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Searching for Life on Another World
by Sarah Stewart Johnson
Mars was once similar to Earth, but today there are no rivers, no lakes, no oceans.
Coated in red dust, the terrain is bewilderingly empty. And yet multiple spacecraft are circling Mars, sweeping over Terra Sabaea, Syrtis Major, the dunes of Elysium, and Mare Sirenum—on the brink, perhaps, of a staggering find, one that would inspire humankind as much as any discovery in the history of modern science.
In this beautifully observed, deeply personal book, Georgetown scientist Sarah Stewart Johnson tells the story of how she and other researchers have scoured Mars for signs of life, transforming the planet from a distant point of light into a world of its own.
Johnson's fascination with Mars began as a child in Kentucky, turning over rocks with her father and looking at planets in the night sky. She now conducts fieldwork in some of Earth's most hostile environments, such as the Dry Valleys of Antarctica and the salt flats of Western Australia, developing methods for detecting life on other worlds. Here, with poetic precision, she interlaces her own personal journey—as a female scientist and a mother—with tales of other seekers, from Percival Lowell, who was convinced that a utopian society existed on Mars, to Audouin Dollfus, who tried to carry out astronomical observations from a stratospheric balloon. In the process, she shows how the story of Mars is also a story about Earth: This other world has been our mirror, our foil, a telltale reflection of our own anxieties and yearnings.
Empathetic and evocative, The Sirens of Mars offers an unlikely natural history of a place where no human has ever set foot, while providing a vivid portrait of our quest to defy our isolation in the cosmos.
"Blending professional and personal narratives in her discussions of major discoveries...[Johnson] provides a lucid portrait of the countless challenges and breakthroughs of planetary science...A vivid, poetic account that leaves readers eager to see what's next in the quest to find extraterrestrial life." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Planetary scientist Johnson delivers an enthusiastic and lyrical chronicle of the scientific quest to uncover Mars's secrets...[her] skillful narrative will engage serious students of planetary science as well as armchair adventurers." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"From the wrong turns and inspired breakthroughs of scientific discovery to Johnson's own lifelong fascination with Mars, this is a book that will have even the staunchest earthlings looking in wonder towards the red glow above." - The Daily Beast
"Poetically written, superb in its scene setting and storytelling, majestic in its vision, The Sirens of Mars will give readers a new appreciation for the preciousness of life in the cosmos." - Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams
"The Sirens of Mars provides the prospect of great discovery, the future of space science, and an introduction to a writer of the first rank." - Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
"A lyrical sonnet to a distant world, a human story of exploration, and a personal quest filled with insight and wisdom, Sarah Stewart Johnson's book beautifully captures our fascination with the planet Mars—and the lessons learned from a planet both alien and alike." - Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Poison Squad
This information about The Sirens of Mars was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Sarah Stewart Johnson is an assistant professor of planetary science at Georgetown University. A former Rhodes Scholar and White House Fellow, she received her PhD from MIT and has worked on NASA's Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity rovers. She is also a visiting scientist with the Planetary Environments Lab at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
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