Rating: 
Summary: Faceless Mars
Review: Although any book dealing with such an enthralling subject has some possibilities of making inroads in a reader's mind this one, like many others of its kind, falls short even of a passable semi-scientific status. Mars Global Surveyor's imaging has shown the world the real truth about the famous Cydonia "monumental complex", and nonetheless the author sticks to his cherished view that the Face might well be a real monument built by an ancient Mars civilisation meaning to warn us about something relating to our own planet's fate. The content of this admonition is not clear, but as McLuhan would have said, the Medium is the Message: the Face with its unfathomable spell keeps gazing skyward, a simple barren hill for professor Malin's camera and a source of successful Mars fiction for self-appointed interplanetary scientists..."In Medium stat virtus"! Except for this minor weakness represented by an almost total lack of rational filtering the book makes for a pleasant reading in terms of the author's mastery over the rhythm and the overall unfolding of his arguments: but expert presentation can only add one star to a nearly empty sky!
Rating: 
Summary: Great complement and update on Fingerprints Of The Gods!
Review: Another great book by Hancock that sheds light on the age old architectural mysteries on earth and possible connections to Mars. This book provides great update on Monuments On Mars by Richard Hoagland and may be a link to the Sitchin's 12th planet theory based on the Sumerian tablets translations. Is it possible that the huge decaying astroid talked about in this book is the same Sumerian 12th planet? Scientists believe that this huge astroid's orbit brings it into the inner solar system every serveral thousand years which the bombardment of the planets by its smaller fragments cause catasrophies such as the one that turned Mars into a dead planet with the huge scar known as the line of dichatomy in Mars equatorial region.It is interesting to see that a government organizatin such as NASA funded by taxpayers money goes out of its way not to photograph these regions with high-resolution camera's aboard the Mars Global Surveyor to resolve the controversies surrounding Cydonia. This book is a great book. My only problem was that in the second part it was getting into too much esoteric subjects of astronomy that are hard for laymen to follow.
Rating: 
Summary: The Mars Mystery
Review: Excellent book, All I can say is that if your interested in Mars or the true or possible history of man this book will bend your mind in a totally new directions. A Very cool book, a very cool edition to any personal library.
Rating:
Summary: Positively Striking
Review: Graham Hancock, if you hadn't already noticed, is a tad off his rocker. He has a bad tendency to leap to conclusions from minimal evidence, and, so, I wouldn't always agree with everything he says.However, he is two things: Entertaining, and sometimes right. This book is no exception. It has a rather broad focus, leaping from Mars to Earth and outer space and back again. His main thesis is that Mars was terrestrial and habitable as recently as 20,000 years ago, with a similar civilization to his version of Atlantis, and that related catastrophes destroyed the Martian civilization, while severely crippling the Terran one. On the whole, his theories are a tad shaky. Yes, Cydonia looks like it's artificial, and that might be the most likely solution, but there's still nothing proving it. Even the mathematical ratios the researchers found are still not beyond the vale of coincidence. Similarly, his evidence for Atlantis isn't decisive, at least to my mind. I'm inclined to believe him, but mostly because the idea's just really cool. The one thing that I don't have any trouble believing is his theory about the Taurid meteor swarm. Noting that the Tunguska and Canterbury events, as well as several other large meteor strikes, happened in the same time, convinces me that we *do* need something to watch for NEOs. (The incredible thing is that he never even comes close to the idea that the Tunguska blast was an alien ship...he's not that kind of lunatic) This is a good book to pick up and read, if you get the chance. He might not be entirely all there, but he's entertaining, and he asks some very interesting questions, which often he has the best answer for.
Rating:
Summary: Positively Striking
Review: Graham Hancock, if you hadn't already noticed, is a tad off his rocker. He has a bad tendency to leap to conclusions from minimal evidence, and, so, I wouldn't always agree with everything he says. However, he is two things: Entertaining, and sometimes right. This book is no exception. It has a rather broad focus, leaping from Mars to Earth and outer space and back again. His main thesis is that Mars was terrestrial and habitable as recently as 20,000 years ago, with a similar civilization to his version of Atlantis, and that related catastrophes destroyed the Martian civilization, while severely crippling the Terran one. On the whole, his theories are a tad shaky. Yes, Cydonia looks like it's artificial, and that might be the most likely solution, but there's still nothing proving it. Even the mathematical ratios the researchers found are still not beyond the vale of coincidence. Similarly, his evidence for Atlantis isn't decisive, at least to my mind. I'm inclined to believe him, but mostly because the idea's just really cool. The one thing that I don't have any trouble believing is his theory about the Taurid meteor swarm. Noting that the Tunguska and Canterbury events, as well as several other large meteor strikes, happened in the same time, convinces me that we *do* need something to watch for NEOs. (The incredible thing is that he never even comes close to the idea that the Tunguska blast was an alien ship...he's not that kind of lunatic) This is a good book to pick up and read, if you get the chance. He might not be entirely all there, but he's entertaining, and he asks some very interesting questions, which often he has the best answer for.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Mr. Hancock's best work, but still an important book.
Review: I am a hugh fan of Graham Hancock and have read 3 of his previous books, "The Sign and the Seal", "Fingerprints of the Gods" and "Message of the Sphinx"......this was by far the weakest of them. It seems that Mr. Hancock is treading on ground that he is not as familiar with. Indeed, after reading Hoagland's "Monuments of Mars", this books seems weak. But none the less, he adds valuable material to the subject of an ancient connection between ancient ruins on Earth and anomilies on Mars. What I found most interesting was the section on asteroids and comets. This was tangential to the basic theme of the book, but it made me think. This needs more scholarly study. Graham Hancock knows that current Archaeology, Anthropology, and Ancient History has "missed the boat" in many areas. He proposes a key to unlock many of these mysteries. This book adds to that key. I hope his next book is better written.
Rating:
Summary: Listen, Learn, Read On
Review: I have finished reading the book a few weeks ago and now that all the emotions have settled down, the impression that is left is of a highly entertaining and informative book. I might not agree with 100 per cent of all what Mr. Hancock writes, but most of the evidence that he presents can not be ignored. As a person with an open mind I recommend this work of art and science to everyone who is willing to give a chance to the ideas presented in it.
Rating:
Summary: Cosmic deaths and cosmic corpses: signs of demise...
Review: I've read literally 100s of books in my life but this was with ease one of the most fascinating ones I've laid my eyes on. I could start right off by praising Hancock's research and the integrity of his sources, but actually, before any of that, I think special credit should be given to this man's authorship.
Indeed that's in my mind the biggest asset of this book: that it's a definitive "cantputdowner". The only way i could see someone not being thoroughly engulfed in this marvelous work of a book is if he's either brainwashed beyond repair and refuses to hear anything entertaining notions that go against the "programm" in his mind, or, worse still, if someone is basically cerebrally pulseless. Hancock spreads out a super convincing, mm, not so much theory, but argument. At no point in his book, again to his credit, does he dogmatically claim "look, there WAS intelligent life on Mars at some point" but he does claim that the evidence is overwhelming towards such a direction and that the rather bizzare attitude of Nasa about this might be actually confirming this or at the very least fuels suspicion to the max. The premise here is the stunning "monuments" in the area of Cydonia and the implications arising from this. It's not only the well known (???) face on Mars but also the hexagonal eerily symmetrical pyramids and other such phenomena that have tell-tale signs of artificiality about them. Even though i've read quite some, especially on the net, about the "Face" i found that there was actually an ocean of data i was totally unaware of. Hancock goes on a lenghty but very pleasant to read diatribe about those constructions but where it gets immensely interesting is when he tackles the more-than-strange behavior of Nasa about the whole issue. NASA to put it in a nutshell has been basically fronting the theory that not only the winds are particularly talented out on Mars but that they are also selectively talented as they seem to be creating things in Cydonia and only. That might be laughable enough one would think, but their overall attitude to public demand for further and detailed investigation on these anomalies so the matter could (?) be put to rest has been borderline conspiratorial. The world has either had to deal with outright refusals or with grainy photos that Nasa releases in an apparent effort to conceal what really? Questiosn that scream for immediate answers. NASA general politics are also discussed in the process and, well, they dont seem exactly "crystal-clean" stuff to put it extremely mildly. But by then you'd only be half way through the book: the latter half is the one that -incredibly-manages to capture the imagination even more albeit in a macabre and cosmically scary way. If the death of Mars as all evidence overwhelmingly suggests came from a cosmic bombardment of comets or fragments thereof what are the implications to us here? Especially since the spectacular "atatck" of comet Levy-Shoemaker on Jupiter there has been more discussion about such a danger even if the budget we actually have on comet-orbit watching is downright ridiculous. Hancock reveals to the uninitiated, like myself, that comets are not a distant low-probability threat but an ever-present and increasingly threatening reality. Alone in our solar system there are 100s of 1000s of them flying about in anarchic orbits and in mindbending speeds (most between 45.000-60.000klm/hour). Many are so called "earth-crossers" as they regularly (in universal terms) cross our orbit. When one thinks that our current theory holds that the dinos became history indeed because of a comet or that there have been not just that one but several seriously damaging impacts in Earth's past, but also, that contrary to mainstream belief a comet does not have to be "giant size" (i.e planet-size) but a mere few kilometers in diameter to make the "blue planet" another cosmic corpse with a past. But with no present.
Hancock does also question the possible connection between a past civilisation on Mars and ourselves and again, the evidence more than confirms his notion that such a connection is not some far-out sci-fi type thought but it is actually supported by our ancient heritage. What i like a lot about Hancock compared to other researchers of the genre is that he's actual very casual and undogmatic even when he suggests (but never insists) such dazzling theories. An absolutely tremendous book on all levels. If you do have a "sucpicion department" in your brain the "Mars Mystery" will confirm your worst fears. All this has nothing to do with "conspiracy theories" by the way. As a journalist once said at the beginning of the 20th century: "...it's not the conspiracy theories that interest me, it's the theories about conspiracies."
Rating:
Summary: Cosmic deaths and cosmic corpses: signs of demise...
Review: I've read literally 100s of books in my life but this was with ease one of the most fascinating ones I've laid my eyes on. I could start right off by praising Hancock's research and the integrity of his sources, but actually, before any of that, I think special credit should be given to this man's authorship.
Indeed that's in my mind the biggest asset of this book: that it's a definitive "cantputdowner". The only way i could see someone not being thoroughly engulfed in this marvelous work of a book is if he's either brainwashed beyond repair and refuses to hear anything entertaining notions that go against the "programm" in his mind, or, worse still, if someone is basically cerebrally pulseless. Hancock spreads out a super convincing, mm, not so much theory, but argument. At no point in his book, again to his credit, does he dogmatically claim "look, there WAS intelligent life on Mars at some point" but he does claim that the evidence is overwhelming towards such a direction and that the rather bizzare attitude of Nasa about this might be actually confirming this or at the very least fuels suspicion to the max. The premise here is the stunning "monuments" in the area of Cydonia and the implications arising from this. It's not only the well known (???) face on Mars but also the hexagonal eerily symmetrical pyramids and other such phenomena that have tell-tale signs of artificiality about them. Even though i've read quite some, especially on the net, about the "Face" i found that there was actually an ocean of data i was totally unaware of. Hancock goes on a lenghty but very pleasant to read diatribe about those constructions but where it gets immensely interesting is when he tackles the more-than-strange behavior of Nasa about the whole issue. NASA to put it in a nutshell has been basically fronting the theory that not only the winds are particularly talented out on Mars but that they are also selectively talented as they seem to be creating things in Cydonia and only. That might be laughable enough one would think, but their overall attitude to public demand for further and detailed investigation on these anomalies so the matter could (?) be put to rest has been borderline conspiratorial. The world has either had to deal with outright refusals or with grainy photos that Nasa releases in an apparent effort to conceal what really? Questiosn that scream for immediate answers. NASA general politics are also discussed in the process and, well, they dont seem exactly "crystal-clean" stuff to put it extremely mildly. But by then you'd only be half way through the book: the latter half is the one that -incredibly-manages to capture the imagination even more albeit in a macabre and cosmically scary way. If the death of Mars as all evidence overwhelmingly suggests came from a cosmic bombardment of comets or fragments thereof what are the implications to us here? Especially since the spectacular "atatck" of comet Levy-Shoemaker on Jupiter there has been more discussion about such a danger even if the budget we actually have on comet-orbit watching is downright ridiculous. Hancock reveals to the uninitiated, like myself, that comets are not a distant low-probability threat but an ever-present and increasingly threatening reality. Alone in our solar system there are 100s of 1000s of them flying about in anarchic orbits and in mindbending speeds (most between 45.000-60.000klm/hour). Many are so called "earth-crossers" as they regularly (in universal terms) cross our orbit. When one thinks that our current theory holds that the dinos became history indeed because of a comet or that there have been not just that one but several seriously damaging impacts in Earth's past, but also, that contrary to mainstream belief a comet does not have to be "giant size" (i.e planet-size) but a mere few kilometers in diameter to make the "blue planet" another cosmic corpse with a past. But with no present.
Hancock does also question the possible connection between a past civilisation on Mars and ourselves and again, the evidence more than confirms his notion that such a connection is not some far-out sci-fi type thought but it is actually supported by our ancient heritage. What i like a lot about Hancock compared to other researchers of the genre is that he's actual very casual and undogmatic even when he suggests (but never insists) such dazzling theories. An absolutely tremendous book on all levels. If you do have a "sucpicion department" in your brain the "Mars Mystery" will confirm your worst fears. All this has nothing to do with "conspiracy theories" by the way. As a journalist once said at the beginning of the 20th century: "...it's not the conspiracy theories that interest me, it's the theories about conspiracies."
Rating:
Summary: A disappointing and surprisingly disjointed book.
Review: Mr. Hancock's previous works have been well researched and notably well written. It was therfore a surprise and a disappointment to work my way through The Mars Mystery. This is really a book in two parts. The first chapters are a rather good summary of the debate about the Cydonian features. The notable players are referenced in a fair summation of the controversy to date. If you haven't read Hoagland or DiPietro's work, you'll find this fascinating. Apparently this was written in anticipation of a walloping confirmation from the Mars Global Surveyor. Both time and circumstances then conspired against Gordon. NO BIG NEWS. He must have waited for new photos and confirmation. None came. As the publication date pushed back weeks, then months, the pressure to print must have been serious. It is here that the book diverges. In search of a salable finish, Gordon takes off on the more current(marketable?)issue of comets. They distroyed Mars, they could distroy us. This is the secret connection between Earth and the Red Planet? This is an interesting, but clearly tangential topic from Cydonia. But then the seasonal movies are Deep Impact and Armageddon. Sadly, the chapters authored by Gordon on this topic are the most fragmented in the book. The serial structure is redundent and uneven. He's working on this piecemeal and it shows. In all, the first book(on Cydonia) failed for lack of closure. The second (on THE COMET THREAT) is desperation. Gordon Handcock is too good a writer and researcher to blow up on deadline.
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