This is such a beautiful book, and a wonderful example of truly stellar science writing.

This was a very smart and well written psuedo memoir of both the author's and humankind's fascination with Mars. If you've ever wondered "Why Mars?" then this book will answer that question with some history lessons of how we got to be so occupied with the red planet, and then give you some hope with the author's own experiences as a scientist on some of NASA's Mars projects.
It's not a terribly long book, and I'm not a particularly slow reader, but this book took me longer to read than I'd expected. In many cases, I'd consider that a strike against the writing, but this case is different. The way this book is written, it doesn't feel like a textbook, but it is nonetheless packed with interesting information that you'll want to pause and look up.
The last couple chapters were a bit drawn out and meandering - and lacking much new, interesting information, but I still think they are worth the read to get the closure the author intended.

Excellent overview of how humans have explored and learned about Mars. It covers the earliest theories about Mars right up to InSight Mars Lander (Perseverance was still on it's way to Mars when the book was published). She intermixes the history and science of Mars with her own personal experience as a female scientist/mother and the challenges she had to overcome. Well written, almost poetic in parts and extremely informative. Highly recommended reading.

A history of Mars

While the book is compact and fact-based, the author Sarah Stewart Johnson also captures the romantic fascination the people of earth have always felt for Mars in 'The Sirens of Mars'. She describes how the surface of Mars in early telescopes stirred many scientists into imagining the cities and canals and farms which must be there for Mars to look as it did. Many wonderful works of fiction are based on these early observations.

Science instruments of observation got better, but despite the increasing scientific clarity of what Mars truly is, the fascination has become only more intense. Johnson is a scientist, but she details what the Mars rovers have discovered without losing sight of the excitement and romance of Mars. Indeed, interest has grown even more.

Johnson writes in literary-quality prose for the general science reader. She has used her own autobiographical history appropriately, showing how her interest in math and Mars guided her own projectory forward towards a very interesting career in science. I recommend this book.

There is an extensive Notes section which definitely will aid the reader in further reading.