Mars

Mars has fascinated the imagination and curiosity of Man Kind through history. It has acquired a special place in the hearts and minds and appeared in the literature, arts and religious manuscripts of many civilizations. The fascination with this planet is not over by far, from Science Fiction to Edge on Space Science this planet is at the top of the list. Being the next target for human landing and probably colonization (after the moon) I think this book is the seed for those young minds that need their scientific curiosity nurtured to be the future Astronomers and Astronauts and the leaders of the Space Exploration Saga. As with the previous review Titled "Fantastic Voyage to Mars!" I find this book quiet impressive to be able to capture the history and science of this planet within 70 pages with very impressive Pictures and Facts. A couple of notes, the book I have was published in 2004 so Pluto is still referred to as a planet, but the one fact that was confusing was on page 16 referring to the size of the Sun compared to Earth and Mars; to quote "The fiery Sun is the greatest body in the solar system, 110 times larger than Earth, 200 times larger than Mars". If we go by diameter, the sun is 109 times that of earth, but when it comes to size, Sun occupies about 10^3, or over 1,295,000 times the volume of the Earth. Finally there is mass, the Sun is about 332,776 times more massive than Earth. I believe this should be reedited in future revisions of the book.

A big fan of the Red Planet, I must say that I was impressed with this beautiful book. Yes, it is a kids' book; however, it can be enjoyed by teens and adults as well. The cover captures the excitement of Mars, but the real satisfaction is within the those covers. Images! Images Images! Bright, clear, crisp, thought-provoking! They describe the science, and they fire the imagination. The inside page offers a large, captivating illustration of one of the MARS Rovers. As one moves through the book, the reader can see a model of a Martian snowflake; Martian atmosphere; topography map of Mars; The Face on Mars; Mars Global Surveyor; Pathfinder; Mars history including ancient coins, maps, sketches, telescopes, pop conceptions like War of the Worlds and Flash Gordon;Mariners 6, 7, 9 missions; Viking mission, Mars' place in the Solar system and planetary facts; the ages of Mars; Phobos & Deimos, the Martian Moon; Sojourner Rover Mission; Martian Canyons; craters & volcanoes; Speculations on Martian Water--past and present; Martian Meteorites; Mars Rovers mission; Unsuccessful missions to Mars; Europe's Mars Express; Martian Mysteries; Future exploration; Colonization & terra-forming; Did You Know Facts section; Martian Timeline; How to Observe Mars; and an excellent glossary. I was most impressed with the Olympus Mons pictures in this book. They really do the Solar System's largest volcano photographic justice. I usually like DK products / books because they are always thorough, researched, and well made. Pictures are well-placed and well captioned; fonts are clear and easy to read. This book, to me, even exceeds their normal quality. A whole heap of information is stacked in such a small space. This is a must addition to any Red Planet fan's library. Truly, this is a primer for introducing Mars to others...young or otherwise.

The illustration and level of detail in the writing make this great for kids and adults! Terrific job!