Bob Zubrin will be known to most spacers for his 1996 book The Case for Mars, a master plan to colonise the Red Planet. Here, he builds on that vision to detail how “populous Martian city-states will emerge”, how their populations will innovate and how their “customs, social relations and government” will develop.
With most factual volumes, one can separate the author from the text, but that is difficult in this case (in part because the author embeds himself in his work). In supporting Elon Musk’s well-publicised aim to make humankind an interplanetary species, Zubrin goes as far as to boast: “I know Musk, and I played a role… in helping to convince him to make Mars his calling”.
One reviewer describes Zubrin as “one of the high priests of American techno-optimism”, which seems fair. He is also an unapologetic proselytiser for the exploitation of space and terraforming Mars; and a staunch opposer of any form of restriction, from environmental protection to the Outer Space Treaty.
Having staked the warning notice, I should add that this book is a great read for space fans and anyone else who thinks our destiny is to conquer Mars. The text issues from the pages like a surging lava flow, recognising no obstacles and fearing no detractors. It exudes an American frontier spirit bolstered by the confidence of ‘Manifest Destiny’ and the courage of ‘The Right Stuff’. It contains very little recognition of an international community, or a Chinese contingent that might get there first, and embodies the mantra ‘America First’.
The book ends by quoting the Founding Declaration of the Mars Society, of which Zubrin himself is president: it states the collective belief that “the exploration and settlement of Mars is one of the greatest human endeavors possible… No nobler cause has ever been. We shall not rest until it succeeds”. Thank you… fully noted.
