Earth from Above: 365 Days by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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Book Reviews of Earth from Above: 365 Days
Book Review: Extraordinary Photographs
Summary: 5 Stars
Extraoordinary collection of unique photographs. Book is the visual representation of Earth, its unique natural and artificial (urban architecture)environment. The photographs are the unique shots from all over the World, taken with highest quality of professionalism, test, art and the luck. I never seen so big collection of unique photographs in one book! Thanks to all team of authors for tremendous job!Book Review: A new perspective on life
Summary: 5 Stars
I LOVED this book. I am not a profession photographer in any way, but I am intriged by the art. I happened to stumble across this book and it has opened up my mind to the reality of the world, which is extactly what the book aims to do. After looking through this book, identifying each date with a birthday or event and then seeing all that is out there, I suddenly felt enourmously less self-concerned. It's a perfect coffee-table book to spike some intrest. I recomend this to anyone who wants to really see the world around them. Open your mind... you might find something there...Book Review: Political or not - it's stunning.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd flicked through this in the bookshop and resisted shelling out so much money on just one book, but my wife bought it for my birthday.Stunning photography, one can imagine that some of the scenes were especially staged for the shot (obviously not!), and some of the shots are so bizarre that one has to double-take to make sure one is seeing right.
The author's eye for beauty and form can even find it in rubbish, pollution and slums, very often it is the angle of the light which transforms the picture from an ordinary shot, into something startling, as in the evening view of Haghia Sofia in Istanbul, with the rest of the city in shadow - just awesome!
The text is opposite the photo - so you are not constantly having to refer to an appendix - with an apposite quote to help you appreciate the beauty (or not) of the composition.
Highly recommended.
Book Review: Beautiful photographs, and a political point of view
Summary: 4 Stars
Earth From Above contains 365 spectacular photographs ... one for each day of the year. And 365 social/political musings.The photographs are truly grand. From Everest, to the Pasadena Freeway, to vineyards in Luxembourg ... Every photo is striking in its own way. Although some photos represent more traditional views (Christ the Redeemer overlooking Rio de Janeiro), most provide dazzling, unique aerial perspectives.
The text often describes the subject of the photo, but not always. The words accompanying the photo of marathon runners crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge describe nothing about New York, or the bridge, or even marathons in general. On many of the pages I felt lectured-at by the author ... even when I agreed with the sentiment. Nevertheless, I recommend Earth From Above - 365 Days, for its amazing visual impact.
Here are some photographs of particular interest (and the month each appears):
* Color: Flight of scarlet ibis (Nov); Cotton fabric drying in India (Jan); The milky blue La Leona River in Argentina (June); Fall forest color in Quebec (Aug)
* Shapes & Patterns: Orchard amid the wheat in Greece (Feb), Field of retired B-52 bombers (June); Fluvial erosion near Mount Pinatubo (July); Caravans of dromedaries (Jan); Tractor field near Bozeman (Mar); Seaweed in the Gulf of Morbihan (Dec)
* Power of Nature: Eruption on Réunion Island (May); Philippine village buried under mud (Mar); Earthquake destruction on the coast of Turkey (Jan)
* Thought-provoking Images: Abandoned town near Chernobyl (Dec); Genbaku Dome in Hiroshima (Oct); Deforestation in Amazonia (Feb); American cemetery in France (Nov)
Oh, and check Feb 21, April 30 and July 1 if you like pink flamingos. (For me, one day was enough.)
Although Earth From Above is an excellent gift choice, be careful about giving an arts & photography book with such an overt, political point of view ... without advance warning. Some of the opinions expressed - and they are OPINIONS - are simply unsupportable.
The binding is strong for a paperback, but weak for a hardback, and may be subject to failure with repeated use. Use it, enjoy it, wear it out, buy another copy and frame your favorites from your first purchase.
Book Review: No Mr. Jenson, It's not anti-american
Summary: 5 Stars
I have only looked through this book up to todays date - the 25th of March. But that is still nearly a quarter of the year. What first struck me about this book was what most of the pictures were of: geological wonders, man-made patterns, and pockets of isolated people, plants, structures that leave you mystified as to why. This is yet another book that makes you feel even smaller in the world, that there is so much out there to find and see and feel.
What I beleive people such as Mr. Jenson is missing, relates to the introduction of the rest of the book. In the beginning, the author lists a serious of facts pertaining to the physical health of the planet and its inhabitants. It does not judge harshly, but portrays what is known, and even France where the book is published is portrayed in a bad light. Perhaps the U.S. is too, but it honestly scrutinizes all people and many countries.
From this point you enter the series of photographs and their descriptions, relating the introduction facts to the amazing photographs. The Iraqi tank graveyard photograph was about more than the gulf war; it showed the irony of all war, which is why the text also referred to events in Africa. The facts presented, is that war is as political as economic, and the media - particularly the U.S. media - took advantage of information to use one against the other in the Gulf War. And the One Billion Dollars a day that was estimated as losses from that particular war, is seen sitting there, in the sand, the metals barely scrapped.
This book is not taking any sides. This book is showing the power, beauty, destruction, and coincedence that humanity and nature have, and where it can, it tries to explain why.