By Robert Zubrin The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must (Revised)

After reading this book, I have come away disgusted and disappointed with the "leadership" of this country and the sorry state of our manned space program from members of both political parties (in my opinion, we have been lost on the issue of space since Richard Nixon was pitched the idea of the "space truck" that was the space shuttle and have continued on this course without a clear destination in mind). We are aimless right now, throwing things up on the wall, trying to figure out what will stick in an attempt to figure out where to go. Sad.The Case for Mars makes the arguments of what we should be doing, why, and how we will do so. It is a book which will make one think about what great nations do and how they accomplish their goals.That said, the crux of The Case for Mars is essentially the author's arguments in favor of using a fast, current-era-technology approach to sending a manned mission to Mars in order to explore the planet and ultimately begin a permanent habitation of the Red Planet. He sets forth a fairly thorough plan and a very convincing argument. He presents both sides of arguments for each of his points, making the book a balanced approach to the debate.And that debate is essentially if going to Mars is possible using current technology. I agree with the author that it is, especially since von Braun was promoting it at the end of the Apollo missions. Where Mr. Zurbin changes the calculus is how to go about making it there. Using a lean method of getting there and back makes a lot of sense, and the author compares his methods to that of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of the 19th century, versus the idea that we should build space cruisers in order to go there, taking large crews and even larger amounts of cargo. The ultimate goal of terraforming Mars is covered, but I would have preferred to see some more data and description here. The book ends with several chapters on why we should go and technologies that may be available in the next century to promote better space travel.This review is for the revised 2011 edition of the book. It should be noted, there are some areas where you can tell there has been an edit from the original edition as they did not flow quite as smoothly, but it does not detract from the overall message and content of the work. If we are lucky and the book does its job, the 2026 edition of the book will cover much of the history of the expedition that first went to Mars--here's to hoping for Mars Direct.My final note about the book, I am not a Astronatical Engineer, but the author was able to make points in lay terms, allowing me to understand the arugments presented and did so in an interesting way that made this book quick reading.

I actually met Dr. Zubrin at the Broadmoor in 2001. This book details the Mars Direct program from genesis to current state. Clear concise plan that just needs an Elon Musk to make it so. Has enough detail to interest the science junkie but doesn’t drown you in math and statistics. Highly recommend.

Robert Zubrin's case for low-cost Mars exploration and settlement is so interesting that it makes me think, "Let's do it!" Of course, that would require the U.S. getting its financial house in some sort of order first, but the numbers are interesting.NASA's first proposal to get to Mars was a bloated, bureaucratic, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink monstrosity which came in at the staggering sum of $450 billion! Zubrin's "Mars Direct" comes in at around $50 billion.But Barack Obama threw away almost a trillion dollars during his first month in office, on something he called his "stimulus plan."Looked at in that way, the idea of spending $50 billion over a decade does not seem crazy at all, until we remember that the American government has no more money.An alternate plan, that might work extremely well, would be to take Zubrin's "Mars Direct" project to private finance. After all, there may well be gold in them thar hills!The book is a very interesting read, giving the reader a glimpse inside the mind of a "Mission Architect" -- someone who designs and plans space missions. This is such a demanding field that there cannot be more than three or four dozen people who actually do such work. Robert Zubrin is one of those. For that reason alone, this book is fascinating.

Zubrin details the necessary steps for any space program to undertake the settlement of the Red Planet. A must read for any science and exploration buff.