This is a book review of A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly Weinersmith & Zach Weinersmith.
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith (Particular Books), 2023. Pp. 448, 24 x 16 cm. Price ¤33.49 (about £29) (hardbound, ISBN 978 0 241 45493 0).
The title sounds like something out of 1950s pulp fiction. The subtitle sounds much more pessimistic. Most who believe that the conquest of space is possible and good tend to ignore potential problems, assuming that they will get solved along the way; most who are sceptical about either aspect haven't seen a reason to consider the details. What is needed is a balanced assessment and, in my view, that is what this book provides. Though written in an easy-going, humorous style, accompanied by a few comic-style black-and-white drawings, a huge amount of research has gone into this book, testified to not only by the approximately six hundred entries in the explicitly titled "Partial Bibliography" (twenty pages of print substantially smaller than most small print) but also by by the authors' collection of "twenty-seven shelves of books and papers on space settlement and related subjects." Also significant is that they didn't start out being sceptical and pessimistic: "We are space geeks. We love rocket launches.... We love visionary plans for a glorious future.... The data made us do it."
This book covers a lot of ground (or space). It was an enjoyable and informative read, and is recommended to not just those with an interest in such topics (especially if they don't — yet — agree with the authors), but essentially to everyone, since the developments it is concerned with will potentially affect everyone.