What happens when you vomit during a space walk?
The bestselling author of Stiff explores the irresistibly strange
universe of space travel and life without gravity
Mary Roach is the bestselling author of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Six Feet Over: Adventures in the Afterlife, and Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.
"Such grippingly scatological titbits grace almost every page ...
Even readers with a long-term interest in manned exploration should
find some new information within ... if you like your space science
served with emotion, anecdotes, and excreta, this is for you."
*****
*BBC Sky at Night*
“Behind the witty mouth is a smart mind that finds out how rocket
scientists organise their hardware around irritating organic human
needs.”
*Saga Magazine*
“Roach boldly goes where no author has gone before to bring us
puke, zero-gravity, faecal popcorn and flash-frozen rats... Packing
for Mars is delightful, one of those rare beasts; a successful
humorous science book. It is also one that throws fascinating light
on some of the more obscure corners of space travel. Never mind
packing it for Mars; pack it for your next long-haul flight and see
if you can manage to freak your air-sick neighbour with one of the
many amusing chapters on vomiting.”
*Fortean Times*
“The author of Stiff unravels the scientific hoo-haa and ultimate
hubris of the whole enterprise. We all prefer our feet of clay, it
seems.”
*Belfast Telegraph*
Praise for Mary Roach “Terrifically witty…On almost every page she
tells you something to make you gasp aloud or snort with
laughter.”
*Telegraph*
Praise for Mary Roach “When Mary Roach is seized by a subject,
there is no stopping her: she is full-on, hands-on, and her lab
coat is unbuttoned.”
*The Times*
Praise for Mary Roach “Irresistible…cheerfully
scatological,cheekily sceptical.”
*Observer Review*
Praise for Mary Roach “A bold, tenacious, and insatiable reporter,
Roach…could make an earthworm evisceration riveting and a
hemispherectomy seem downright jolly.”
*Scotsman*
“Well-tuned to humour and absurdity…A delightful, illuminating grab
bag of space-fl ight curiosities.”
*Kirkus Reviews*
Praise for Mary Roach “Roach is an original who can enliven any
subject with wit, keen reporting, and a sly intelligence.”
*Publishers Weekly*
Praise for Mary Roach “Roach marries enthusiasm and curiosity with
unflagging humour.”
*Independent on Sunday*
Praise for Mary Roach “Even if there were thousands of
science-humour writers,[Roach] would be the sidesplitting
favourite.”
*Booklist*
Praise for Mary Roach “A wonderfully vivid writer…. A celebration
of the wide, occasionally crazy spectrum of human pursuit.”
*New York Times Book Review*
Praise for Mary Roach “One of the funniest and most madcap of
science writers"
*Kirkus Reviews*
Praise for Mary Roach “Roach certainly gets full marks for
unflinching commitment to the job in hand.”
*The Guardian*
Praise for Mary Roach “Bonkers, but brilliant.”
*Easy Living*
Praise for Mary Roach “Funny, inquisitive, and uncowed by experts,
[Roach is] the general reader’s ideal emissary to the arcana of
serious science.”
*Newsweek*
Praise for Mary Roach “One of those rare writers who can tackle the
most obscure unpleasantness and distil the data into a hilarious
and informative package. I would devour every page…I would laugh
out loud…I would be able to dazzle and surprise friends with a
newfound knowledge.”
*San Francisco Chronicle*
Praise for March Roach “She has a huge heart, a strong sense of
empathy for the oddball, and she’s willing to go to great lengths
to find and report stories from the hinterlands of
understanding.”
*Chicago Tribune*
Praise for Mary Roach “Mary Roach is one of an endangered species:
a science writer with a sense of humour.”
*Denver Post*
Praise for Mary Roach “A joy to read.…wonderful stuff.”
*San Franciso Bay Guardian*
Praise for Mary Roach “Roach is authoritative, endlessly curious
and drolly funny. Her research is scrupulous and winningly
presented.”
*The Seattle Times*
Praise for Mary Roach “A keen eye for observation of unique and
ironic details.”
*Express-News, San Antonio*
“An often hilarious, sometimes queasy-making catalog of the strange
stuff devised to permit people to survive in an environment for
which their bodies are stupendously unsuited… Wonderfully
slapstick.”
*New York Times Book Review*
"[A] truly funny look at the majestic aspects of the space
program... Supremely accessible."
*Entertainment Weekly*
"Smart, smirky stuff."
*San Francisco Chronicle*
“[Roach’s] fluffily lightweight style is at its most substantial –
and most hilarious – in the zero-gravity realm that Packing for
Mars explores… As startling as it is funny.”
*The New York Times*
"An accomplished journalist with boundless curiosity, Roach
complements her historical research with an equally eccentric
investigation of space travel… As funny as Roach can be, she brings
serious insight to her subject."
*New Scientist*
"Like a sassier - ie. ruder - version of Bill Bryson…”
*Daily Mail*
"She has a knack for translating the dry and arcane stuff of
science in a way that is eminently readable, informative, and
eye-openingly hilarious." *****
*Time Out*
"Roach's book details the gritty biological reality of astronaut
life."
*Reader's Digest*
"It achieves the double whammy of being both entertaining and
educational, and though it starts off good, it gets even better as
it goes along."
*Bookbag - www.bookbag.com*
"If you don't already know Mary Roach, famously the author of Bonk
and Stiff, don't miss this third outing into space where no one can
hear you scream with laughter... As a science writer Roach is
seriously funny. She asks the right questions and provides answers
like the best deadpan stand-up comic."
*The Times*
"In this often extremely funny book she reveals just what it’s like
to be crammed in a space ship with your fellow man or woman - and
their various bodily functions."
*Lovereading.co.uk*
"As Roach has shown in earlier books she is completely
embarrassment-proof. There is no biological situation she will not
visualise, no anatomical question she will not ask. So Packing for
Mars is as startling as it is funny, even if its strategic aim is
to tell you more than you need to know."
*Scotsman*
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