The Monuments of Mars: A City on the Edge of Forever, 4th Edition (Paperback)

by Richard C. Hoagland (Author), Richard Grossinger (Foreword) "One of the most memorable books of my growing up was Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles, a haunting collection of vignettes depicting the colonization of the..." (more)
Key Phrases: cratering curve, crater pyramid, hyperdimensional physics, Mars Observer, New York, Great Pyramid (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"I'm fairly convinced that we have discovered life on Mars. There are some incredible photographs [from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory], which to me are pretty convincing proof of the existence of large forms of life on Mars! Have a look at them. I don't see any other interpretation."
—Sir Arthur C. Clarke

"I've seen the studies and I've seen the photographs—and there do appear to be formations of a 'face' and 'pyramids' [on Mars] that do not appear to be of natural or normal existence. It looks like they had to be fashioned by some intelligent beings. For this reason, I have asked NASA to provide assurances that the Mars Observer mission include this [set of targets] as one of its imaging objectives."
—Robert A. Roe, former Chairman, Congressional House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

"Richard Hoagland has really been very successful [in The Monuments of Mars] because, as you know, not only do we have the Mars Observer coming up, but he has managed to convince the President [George Walker Bush] to state that a return to Mars is one of our major goals."
—Dr. John Klineberg, former Director, NASA-Lewis Research Center

"I'm sure you're aware of the extremely grave potential for cultural shock and social disorientation contained in this present situation, if the facts were prematurely and suddenly made public without adequate preparation and conditioning."
—Heywood Floyd, Head, The National Council of Astronautics, 2001 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
In 1976, NASA sent four Viking spacecraft to Mars to photograph the planet and test for the presence of life. One of the orbiters photographed a mile-long mesa that uncannily resembled a human face. Hoagland takes readers step by step through the NASA images and evidence that a former civilization may have lived on Mars. Photos, maps, and charts.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: Frog Books; 4th revised edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883319307
• ISBN-13: 978-1883319304
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,055,715 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #82 in	Books > Science > Astronomy > Mars

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The complete history of the NASA coverup of The Face, August 4, 2000

By	Glenn R. Holcomb (Honolulu, Hawaii United States) - See all my reviews

In "The Monuments of Mars: A City on the Edge of Forever," author Richard Hoagland gives a heavily referenced history of The Face on Mars and other suspiciously "non-natural" structures and features of the Martian surface. He describes how The Face was first discovered shortly after the Viking Mission started sending back images from Mars. NASA immediate pooh-poohed the possibility of its artificial origin. The images of The Face were too startling to be ignored, though, and research by Vince DePietro, Greg Molenaar, Hoagland and others resulted in the discovery of other unnatural, pyramid-like structures located in the vicinity of The Face. Hoagland provides solid arguments for the claims he makes. Often, this slows the pace of reading this thick book. But, by taking his time in explaining his claims, he tackles many of the arguments that might arise in the reader's own mind. Hoagland's book describes how NASA has pointedly ignored evidence from noted scientists and organizations verifying the suspiciously non-natural nature of the Cydonia region on Mars that is home to these anamolous features. Finally, Hoagland documents how NASA has refused to PUBLICALLY rephotograph Cydonia and suggests that NASA may have already done so in secret. He offers that there may be dark reasons for this suspected duplicity. "The Monuments of Mars" describes an engaging (and ongoing) real-world mystery. But, it is also frustrating in that the evidence that could solve this mystery is being withheld by the very government agency that is supposed to be honestly and publicly disseminating it...

53 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really makes you think!, February 9, 2002

By	Mark Lahren (Bismarck, North Dakota USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Monuments of Mars: A City on the Edge of Forever (5th Edition) (Paperback)

This book is absolutely compelling reading from page one. I've been following this since I read the first (?) edition of this book published in 1987. That book (348 pages, much smaller than this updated version) caused me to begin questioning the human belief system. That is to say I began to wonder about whether what we all have been taught to accept as 'fact' was in fact real. I began talking to everyone I knew about this, and discovered that even people I had previously thought to be open-minded were actually pretty closed minded on this subject. Since then, I've been on kind of a personal quest to find out why people have such a problem accepting anything Hoagland says. I personally still have not been convinced of anything on this 'Face on Mars' one way or the other, but Hoagland's theories are fascinating and well thought out enough that I don't think they can be dismissed out of hand. I've read reviews from others who just laugh and say that these formations are just coincidental and formed by nature. This could be true, but how can these people be so sure? Would these same people dismiss the Egyptian pyramids as natural formations too? (Obviously not, since they are close by and easy to study. Apparently, just because Mars is so far away, this automatically disqualifies it from further study). Why are they so intent on dismissing Hoagland's theories so quickly, without really knowing? I think it has something to do with a fear that their own belief systems are threatened by any seemingly implausible evidence or theories.

To me, this book is much more than a book about strange Martian constructions. It is more a criticism of the closed-mindedness that is stopping mankind from making progress and discoveries that could change the world as we know it. Do we really think we already know all there is to know about this? Hoagland doesn't ever claim to know everything about this. All he wants is answers, and apparently the 'scientific' community doesn't, or at least doesn't care. What has happened to humankind's curiosity? Our curiosity is what got our civilization this far. Why stop now?

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's wrong with Hoagland's Ideas?, March 10, 2000

By A Customer

I hate to break the string of 33 reviews, but the Egyptair crash had enough 33s for many reviews. Contrary to critics claims, the face and Cydonia aren't just hills and sand dunes and the pyramids were not built just for the heck of it by Egyptians. A scientist, Thomas Van Flanderen gave billion to one odds against all the features at Cydonia being natural. It's been documented that NASA and other scientists dissmissed Cydonia without investigation. And what's wrong with accepting that there has been a higher culture that either humans or Martians built? His website alleges that the Egyptian god Osiris was a real person (or thing) and that NASA planned their missions to coincide with the stars. What's wrong with those ideas? To all the dedicated people who say that NASA is covering nothing up, why would they align their missions with the stars? If Cydonia is insignificant, why do they plan for the targeting of it to have a star in a crucial position? His hyperdimensional model keeps on getting confirmed, one piece at a time. The book's allegations about Cydonia have been proved right by recent photos. I ask that people put aside their ideas about life outside Earth and listen to the guy. There is nothing wrong with what he presents. (And by the way, he may be right.)