by Kelly Weinersmith (Author), Zach Weinersmith (Author) 

“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

From the bestselling authors of Soonish, a brilliant and hilarious off-world 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? Critically acclaimed, bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of research, they aren’t so sure it’s a good idea. Space technologies and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the 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 nightmares, both for settlers and the people they leave behind. In the process, the Weinersmiths answer every question about space you’ve ever wondered about, and many you’ve never considered:

Can you make babies in space? Should corporations govern space settlements? What about space war? Are we headed for a housing crisis on the Moon’s Peaks of Eternal Light—and what happens if you’re left in the Craters of Eternal Darkness? Why do astronauts love taco sauce? Speaking of meals, what’s the legal status of space cannibalism?

With deep expertise, a winning sense of humor, 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.

Get in, we’re going to Mars.

Review

“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

“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

“Helpfully pulls back the curtain on some of the lesser-discussed challenges to humanity’s off-Earth pursuits . . . Any reader enthusiastic about space settlement will find much to appreciate in this book . . . [The Weinersmiths] write with a confident belief that humanity will one day travel off-planet.” —Science

“Science writing is rarely as readable (or deflating) as A City on Mars, an informed, irreverent study of how little we actually know of the practical considerations of space colonization, from sex and legal cannibalism to issues of settlement.” —Chicago Tribune, 75 Top Picks for Fall

“Starting life anew somewhere far, far away sounds appealing. But that fantasy is so much further from realization than we think, argues this wife-and-husband-team persuasively.” —MIT Tech Review

“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

“Helpfully pulls back the curtain . . . painstaking research, clear-eyed objectivity, and good-natured humor . . . Any reader enthusiastic about space settlement will find much to appreciate in this book . . . most importantly, they write with a confident belief that humanity will one day travel off-planet.”—Gifford J. Wong,Science

“A must-read!”—Jonathan McDowell, Center for Astrophysics, via X

“Excellent . . . 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, FT

“Immersive and entertaining . . . the Weinersmiths' passion and enthusiasm shine through every page of this absorbing, lively exploration.” —Booklist (starred review)

“An entertaining illustrated assessment of space settlement. This book is, to put it simply, a romp . . . A fun, informative read that puts the pop into popular science.” —Kirkus

“There is simply no more engrossing, entertaining, or thorough way to understand the intense challenge of humanity's off-Earth future than A City on Mars. I laughed the whole way through.” —Hank Green, New York Times bestselling author of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and host of CrashCourse and SciShow

“Scientific, educational, and fun as hell.”—Andy Weir, New York Times bestselling author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary 

“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 and some impressive near-wonk-level detail, this is a clear, lively, and hilarious read. Slam dunk, Weinersmiths!"—Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Fuzz and Packing for Mars

Categories : Astrophysics & Space Science

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BWH5YYTR

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Press (November 7, 2023)

Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 7, 2023

Language ‏ : ‎ English

File‏ : ‎EPUB, 56.82 MB

Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported

Print length ‏ : ‎ 447 pages