Book Review - Mission To Mars

After reading An Astronaughts Guide to Life on Earth I have been curious about books on highly successful people. Chris’s dedication to continuously pursuing his dream was an new and exciting feeling. Yet in the the end he recognizes that many others never accomplish what they set out for and one needs to be mentally ready for that realization. With that said I was hoping for another exploration of Buzz’s life, but what I got was a primer on space policy. Before I discuss what I liked and disliked about that subject, it’s worth noting that I might have got insight into as much of Buzz’s view of life as I did with Chris book.

To contrast the two, Chris’s book was mostly dedicated to the intra/interpersonal relationships that occured leading up to and after his space flights. On the other hand Buzz’s delved significantly into the many working relationships he has had with people since his famous landing on the moon. They’re both highly intelligent, but Buzz feels like a specialst while Chris the leader.

I also noticed how several times Buzz points out that he’s continued to meet with policy makers, private industries, trade groups, and think tanks tirelessly to push space policy forward. Chris’s book ends on a positive note about building a deck with his neighbor and spending time with his family. Again these books feel like they’re intended audience is different, yet I can’t help feel that Buzz absolutely loves everything space related. That I wouldn’t be able to have a hour long conversation with him without it coming up. Chris on the other hand feels well rounded.

None of this is really insightful, well researched, or even worth writing about. This book is obviously for space policy geeks. Let’s talk about space policy. I would have given this book a better rating had it been a bit more of compare and contrast to the status quo. It often feels like Buzz mention’s Obama’s space plan as “Mars by 2035” and then marches forward with some big lofty ideas. In software it’s common to want to [[start from scratch]] but that is hardly worth the risk of going over budget and target. Buzz throws out the UN assigning mineral rights in favor of a new governing body.

I think he does the same with STEM education policy???

Ultimately I wonder why his Unified Space Vision (USV) isn’t just another President changing the course of the ship?

Lastly, as I read I often would pause to research some of the companies, missions, or ideas that were mentioned only to find them bankrupt, cancelled, or moot. On the one hand Buzz is clearly informed of the emerging players in the field. Even working with a majority of them. It makes the possibility of landing on Mars by the mid 2030’s feel like a real possibility, “look at all these people already solving these problems i’m outlinging”. However to make a lasting space vision, it feels like less specifics could be used and instead a textbook style framework needs to be outlined. Clear definitions with measurable goals need outlined with their pros and cons highlighted so that we can have a good starting place to continue evolving a what feels like a living document. I realize that probably wouldn’t sell as well as a book that feels (or felt five years ago) timely. Ultimately though this doesn’t read like a book that’s supposed to be timely. It read’s like a book that’s supposed to cement Buzz’s legacy for the future. That in fifty years having colonized Mar’s we’ll be reciting the USV creed. Unfortunately it needs some more marketing and luckily for us that’s not Buzz’s strongsuit.