Rating: 
Summary: A Variety of Mars Data in One Place
Review: Dr. Zubrin did a great job of bringing a lot of research about a variety of Mars related subjects into one place.His writing style is not sterile like a textbook might be, or how you would expect a 'rocket scientist' to write. Instead, he is able to present his ideas with facts, figures and calculations instead of glorious ideas of how to settle the stars. At times, the book even made me chuckle. I have read other books on this subject, and have seen documentaries regarding Mars exploration and Dr. Zubrin is arguably at the forefront of the effort to settle Mars. The book completely opened my eyes as to how easy (relatively speaking) it would be to actually settle Mars. HIGHLY recommended for anyone interested in the subject!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: I have always had a fascination with astronomy. After reading this book, that fascination turned almost into an obsession with Mars. Zubrin lays out a plan that seems perfect to land the first man on Mars. This book is an interesting read, even for the non-scientist types, as Zubrin finds a healthy balance. Very interesting book and very intellect man. Not to be missed by anyone interested in space.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read, but the ideas are not his
Review: I have been interested in the space program for years, and after several years of wondering if Mars would ever be within human reach, I am thoroughly convinced. Contrary to readers who apparently skimmed the book, Zubrin does indicate a variety of launch vehicles, including the Saturn V but also a number of Russian and recent American developments. He also calculates the costs of restarting the Saturn V program and figures them into his equations. He gives weight to monetary concerns that NASA officials seem to have neglected, concerns that deter some politicians and solutions that could make believers of them.
His reasons for going to Mars also make sense. One element, found in five times the abundance on Mars as on Earth, sells on the free market at thousands of US dollars to the kilo. Scientific research is also a benefit, and the discovery of possible Martian life would provide insights into what genetic elements are universal to all life, and which are native to Terra Prima. The medical implications for the global community are staggering.
And contrary to belief, the discovery of life off of the Earth does not discount religion, it is simply a blow to certain, and then only some, Creationists. As a religious person, a born-again Christian, in fact, I would not find the implications of alien life deterring, but exciting, and possibly, should there be intelligent life, an opportunity for evangelism. The religious argument is without merit.
The book is wholly inspiring, and the Mars Direct and Mars Semi-Direct programs needs to be heard in the halls of Congress. An excellent read.
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Summary: Today's Visionary
Review: I have had the unique opportunity to meet Robert Zubrin at a couple of conferences. He is a brilliant, funny, visionary, cantankerous engineer who has become a serious leader in the space advocacy community. His personal style comes across in his writing. He's a bright guy with a serious ax to grind about Mars, how we should get there, and how NASA is screwing up. Most of his criticism is based upon NASA's handling of "the 90-Day Report," the report the agency submitted to President Bush after he called for a manned mission to Mars. What the scientists at NASA came up with was a huge, visionary program that would require every new technology known to manned space activity, from solar power to zero-gravity construction to cold fusion. Oh yeah, a lot of that hasn't been invented yet, will take 30 years to accomplish, and will cost taxpayers $450 billion. It is the bureaucratic mindset that sets Zubrin off. Mixed in with all the specific technical information are history lessons about exploration and its difficulties, as well as insights on why we need to explore and the value of Mars itself. Since the release of "The Case for Mars," Dr. Zubrin has formed his own space advocacy group called The Mars Society, which is already setting up its own Mars habitat simulator in an arctic desert of Canada. He has also taken to describing ways in which the government can best fund the mission, such as offering a "Mars Prize" of $30 billion that would only be awarded to a successful mission. Zubrin shamelessly invokes Kennedy, Lindbergh, Frederick Jackson Turner, and others, and jumps in with a "can-do" attitude that will remind the reader of NASA or "Star Trek" in their better days. After reading Zubrin, you find yourself wondering, "Jeez, why AREN'T we going?" Zubrin also articulates his belief in the value of frontiers. A frontier provides the hope for escape from current problems--government, social hierarchies, ennui. A frontier can generate new materials (like the gold out of California), new ideas of government and freedom, and more potential for innovation and upward mobility. Governments that have to cope with an expanding, dynamic society cannot turn their energies toward controlling limited resources and a stable population. Anyhow, that's one theory. If you'd like the how and WHY for space exploration, this is a good place to start.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling
Review: In his excellent "The Case for Mars", Robert Zubrin makes a thorough, thoughtful argument about the need for the exploration of Mars. In a very well rounded, easy to read work, he lays out both the scientific and humanistic reasons for a trip to the Red Planet. While his science is excellent (he is a former Lockheed engineer), what is most compelling about this book is what Zubrin sees as the primary reason for Mars exploration: it is there. He correctly asserts that humans are at their most creative and productive when they pit themselves against a major challenge. He sees the exploration and colonization of Mars as a means of injecting the human race with fresh vitality and drive. After reading this excellent book, I'm inclined to agree.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid ideas, but presented with a pugilistic style
Review: In THE CASE FOR MARS, engineer Robert Zubrin lays out a bold plan to land astronauts on Mars within a decade of making the decision to go. Zubrin promotes an idea to manufacture air, water, and fuel mainly on Mars instead of on earth, so that billions of dollars could be saved in program costs. His Mars Direct plan has earned him a reputation as a leader in Mars exploration advocacy.
The book owes its title and many of its concepts to the legendary Case for Mars conferences of the 1980s, which have influenced NASA's Mars planning ever since.
While Zubrin's presentation generally makes sense, he also has a bad habit of tearing down ideas that don't mesh with his own. He treats differing opinions like enemies, and he frequently paints his targets (even former colleagues) with veiled insults, which I found increasingly disruptive. I wanted to have more confidence in his proposals, but his partisan style made it difficult to trust his judgment, since the opinions of others are so easily dismissed.
Much of Zubrin's ire is directed at NASA's so-called "90-Day Report," a preliminary report requested by the George H.W. Bush administration in 1989 after setting a goal of sending astronauts to Mars by 2019. While the report justly deserved criticism for its overreaching ambitions, Zubrin spends entirely too much effort ridiculing the report to support his arguments, and it eventually reads like a professional grudge. The report sank without a trace within NASA in 1990 anyway, and was followed by Daniel Goldin's "faster, better, cheaper" policy shortly thereafter. So by the time of the 1996 publishing date of this book, the author is flogging a horse that's been dead a long time.
The book's other major concept, of taking the entire spacecraft to the surface (Mars Direct), is sound, but I felt Zubrin was too quick to dismiss the ideas of Mars orbit insertion and Mars orbit rendezvous, which are both valid ideas in their own right. I also wanted to see more detail on specific areas like mission planning, spacecraft construction, environment designs, and EVA suits, but Zubrin's approach is macro, not micro. Curiously, he also glosses over the human factors issue, which needs much more serious attention than he thinks it deserves.
Robert Zubrin is a man who cares about spaceflight, and he wants to lead the charge in exploring the fourth planet. The book's main thesis, of manufacturing air, water, and fuel on-site, is indeed the most affordable and most achievable way to send humans to Mars. But he needs to lighten up on his "us against them" mentality, which really taints his arguments. I would hesitate to call him a visionary, as some others here have done generously, but there is no doubt that he is a prominent advocate for a manned Mars program. His efforts are commendable, and the book is recommended, albeit with some reservation.
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Summary: Burns Out Fast.
Review: It's easy to get caught up in Zubrin's excitement as he describes a way to send humans to Mars within 10 years, leapfrogging NASA projects and cutting NASA cost estimates by 90%. But then you start seeing the holes in his Mars Direct plan. The launch vehicle we would need (the Saturn V) hasn't existed for 30 years. Restarting production would be difficult and expensive. Alternatives are little more than conceptual art. If we were to get the first stage to Mars, it would have to land on its own (something we haven't had much luck with lately) and then set up an atmospheric distillery that would operate perfectly for months without any maintenance. While Zubrin has proven the distillery is technically possible, his model looks like something you would see at a high school science fair. If we get this far, we would send 4 astronauts on a 6-month journey in a tin can with space limitations so severe the inhabitants will envy maximum-security inmates. If the astronauts are able to land successfully, they have a 6-month stay ahead of them followed by a 6-month return journey. Zubrin doesn't want any doctors on the trip so these people will need to be perfectly healthy for 18 months in some of the most severe environments mankind has ever tested. But why go to Mars? Zubrin tries to tie going to Mars to man's need for exploration and future economic benefit. It's an intriguing argument, but it fails. The only real reason to go to Mars now is to determine if there is or has been life there. Actually, finding no life will make the most people happy. If no life is found in a particular spot, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist somewhere on the planet and another mission is justified. Not finding life also allows religions to still claim that life only exists on Earth. Actually finding past or present life would throw humanity into a quandary it probably isn't ready for. Latter chapters of the book deal with setting up colonies and terraforming the planet. Surprisingly, Zubrin doesn't address native life on Mars at all. If life is found, do we have the right to set up colonies or take steps that may wipe out Martian life only for our own good? Did we not learn anything from the American west and Native Americans? While it may not be Zubrin's place as a scientist to worry about such problems, if he can speculate on selling Martian land without anyone being on the planet he certainly has the responsibility to address issues related to actual Martians. When we do decide to go to Mars, let's make sure it's for the right reasons. Those reasons are lacking in this book.
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Summary: The Red Planet minus Van Damme
Review: Kiddies, put your sci fi books away. This is not your parent's Mars. In this deep and enthralling book, Robert Zubrin lays out, point by point, his method of madness for traversing the intergalactic distances and heading to Mars. Using his Mars Direct plan, we seen a plausible situation in which we could take Mars within the next decade, and begin pushing our boundaries to the so called "final frontier." Not only does he provide the means on a very achievable time table, he also makes arguments against the so called "dragons" on the way to Mars, namely the threats of solar radiation and other such impacts. Yet, the effect of these are so negligible on the overall mission, Zubrin has us believe that yes, Mars is attainable in our generation. After we get there, however, Zubrin takes another ambitious step towards the future: terraforming. He sees Mars as an ecological playground. one that we can change and make habitable for the expansion of earth. All in all, this book is the Mars Bible for the era. It shows us the most sound way to get across the vast distance, stay on the surface, and return safely, while maximizing our scientific payout for the mission. Hopefully, one day we can realize Robert Zubrin's dream and land on Mars within the next decade.
Rating:
Summary: Is there intelligent life on Earth? Maybe so.
Review: One has to read Zubrin to understand the future of manned space flight. He charts out an achievable path to reclaim our destiny, which has been otherwise derailed by self serving politicians and our own success in the cold war.
The Case for Mars is a readable and easily understandable exposition of the Mars Direct plan which will allow us to bootstrap our way to the red planet and beyond without neccessarily depending on bloated agencies of a government which is choking itself in red ink. Mars Direct relies on proven twentieth century technology to launch proven nineteenth century fuel and air plants to achieve a cheap and self perpetuating colony in space.
But his most brilliant exposition is his simple plan to make people WANT to return to space.
We already see the early results of his vision on how to to give incentive for space to private enterprise, via compeditive prizes for reaching stepwise goals. In 2004 we have seen NASA take second place in space related achievement to Burt Rutan's commercial enterprise, Scaled Composites. Following Rutan's successful launch of the X-Prize winning Spaceship One he unveiled his plans for placement of a commercial space station and so we are finally back on the path to space. If Rutan and other commercial adventurers continue to follow Zubrin's steps we may well see our children opening the Martian frontier.
Rating:
Summary: Not enough Science
Review: The polyanish attitude of Zubrin to dismissing real hurdles to a Mars mission makes this book more of a cheerleading manual than a science treatise. It's a good read if one leaves science at the door and flips the pages for an adventure story. He creates a cult following of those who enjoy Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. and don't have the ability to distinguish science and science fiction. The book deserves one star for Science but I'll add another star for enthusiasm. 'The Chariots of the Gods' reader will enjoy the book.
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