From myth to Musk, astrology to astronomy, Dr Stuark Clark selects the very best writing about the Red Planet.

From its very first sighting, Mars has been a source of fascination for humanity. Named for the Roman god of war, this red planet has been explored more than any other beyond Earth and continues to occupy a distinctive place in our imagination. It’s an environment that may even foster life.

In The Book of Mars, Dr Stuart Clark selects one hundred pieces of writing about the planet. It is a collection that brings together fact and fiction, dreams and fears, centuries of observation and more recent feats of interstellar exploration.

From classic writers of science fiction - Stanley G. Weinbaum, Arthur C. Clarke, H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Pamela Sargent, Roger Zelazny - to distinguished experts in astronomy, astrobiology and aerospace engineering; from Hugo and Nebula Award-winning authors - Kim Stanley Robinson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mary Turzillo - to trail-blazing journalists and science communicators; from Andy Weir’s The Martian to Elon Musk’s SpaceX programme, The Book of Mars is an extraordinary overview both of the Red Planet and of the way scientific investigation diffuses into culture.