on your purchase at no additional cost to you.*
Book’d Out 
Every sci fi book I’ve read about colonizing other planets suggests it’s more of a horror show than a utopia, lol. I love the sound of this book, thanks for sharing😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
This sounds like a very interesting nonfiction book. My local indie shop had an author event for this book, but I didn’t want to be swayed to spend more $$ on books haha, so I didn’t go. I keep eying this, though, so maybe one day I’ll read it. Glad to see you enjoyed it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank goodness for libraries!
LikeLike
This one sounds interesting. I will aadmit that part of the reason it grabs my attention is we play Terraforming Mars, the board game, a lot and this sounds like it could lead to some good conversation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That would definitely be an interesting pairing!
LikeLike
This sounds fascinating! I was surprised to see this is nonfiction, since I absolutely loved Zach Weinersmith’s middle-grade graphic novel (illustrated by Boulet), Bea Wolf. It was SO fun, creative, and funny, so I’m glad he included some humor here in what could have been a pretty dry read. I agree – just because we can doesn’t mean we should AND humans would almost certainly recreate the same problems we have here, wherever we go!
Sue
Book By Book
LikeLiked by 1 person