Kim Stanley Robinson
A science fiction telling of the events surrounding the development of the first permanent colony on Mars. Spanning approximately 50 years, from the launch of Ares from earth, to the end of the first revolution and basic destruction of Mars colony, Robinson provides an amazingly detailed and realistic portrait of what Mars colonization would look like. And while this is definitely SciFi, it is also an exercise in historical analysis. Robinson delves into issues of power and politics, immigration, economics and ecology, the power of charisma, the ethics of applied science in terraforming, mining and GMO's and the implied contracts that colonies have with colonizers as well as science with society. All heavy and full discussions, presented while walking through a vision of the future that includes a level of automation and robotics, genetic engineering and materials chemistry that is plausible and exciting. I would recommend this as an excellent ancillary text for any early US history course to prompt thinking about the new world colonization and eventual rebellion. Great stuff.
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ps Also read The Years of Rice and Salt by Robinson for another sweeping historical fiction that will make you think of society and culture in a new way.
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