Thom reviewed Managing Martians by Donna Shirley
Review of 'Managing Martians' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A combination of Mars mission narrative - very complete and interesting; biography - quite brief; and team management discussion - the author wrote another book beforehand titled Managing Creativity. Especially interesting were some of the plans for future Mars missions and the authors descriptions of challenges encountered because of gender and her leadership role within JPL.
A spread of black and white photos in the book depict the author, her colleagues and both of the spacecraft.
I sought this book out after reading [b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413706054s/18007564.jpg|21825181]. In that story, the Pathfinder and Soujourner both play a pivotal role. While some of the probe facts are not quite accurate (no LEDs, no external power port), it still makes for a great story.
A solid 4½ stars, this book is a quick read and definitely recommended.