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Rating: 
Summary: OUT OF THIS WORLD
Review: AN EXCELLENT COLLECTION OF PHOTOS AND INFO. THIS BOOK IS AWESOME FOR THE PERSON WHO LOVES SCIENCE AND SPACE. HISTORY, FACTS, OPINIONS AND A WHOLE LOT MORE MAKE THIS BOOK A WINNER. WELL WORTH OWNING FOR YEARS TO COME.
A MUST FOR SPACE BUFFS.
Rating:
Summary: The best book on Mars exploration in over five years!
Review: The photographs of Mars are spectacular, and there are a lot of them. The pictures clearly show how water -- oceans of it -- etched canyons six times deeper than the Grand Canyon. The pictures of Olympus Mons illustrate where the volcanic sediments in the river banks came from. The description of "on the fly" programming of the 41 explosive bolts necessary to land Pathfinder was touching, dramatic and fascinating. The book provides a breathtaking story of interplanetary scientific adventure. Edward B. Flowers, St. John's University
Rating: 
Summary: In Limbo...
Review: This book can't decide if it is a coffee table picture book or something more serious and suffers as a consequence as it is not particularly good at either. I suppose it might be a nice, very non-technical introduction to the study of Mars for the very non-technical. If you are looking for a nice picture book (which I was) I think you'll find this falls a little short. I was hoping for something analagous to the NGS book, Orbit, and I did not get it.
Rating:
Summary: In Limbo...
Review: This book can't decide if it is a coffee table picture book or something more serious and suffers as a consequence as it is not particularly good at either. I suppose it might be a nice, very non-technical introduction to the study of Mars for the very non-technical. If you are looking for a nice picture book (which I was) I think you'll find this falls a little short. I was hoping for something analagous to the NGS book, Orbit, and I did not get it.
Rating:
Summary: OUT OF THIS WORLD
Review: This outstanding book is published by National Geographic and it shows! Enough colorful pictures to qualify as a coffee table book but plenty of interesting text to work through as well. The book is written for the "educated layman", not too technical but at the same time assuming a basic understanding of science. The ratio of text to pictures is similar to the National Geographic magazine, perhaps a bit heavier on the text.Raeburn begins with a summary of the different beliefs held about Mars before the spacecraft era, including the widely held one initiated by Lowell about canals constructed by intelligent Martians. Raeburn spends the bulk of the book taking us through NASA's various missions to Mars: Mariner, Viking, Pathfinder, and Global Surveyor. The book was published in 1998 and hence only provides a "preview" of the Global Surveyor findings. Today, of course, we have a complete global map of Mars in astonishing detail. Also, Raeburn optimistically looks forward to NASA's continuing "faster, cheaper, better" program of Mars exploration. We already know that the orbiter and polar lander failed, so let's hope that the craft to be launched this year fare better. Raeburn also notes that in 2005 a craft will be launched that should bring rocks from Mars back to Earth! Overall, definitely worth the price of entry for the pictures alone. There are even some neat 3-D pictures inside and the book provides 3-D glasses!
Rating:
Summary: Mars by Raeburn
Review: This work has spectacular pictures of the Martian surface
developed from recent expeditions. The shots of the Valles
Marineris are panoramic as is the Orphir plateau surface.
The planet has a heavily cratered terrain with many
photo shots of the Southern Polar Cap consisting of water and
CO 2. This book would be a treasure chest for a school class
project in science. It is highly recommended for a young
audience or for curious elders and other red planet enthusiasts. The detailed descriptions of the planet add
significantly to the overall presentation. The book is a
worthy addition to any science library.
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