Since the dawn of time, the moon has exerted a tremendous influence over the earth and its inhabitants, both scientifically and artistically. The earliest astronomers expended much energy in their attempts to map the moon, and the moon has a central role in virtually all mythologies, from the Amazonian Indians to the ancient Egyptians to the Celts. Yet the biography of our nearest planet has never been written. The text presents a myriad stories - people with extraordinary characters like Galileo and Van Eyck - and science.