Don't Be Afraid of the Dork

In this book the wonderful Mary Roach, fearlessly addresses all the psychological and biological challenges that face a human manned mission to Mars. A mission to Mars would be a 3 year undertaking for any astronauts which is at least twice as long than folks have spent in space at one go before. Some of the obstacles Mary tackles: the psychology of isolation and confinement, the peculiar challenges of life without gravity, motion sickness, sex, food, and the inevitable result of eating food (excreting it).

As usual she does a fantastic job of presenting information on her topic with scientific explanation and detail as well as a good dose of humor - not a skill all science writers have. I frequently chuckled out loud. She is also fearless in doggedly pursuing those topics that the reader is likely very curious about but is too afraid to even admit their curiousity much less ask NASA officials to explain. I definitely developed a greater appreciation for what astronauts have to endure - the danger, the personal indignities, the food. These people truly are heroes. As usual at the end she had me a little choked up with her discussion of whether a mission to Mars is worth all the fuss.

A highly recommended read and better I think than her last two books.