You probably know Patrick Moore is a well-known author on the subject of Astronomy. This book was written in 1999, so it doesnt contain the latest Mars exploration info which, with the internet, isnt a big deal. What I like about this book is that 1) it contains his personal observations of Mars and 2) it contains explanations of past observations, incorrect conclusions for those observations and how past astronomers had gone wrong. This book falls nicely in the middle between a superficial look at Mars and a scientific paper for professionals.