photo essays

The photos get 5 stars, Unfortunately, the text is a constant stream of preachy eco-alarmism. Various leftwing "intellectuals" introduce each chapter with astonishingly naive tracts: the one on "poverty" could have been exerpted directly from the communist manifesto.

Enjoy the photos, but ignore the text and read instead Lomborg's "Sceptical Environmentalist" and Norberg's "Defense of Global Capitalism"

I have both Earth from Above (the BIG book) and Earth from Above: 365 Days. Both books contain hundreds and hundreds of images that I find extraordinary -- intoxicatingly beautiful images of our world. I am happy to report that this newest volume adds many more absolutely stunning NEW images to the Arthus-Bertrand collection.

This new volume is not just an expanded and/or revised version of older editions. At least eighty percent of the photos are entirely new. Another ten to fifteen percent contain either DIFFERENT photos of a given geographic site (e.g., the famous "heart" on New Caledonia) or explore the same theme in a new area (e.g., the photo of a windmill farm in this edition is in Denmark instead of California.)

The only criticism I can make of this new edition is that it occasionally flirts with tourist kitsch. I'm thinking of the photos of Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria and Tower Bridge in London. Still, even these rather tame and familiar images are balanced with other fantastic views of less familiar landmarks on the world tourism trail. (The photo of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India is absolutely the finest picture of that magical city that I have ever seen.)

If you already own Arthus-Bertrand's other books, you will not be disappointed by this latest collecton. If this is your first exposure to his photography. . .well, I envy you. Please check out his other fine books. He offers a multitude of images that never fail to beguile and astonish.