There has been much talk about whether the human race could successfully settle on Mars. If this day ever comes, Mars: A Survival Guide will be our Lonely Planet-style guide.

This popular science book takes the reader through all the basic features of the Red Planet, from what you’ll need to get there to building a home once you arrive.

Guy Murphy is the co-founder of the Mars Society of Australia and has participated in expeditions into Mars-like environments. This means you don’t just get facts, but thanks to his experience, you also get a sense of the claustrophobia that the space suits will create, for example.

Other great features of this book are the information boxes and tables that are interspersed throughout the text, such as the table that compares statistics between Earth and Mars, and information boxes with interesting facts that are a little left of centre of your average scientific titles.

This is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the popular science genre, but it also complements a lot of science fiction titles, such as those from Philip K Dick.

*Kimberley Allsopp is a bookseller at Dymocks Brisbane and a freelance reviewer. This review courtesy of Bookseller+Publisher’s books blog Fancy Goods.