From School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-Thanks to the blizzard of photographs sent by Pathfinder and other Mars probes, plus the brief but high excitement of finding lifelike mineral formations inside an antarctic meteorite, Mars has been rapidly coming into our sights. Here Skurzynski puts the Red Planet right into readers' laps. Scattered throughout this thoroughly illustrated report are specially printed photos that, when viewed through cardboard "anaglyph" glasses, appear as 3-D. It's a dazzling special effect, but one that makes the book problematic for libraries, despite the two pairs of glasses that are bound in; instructions for making more; and a list of commercial suppliers. The breezy narrative begins with Copernicus and ends with a projected human expedition around 2017. Unfortunately, the author implies that Percival Lowell discovered the purported Martian canals, when in fact they had been observed by Giovanni Schiaparelli nearly 20 years before. Too bad: the book makes an inviting package, with plenty of big, bright photographs and artists' conceptions for standard illustrations, a concise but specific summary of what is now known about Mars, and a generous selection of Web sites at the end. Still, with so many reliable recent books on the subject available and more on the way, libraries should look for alternatives.-John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
Reviews results from the study of Mars, from Copernicus through the Viking and Pathfinder missions, and speculates on a future human landing.