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A City on Mars
- Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
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A City on Mars
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Publisher's Summary
* THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Scientific American’s #1 Book for 2023
* A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * A Times Best Science and Environment Book of 2023 *
“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
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 and a winning sense of humor, 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.
What the critics say
“This playful ‘homesteader’s guide’ to space settlement presents a bleak view of the pursuit . . . The authors examine the increasingly popular dream of a multi-planetary human race with a skepticism informed by ethical, logistical, and legal anxieties.”—The New Yorker
“A wonderful example of what it means to really think a difficult project through, a skill that many of us should acquire . . . The Weinersmiths are self-confessed space geeks who tread a fine line between the sort of constructive critique that would still qualify them as bona fide members of the space-settlement movement and a style of gentle ridicule that might get them rejected as traitors to the cause. A City on Mars is, foremost, a case study in the application of common sense.”—Shlomo Angel, Wall Street Journal
“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