From myth to Musk, astrology to astronomy, the Red Planet in fact and fiction.

From myth to Musk, astrology to astronomy, Dr Stuark Clark selects the very best writing about the Red Planet. From its very first sighting, Mars has been a source of fascination for humanity. Named for the Roman god of war, this red planet has been explored more than any other beyond Earth and continues to occupy a distinctive place in our imagination. It's an environment that may even foster life. In The Book of Mars, Dr Stuart Clark selects one hundred pieces of writing about the planet. It is a collection that brings together fact and fiction, dreams and fears, centuries of observation and more recent feats of interstellar exploration. From classic writers of science fiction – Stanley G. Weinbaum, Arthur C. Clarke, H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Pamela Sargent, Roger Zelazny – to distinguished experts in astronomy, astrobiology and aerospace engineering; from Hugo and Nebula Award-winning authors – Kim Stanley Robinson, Mary Robinette Kowal – to trail-blazing journalists and science communicators; from Andy Weir's The Martian to Elon Musk's SpaceX programme, The Book of Mars is an extraordinary overview both of the Red Planet and of the way scientific investigation diffuses into culture.

"PRAISE FOR STUART CLARK: 'Stuart Clark's picture of the yawning gaps in our understanding of the cosmos is fuller than most' Nature. 'Popular science at its best: accurate, meticulously researched [...] and full of adventures' Times Higher Education. 'Excellent... This books makes you rethink the traditional story of the history of astronomy... Effortlessly readable'" - BBC Sky at Night

"[T]he range of nonfiction extracts is excellent... Stuart Clark has done a fine job" - Parsec #5