The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World

Other than the moon, there is no celestial body that captures the imagination like Mars. That mysterious red sibling of Earth, tantalizingly out of reach, full of mystery and potential. Mars isn’t just the home of extraterrestrial exploration… it’s often the inspiration for new journeys.

The Sirens of Mars is really two books in one. It is a chronicle of attempts to scientifically understand the red planet, detailing the incredible amount of work and forethought that goes into every Mars mission. But it is also the story of one scientist and how she came to be.

That mix of styles, tones, and narratives shouldn’t work — and it has failed in the past — but The Sirens of Mars is a home-run success. Sarah Stewart Johnson doesn’t just share her story, her inspiration, and her growth as a scientist, but she manages to distill that intangible essence of scientific wonder that inspires us all, and ladle heaping spoonfuls of it into our mouths as we read.

If only more science books were this informative and heartfelt all at once. We’d probably already be on Mars by now.