Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

Name: Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
Rating: 3.953488349914551 (43 reviews)

Mary Roach

Apr 2011 · W. W. Norton & Company

43 reviews

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335

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A New York Times Bestseller and Entertainment Weekly Top Ten Book of the Year —"America's funniest science writer" ( Washington Post ) explores "the nitty-gritty details of life in space that filmmakers and historians tend to gloss over." — Boston Globe

The bestselling author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity. From the Space Shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA's new space capsule, Mary Roach takes us on the surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth.

"[Roach's] style is at its most substantial—and most hilarious—in the zero-gravity realm that Packing for Mars explores." — New York Times

"Roach deftly guides her readers. . . . They never completely lose sight of the accomplishments of space travel, even as they take delight in the absurdities that in the end, make those successes all the more sublime." — Dallas Morning News

"A winner of a subject. . . . Roach's strange enthusiasm for all things oddball . . . makes Mars more than a worthy destination." — Time

A New York Times Bestseller and Entertainment Weekly Top Ten Book of the Year —"America's funniest science writer" ( Washington Post ) explores "the nitty-gritty details of life in space that filmmakers and historians tend to gloss over." — Boston Globe The bestselling author of Stiff and Bonk e...

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Ratings and reviews

43 reviews

B K

November 9, 2016

Mary Roach as usual delivers a humorous but informative take on the subject at hand. Packing for Mars was an interesting and quick read that looks at the history of human space exploration. The author also explores some of the training and research as of ~2010. She also elaborates on various situations and experiences endured by astronauts in preparation for and during weightlessness and space travel.

2 people found this review helpful

A Google user

October 20, 2012

Only about 10% of the book's content is interesting. The author wastes too many pages on how she researched the content rather than the content itself. What surprised me the most though is lack of content on Mars itself. The whole book is almost entirely just a historic recount on astronaut training.

Heather Wade

October 19, 2015

Laughably bad puns on people names, culturally unaware and insensitive. Overly simplistic and narrates incorrect overtones due to lack of scientific understandings. Reads like a journal.

1 person found this review helpful

About the author

Mary Roach is the author of seven best-selling works of nonfiction, including Grunt, Stiff, and, most recently, Fuzz. Her writing has appeared in National Geographic and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications. She lives in California.

Mary Roach is the author of seven best-selling works of nonfiction, including Grunt, Stiff, and, most recently, Fuzz. Her writing has appeared in National Geographic and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications. She lives in California.

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