Slingshot: A journey to Mars on a shoestring

As a teenager, a descendant of Genghis Khan swore to destroy the Evil Empire - and succeeded. No, it's not another Star Wars scenario: the narrative is infused with real people and events of past, present, and future. If you ever wondered whether a hard sci-fi novel can also be a true documentary, here is one. It deals with spaceflight, history, Eurasian geopolitics, religion, philosophy, anthropology, evolution, linguistics, etc - all in one; to the horror of Wikipedians, it contains original research (!!) Here you can read how a private Israeli company secretly landed three people on Mars before all others, upsetting the plans of the Russian President-for-life bent on resurrecting the USSR, and how his revenge backfired, both on Earth and in outer space.If you watch YouTube videos and TED talks on such subjects, you may learn a lot from the story of the unique crew who won the Mars Prize, for example: - Why is there no reason to believe in God?- How to face death?- Why is sky-gazing superior to spectator sports?- What kind of unusual people make the best astronauts?- Why do expeditions to Mars always get postponed? - What is the "Mars Curse" and whom does it affect?- Why are Sputnik and most other Soviet records in space phony?- Can Russian expansionism be related to a race to Mars? - Who is Aquarius, the brain behind the Russian throne today, and what makes him tick?- How did a heinous tyrant slice off chunks of neighboring countries like a salami?-Why did Eastern Ukraine take up arms against the rest of the country?- What is linguistic imperialism?- What is the best way to learn a new language?- Why do so many Nobel Prizes go to Jews?- Why is love blind?