As a Mars enthusiast, I originally bought this book because I just couldn't find anything really new in any other kind of book.

I knew some of this book would be outdated. Indeed, it predates by a few years PathFinder, Global Surveyor and the brand new Odyssey. But you just cannot invalidate 1500 pages of science in a few years, so I bought it.

Well, I was not disappointed! There is one (or more) chapter for every topic you could think of about Mars. And each chapter contains tons of scientifically accurate data, presented in an completely neutral way. Basically, everything is new, or if I thought I knew it, the book just goes way further.

This book is not for the casual reader. You must be highly motivated and/or and technically-educated to make the most of it.

And, of course, you must realize that this book is only a summary of what you could learn about the planet if you had the time (and mental capacity) to handle all of it.

And, you should also be aware that this book is only one book about one planet. Because the Arizona Press has "a few" other books, about "Mercury" (800 pages), "Venus II" (1500 pages), "Uranus" (1076 pages), "Neptune and Triton" (1249), "Pluto and Charon" (728 pages), etc.

As soon as I have finished "Mars", I will go and buy the rest (one at a time), because you just can't beat this collection.

If you want to seriously know things about Mars, our "brother" planet, you must have this book on your desk. This volume is totally indispensible for serious Mars students and is the distilled wisdom of the Mars Viking Missions, plus eveything else that went before.

Although new data is emerging about the Red planet, you cannot take it in isolation. The new data shows details within the framework of the old Viking-era Mars, which you must understand to be able to communicate with workers in the field.

Some new conceps and insights render parts of this volume dated, but it is dispassionate and unbiassed so the basic data and images are presented before too much interpretation is overlaid.

If you don't have this book, you aren't trying.

The only reason I gave this book 4-Star rather than 5-Star award is because it is written on a high technical/scientific level which renders it difficult for non-scientific readers. For scientists, it probably rates a Six!

As the editors state, it is the next best thing to the full list of scientific literature about Mars (the list of references they refer to is 95 pages long, or about 3,000 publications). The next best thing is just fine by me. The editors also state that it is at a level appropriate for graduate study (like myself), however it would also suit a keen enthusiast.

As a reference book it isn't riveting bed time reading but, as a reference book, it is top quality and for its intended readers it is excellent.