Requiem for a Martian was a historical novel of the life of Shazzerd, the founder of the first Mars Colony. A copy of the book was owned by the ancestors of Jean-Luc Picard who had been among the early settlers on Mars, and this copy was handed down through the generations. Beverly Crusher read Picard's copy in 2372, and soon after adapted it as a play, which she presented aboard the USS Enterprise-E in early 2373, following her successful production of A Christmas Carol. (TNG - Slings and Arrows eBooks: That Sleep of Death, Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment)
Background[]
"Requiem for a Martian" was the name of an allegedly lost 80th episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, the subject of a widely-circulated internet hoax. This "episode" involved a Martian named Shazzerd and time travel into Mars history. This "episode" has been cited in the author's annotations for recent works such as The Future Begins and "Make-Believe", though That Sleep of Death is apparently the first direct reference to the story. DS9 guest Richard KileyMA "played" Shazzerd according to the hoax.