User:Vinnyf16/sandbox

Adding a section about the author, Mary Roach, to the page of Packing for Mars would be a great improvement. When someone looks up the novel’s page, they should also be able to read a little about the author. This would allow readers to make connections between the writer and the piece of work and understand the motives behind the writing. Most of the sources I found were interviews which I feel carry reliable and accurate information as the writer is actually answering questions. Others were biographies that seemed unreliable; however, I managed to find one that was accurate, up-to-date, and trustworthy. One of my resources is Mary’s Roach website where she writes a short biography in the first person perspective in which the information is as accurate as it could get. My fifth source could in fact be the Wikipedia page on Mary Roach. Although it is a self-editing page, I can compare the information there with other sources and determine its accuracy.

Work Cited – Packing for Mars: “The Author: Mary Roach”
Adams, John J. "Interview: Mary Roach by The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy | Lightspeed Magazine." Lightspeed Magazine. The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy, June 2011. Web. 23 	Oct. 2013. Roach, Mary. "Mary Roach, Author of Packing for Mars, Stiff, Spook and Bonk." Mary Roach,Author of Packing for Mars, Stiff, Spook and Bonk. Coconut Moon, 2010. Web. 22 Oct. 	2013 Slen, Peter. "In Depth with Mary Roach." C-SPAN Video Library. Cable, 7 July 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. Toffoli, Marissa. "Interview with Writer Mary Roach." Words With Writers. N.p., 3 Sept. 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. "Mary Roach." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.

Synthesis: Packing for Mars: Mary Roach
Mary Roach is the author of nonfiction bestsellers Stiff, Spook, and Bonk. Her latest work, Packing for Mars, depicts the logistics of space travel. She has also written articles for several notable magazines and organizations and reviewed books for The New York Times. Roach describes her Packing for Mars book to be about all the surreal physical and physiological challenges of trying to live in space as a human being. To add to the problem, human beings are not in the slightest bit prepared and equipped to do such things, so the challenges they encounter are quite entertaining. Although most of her other books have one-word titles, she claims that it was especially hard to come up with a one-word title for this specific book.

Roach was raised in Etna, New Hampshire. Her father was 65 years old when she was born. She received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Wesleyan University in 1981. After college, Roach moved to San Francisco, California and spent a few years working as a freelance copy editor. She worked as a columnist and also worked in public relations for a brief time. Her writing career began while working part-time at the San Francisco Zoological Society, producing press releases on topics such as elephant wart surgery. On her days off from the SFZS, she wrote freelance articles for the San Francisco Chronicle's Sunday Magazine.

Mary Roach is quite an interesting woman. She explores lots of questions such as what happens after we die, what sex is all about, and what secrets do human cadavers hold. She’s turned these questions and her strange curiosity into bestselling books know as Bonk, Stiff, and Spook. However, in her book, Packing for Mars, she turns her inquisitive mind toward space and examines the logistics and exactly what happens in those tiny capsules as they hurtle through the darkness of the atmosphere. The saying as been: What happens at NASA stays at NASA, but Roach manages to cut through the bureaucracy and explores several interesting aspects of space traveling in her newest book release.

Article Text
Mary Roach, the author of Packing for Mars, was raised in Etna, New Hampshire and spent several years working as a freelance copy editor and investigating unpopular topics. Roach explores lots of questions such as what happens after we die, what sex is all about, and what secrets human cadavers hold. However, in Packing for Mars, she turns her mind toward space and examines the logistics of space travel. In an interview, she describes her book to be about all the surreal physical and physiological challenges of living in space as a human being. Roach explains that in addition to these problems, human beings are not in the slightest equipped or prepared to confront these challenges. Although most of her other books have one-word titles, Mary Roach claims that it was especially difficult to come up with a one-word title for this specific book.