The Case for Mars
Robert Zubrin Richard Wagner Arthur C. Clarke - Foreword
The Case for Mars as it's meant to be heard, narrated by Sean Runnette. Discover the  English Audiobook at Audible. Free trial available!
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/audiblemobile/store/image/favicons/icons16px.png
Audible.com
The Real Science of Getting to Mars

If the book "The Martian" was of interest, then imagine how a book detailing the real science on obtaining this goal would be. For me, this was the book. Zubrin is well known in scientific circles for his engineering knowledge and mapping out the details of exploring Mars. Why did we literally end our human space exploration following the Apollo programs years ago? Is NASA a help or a hindrance in human exploration to Mars? How do we financially make this happen? How do we actually survive on the surface as we explore? What are the real dangers in obtaining this goal; not dangers invented by political opponents trying to prevent further space exploration? He lays out why humans and not just robots must go to Mars; not just to say we went, but to actually study Mars and why it is important to do so. If you have an interest in the scientific answers to these and many other questions about Mars exploration, then I highly recommend this book for you. The title, "The Case for Mars", is definitely self-explanatory about the contents of this book.

Excellent! But!!!

Highly compelling! Not that I was on the boarder about space exploration but this is an excellent work on ‘why Mars’.

However, it’s also a little out dated. If you want a more recent work look at The Case For Space also by Robert Zubrin. But even that excellent book is aging fast with all the recent developments in space travel. I think this book is most relevant now as it was one of the things that convince Elon Musk to start SpaceX. Also it’s an excellent argument as to why Mars should be first on the colonization list as opposed to the moon or cislunar space.

Now for the gripes. (Sigh) I really wish engineers, rocket scientists, and astrophysicists (oh my!) would stay away from astrobiology. They are interested in it as it is relevant to the prevalence and nature of life in the universe in general and in general they tend to have a decent understanding of biology. But they don’t have a complete understanding of the more advanced and less intuitive principles such as the law of minimum complexity (which is why we don’t see pre-protozoan bacteria floating around) or the energy dynamics of organisms. And because, frankly, they see biology as a “lesser science” they think that they can make all kinds of assertions about this and that. This, in my eyes, degrades Robert Zubrin’s authority on other subjects as it makes me wonder what other important points he’s missing.

What can I do to make this a reality?

Start by reading this book. the later chapters have pragmatic approaches that everyone can take, from the billionaire tycoon, to the political leader, right down to the guy who has an interest, but has yet to aquire the means.

Robert Zubrin has a simple approach to getting to Mars within 10 years of any start date. He has also done a great deal of research in living on Mars for both exploration and colonization.