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Amazon Best Books of the Month, August 2010: With her wry humor and inextinguishable curiosity, Mary Roach has crafted her own quirky niche in the somewhat staid world of science writing, showing no fear (or shame) in the face of cadavers, ectoplasm, or sex. In Packing for Mars, Roach tackles the strange science of space travel, and the psychology, technology, and politics that go into sending a crew into orbit. Roach is unfailingly inquisitive (Why is it impolite for astronauts to float upside down during conversations? Just how smelly does a spacecraft get after a two week mission?), and she eagerly seeks out the stories that don't make it onto NASA's website--from SPCA-certified space suits for chimps, to the trial-and-error approach to crafting menus during the space program's early years (when the chefs are former livestock veterinarians, taste isn't high on the priority list). Packing for Mars is a book for grownups who still secretly dream of being astronauts, and Roach lives it up on their behalf--weightless in a C-9 aircraft, she just can't resist the opportunity to go "Supermanning" around the cabin. Her zeal for discovery, combined with her love of the absurd, amazing, and stranger-than-fiction, make Packing for Mars an uproarious trip into the world of space travel. --Lynette Mong
Review
The author 's writing comes across as reportorial, but with a clear sense of humor; even the footnotes are used to both informational and comedic effect. --Time Out New York
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!,
This review is from: Packing for Mars: Curious Science of Life in the Void (Hardcover)
I'm on my 3rd book by Mary. Packing for Mars is excellent. Before I opened the book I really had no idea what the challenges were for a mission to mars. I thought landing a spacecraft on mars and getting off would be mostly what the book was about but I was completely amazed that the hardest thing to deal with in a mars mission is ourselves.Definitely worth checking out.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and fun,
By C. J. Thompson "Arctic John" (Pond Inlet, Nunavut Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Packing for Mars: Curious Science of Life in the Void (Hardcover)
This is a lovely little book. I read Ms Roach's Stiff several years ago and I found her then to be a delightful writer ... light, lively, witty and informative. I was nearly three quarters of the way through this particular book (during a period of chronic insomnia) before I realized that I had read her before. I have to say that space exploration is not an especial interest of mine usually but, as in her book on cadavers (and death in general), Ms Roach has taken an offbeat look at a subject in a hugely entertaining way. Although each chapter is linked together with a segue (that in the hands of another author might be too contrived or 'cutesy') the various topics they deal with could easily stand alone as articles or topics in and of themselves. This makes this book ideal for an enjoyable, lighthearted read. I intend to purchase other titles from this author.
5.0 out of 5 stars
This was a fanatistic book,
This review is from: Packing for Mars: Curious Science of Life in the Void (Hardcover)
loved this book! Mary's writing is a perfect marriage between technical tidbits and quirky, slightly irreverent humour. If you were ever curious about how people handle body functions in space, or whether or not zero gravity sex is possible - this is the book for you.It's evident that Mary throws herself into her research travelling all throughout North America, Europe and Asia to get the details on topics I bet everyone wonders about, but not many ask. This books provides hilarious stories of how astronauts are picked (Japan's astronauts really do fold paper cranes), and a great account of many of the animals who came before humans in the space race. There is even some self effacing details on Mary's attempt to poop like a space walker. One extra cool thing, was that I read this book on my eReader so every time there was an end note, all I had to do was click a button, and it took me right there to read it in context with no flipping pages to the back of the book. Great way to read ALL of the book and get everything out of it. For more reviews visit [...].
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