Packing for Mars – The Curious Science of Life in Space Author: Mary Roach Publisher: Oneworld ISBN: 978-1-85168-780-0 Price: £8.99 (Pb) 312pp
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When Ed White ventured out for the first-ever NASA space walk, he enjoyed it more than anyone had expected. So much so that Mission Control had serious difficulty getting him back inside. White was exhibiting one of the first recorded cases of 'space euphoria'.

And what is the best way to bury a heroic chimp that died during a test flight into space? Did the Frank Borman, pilot of Gemini VII, really suffer from a bad case of space dandruff? This excellent book, one of the more enjoyable space books I've read this year, covers them in all their gory details.

When we think of space station astronauts, we think of intrepid, adventurous heroes. Yet this book reveals they are every bit as human as you and I. When Mir astronaut Jerry Linenger went out on a robotic arm EVA, he was hit by a “terrible and persistent” feeling of plummeting towards Earth. He had to force himself to keep his eyes open and not scream.

Mary Roach manages to rummage through the copious documentary and personal accounts of humans venturing beyond Earth in a thorough yet lighthearted fashion. Both physical and psychological difficulties of human space exploration are covered. More often that you might expect, chimpanzees and other unfortunate animals sent atop experimental rockets also make an appearance. Many of them, inevitably, didn't survive.

A brilliant book, suitable for anyone with an interest in human spaceflight or just a morbid fascination with how the body struggles to cope in zero-G. It's a shame there aren't any photographs – and there must be many in existence – within the book's pages. Then again, maybe it's best not to see astronauts urinating, vomiting and, in the case of some Soviet cosmonauts, fist fighting in their capsules!

John Rowlands