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Coffee tables have never looked so good
BOOKS & ARTS
Fantastic journeys Find the perfect gift from our selection of books, computer games and e-readers. First up, the best of the picture books
52 | NewScientist | 5 December 2009
I found exactly that in Surviving by Alessandro Minelli and Maria Pia Mannucci, (Firefly Books, £30/$45), a whistle-stop tour of the survival secrets of the planet’s most exquisitely adapted creatures. The colours are wonderfully vibrant, and, set against black backgrounds, the subjects seem to leap off the page. The Heart of the Great Alone by David Hempleman-Adams, Sophie Gordon and Emma Stuart, (Bloomsbury, £29.95/$47.50) tells the epic tales of Ernest Shackleton’s attempt to cross Antarctica and Captain Scott’s ill-fated polar voyage through the lenses of their photographers. Although some of
The best of the rest The Metamorphosis of Plants by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Gordon Miller, (MIT Press, £16.95/$21.95) The latest translation of the 1790 classic is brought to life with stunning botanical photos. Perfect for a Goethe enthusiast or a green-fingered history buff. The Elements by Theodore Gray, (Black Dog and Leventhal, £22.95/$29.95) A visual periodic table is book I’d have liked when I was young. Life (BBC Books, £25) The book to accompany the BBC television series, full of great pictures and intriguing text. Wildlife Photographer of the Year (BBC Books, £25) The 19th incarnation of a wildlife favourite never disappoints.
Final journey: Herbert Ponting’s Grotto in an iceberg
the photographs have been seen before, they are truly excellent and capture the utter desolation of the frozen wastes. When we look at pictures of distant stars and galaxies we are staring into the past since the light has taken so long to reach us. Far Out: A space-time chronicle (Michael Benson, Abrams, £30/$55) takes advantage of this fact to make the book much more than just a beautiful photographic record of our universe. You start with images of the youngest light from nearby stars and galaxies, and move further into space and back though time with each turn of the page. Accompanying the images are explanations of significant events in Earth’s history at the time the light left the star, for example, light from the nearby Corona Australis constellation was emitted around the time Columbus came upon the Bahamas, while that from the more distant galaxies has been travelling towards us since the Earth’s continents were one. 60: Innovators shaping our creative future (Thames & Hudson, £35/$75) will appeal to anyone with an interest in popular culture and design. A slick book with high-quality photographs, it showcases the most creative minds in fashion, architecture, photography, green technology and science – including biomimicry populariser Janine Benyus and eco-warrior and leader of the “Transition movement” Rob Hopkins. Reviewed by Jessica Griggs
THE ROYAL COLLECTION © 2009 HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II.
PICTURE books make fabulous gifts – especially when they are both informative and fun to look at. Our choices combine aesthetic appeal with quality content. The Art of Nature by Judith Magee, Natural History Museum, £25) is a visual celebration of European natural history illustrations. Continent by continent, the stories of the collectors and artists are told, accompanied by sumptuous watercolours, detailed maps, beguiling animal sketches and botanical drawings. As the introduction notes, the drawings and observations were heavily influenced by the mores of the time so this book is an insight into how Europeans perceived the natural world. A coffee table book in the truest sense, photographer Michael Poliza’s new tome AntArctic (teNeues, £85/$125) is stuffed with 135 large-scale photographs. There are plenty of striking images – from those so close you can make out the individual water droplets on a penguin’s face to the sweeping glacial landscapes complete with perfect sunsets. A journalist’s description of Poliza’s expeditions to both poles (hence the title) is interesting, but anecdotes would have been better in the man’s own words, such as the tale of the time Poliza came across the perfect polar bear shot whilst nipping out for a midnight pee. The book would make an impressive gift on size alone, but the editor seems to have gone for quantity over quality. I would have preferred fewer photos but have every single one take my breath away.
Fantastic journeys Find the perfect gift from our selection of books, computer games and e-readers. First up, the best of the picture books
52 | NewScientist | 5 December 2009
I found exactly that in Surviving by Alessandro Minelli and Maria Pia Mannucci, (Firefly Books, £30/$45), a whistle-stop tour of the survival secrets of the planet’s most exquisitely adapted creatures. The colours are wonderfully vibrant, and, set against black backgrounds, the subjects seem to leap off the page. The Heart of the Great Alone by David Hempleman-Adams, Sophie Gordon and Emma Stuart, (Bloomsbury, £29.95/$47.50) tells the epic tales of Ernest Shackleton’s attempt to cross Antarctica and Captain Scott’s ill-fated polar voyage through the lenses of their photographers. Although some of
The best of the rest The Metamorphosis of Plants by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Gordon Miller, (MIT Press, £16.95/$21.95) The latest translation of the 1790 classic is brought to life with stunning botanical photos. Perfect for a Goethe enthusiast or a green-fingered history buff. The Elements by Theodore Gray, (Black Dog and Leventhal, £22.95/$29.95) A visual periodic table is book I’d have liked when I was young. Life (BBC Books, £25) The book to accompany the BBC television series, full of great pictures and intriguing text. Wildlife Photographer of the Year (BBC Books, £25) The 19th incarnation of a wildlife favourite never disappoints.
Final journey: Herbert Ponting’s Grotto in an iceberg
the photographs have been seen before, they are truly excellent and capture the utter desolation of the frozen wastes. When we look at pictures of distant stars and galaxies we are staring into the past since the light has taken so long to reach us. Far Out: A space-time chronicle (Michael Benson, Abrams, £30/$55) takes advantage of this fact to make the book much more than just a beautiful photographic record of our universe. You start with images of the youngest light from nearby stars and galaxies, and move further into space and back though time with each turn of the page. Accompanying the images are explanations of significant events in Earth’s history at the time the light left the star, for example, light from the nearby Corona Australis constellation was emitted around the time Columbus came upon the Bahamas, while that from the more distant galaxies has been travelling towards us since the Earth’s continents were one. 60: Innovators shaping our creative future (Thames & Hudson, £35/$75) will appeal to anyone with an interest in popular culture and design. A slick book with high-quality photographs, it showcases the most creative minds in fashion, architecture, photography, green technology and science – including biomimicry populariser Janine Benyus and eco-warrior and leader of the “Transition movement” Rob Hopkins. Reviewed by Jessica Griggs
THE ROYAL COLLECTION © 2009 HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II.
PICTURE books make fabulous gifts – especially when they are both informative and fun to look at. Our choices combine aesthetic appeal with quality content. The Art of Nature by Judith Magee, Natural History Museum, £25) is a visual celebration of European natural history illustrations. Continent by continent, the stories of the collectors and artists are told, accompanied by sumptuous watercolours, detailed maps, beguiling animal sketches and botanical drawings. As the introduction notes, the drawings and observations were heavily influenced by the mores of the time so this book is an insight into how Europeans perceived the natural world. A coffee table book in the truest sense, photographer Michael Poliza’s new tome AntArctic (teNeues, £85/$125) is stuffed with 135 large-scale photographs. There are plenty of striking images – from those so close you can make out the individual water droplets on a penguin’s face to the sweeping glacial landscapes complete with perfect sunsets. A journalist’s description of Poliza’s expeditions to both poles (hence the title) is interesting, but anecdotes would have been better in the man’s own words, such as the tale of the time Poliza came across the perfect polar bear shot whilst nipping out for a midnight pee. The book would make an impressive gift on size alone, but the editor seems to have gone for quantity over quality. I would have preferred fewer photos but have every single one take my breath away.