Coated in red dust, Mars was once similar to Earth, with rivers and oceans. In this beautifully observed, deeply personal book, Sarah Stewart Johnson tells the story of how she and other researchers have scoured Mars for signs of life, a breakthrough that would inspire humankind as much as any discovery in the history of science. Reflecting on her Kentucky childhood, Johnson also 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. "Lovely…. Johnson's prose swirls with lyrical wonder, as varied and multihued as the apricot deserts, butterscotch skies and blue sunsets of Mars."—Anthony Doerr