Colibris

French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and his devoted team have spent five years putting together this voluminous gallery, selecting 195 images from 100,000 photographs taken from helicopters in the skies over 75 countries. It is a staggering achievement and precisely shows how vaguely we know our world. Statistics play a secondary, but vital, role; the text that accompanies the shots (a paragraph each, with a short essay adorning every chapter), highlights the degree to which we have abused our Eden, providing a sobering adjunct to what can at times be mistaken for a planetary holiday brochure. Of primary concern, however, are the pictures. Almost every plate is double page, reproduced in sumptuous vibrant color, with helpful fold-out notes for each shot. The standard is a visual treat but, damn it, books should be luxurious sometimes. Huge African cotton bales become cauliflowers, logs floating down the Amazon are nothing more than matchsticks, the extraordinary contours of Turkey’s Cappadocia are more like lunar scapes and South African sea-lions gathered to mate eerily echo an earlier crowd of curious humans in Côte D’Ivoire. In contrast, a solitary human figure frequently gives perspective to a shot, though occasionally superfluously, for the obliquity of perception can add resonant depth, reducing mighty river courses to glistening snail trails. Much on show is conventional, exceptional landscape photography, but Arthus-Bertrand also trains his lens on our fingerprints smudging the idyll, such as the depressingly overcrowded shanty towns favelas of Rio de Janeiro or the sprawling communal rubbish heap of Mexico City. However, the hovering eye, like a benevolent celestial deity, cannot help but impose a fragile beauty even on these blights, reclaiming the scarring chaos from its despoilers and harnessing the sense of mortal finitism necessary for a solution of ecological sustained development to be convincingly reached. Arthus-Bertrand’s desire to take his art “beyond the anecdotal”, to give his subject the space in which to impose its own beauty, allows a gleefully conspiratorial voyeurism, at once empowering and humbling, that at its best captures something quasi-religious in its intense calm. As Louis Armstrong once growled, what a wonderful world. –David Vincent

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Scientists agree that over the last century the earth has become warmer. But do we really know why this has happened? A deftly written and enjoyable read, “The Chilling Stars” outlines a brilliant, daring and undoubtedly controversial new theory that will provoke fresh thinking about global warming. As prize-winning science writer, Nigel Calder and climate physicist Henrik Svensmark explain, an interplay of the clouds, the Sun and cosmic rays - sub-atomic particles from exploded stars - seems to have more effect on the climate than manmade carbon dioxide.

This conclusion stems from Svensmark’s research at the Danish National Space Center which has recently shown that cosmic rays play an unsuspected role in making our everyday clouds. And during the last 100 years cosmic rays became scarcer because unusually vigorous action by the Sun batted many of them away. Fewer cosmic rays meant fewer clouds and a warmer world.

The theory, simply put here but explained in fascinating detail in the book, emerges at a time of intense public and political concern about climate change. Motivated only by their concern that science must be trustworthy, Svensmark and Calder invite their readers to put aside their preconceptions about manmade global warming and look afresh at the role of Nature in this hottest of world issues.

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The revolution of our understanding of the cosmos and our place in it happened within a single human lifetime, through a combination of new technology and the dedication of a handful of pioneers. This is their story - of the hard work, perseverance and spirit that unlocked the secrets of the night sky.

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With its subtle light illuminating the night sky, the Moon has always been an object of fascination, from its phoenixlike cycle of birth and death to its association with the female body and fertility. Jules Cashford explores the myths, symbols, and poetic images of the Moon throughout history, starting from early Paleolithic markings on horn and bone, up to present-day poetry. This captivating book traces our customs and secular events back to their sacred lunar source explaining how we have evolved to think in some of the ways that we do and why. Accompanied by 175 beautiful illustrations, The Moon investigates how the lunar image helped shape our mind, and more importantly, it examines what these myths and images tell us about our own consciousness. This is the most comprehensive and in-depth look at the moon and its vast influence on the structure and function of mythology, religion, and consciousness.
Puteti comanda aceasta carte acum. In 48 de ore cartea este la dumneavoastra acasa, la locul de munca sau la oricare alta adresa.

Puteti comanda aceasta carte acum. In 48 de ore cartea este la dumneavoastra acasa, la locul de munca sau la oricare alta adresa.

The most active - and the most visited - volcano on earth is Kilauea in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, seen by 3 million people every year. Along with its counterpart Piton de La Fournaise, on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean, it is characterized by extraordinary lava flows that travel great distances through a spectacular landscape. Together they form the focus of this dazzling photographic essay by two renowned photographers.

This is an invitation for readers to share an amazing glimpse into the heart of these red volcanoes, and a timely reminder that the Earth itself is alive and fulfilling an agenda of its own.

Puteti comanda aceasta carte acum. In 48 de ore cartea este la dumneavoastra acasa, la locul de munca sau la oricare alta adresa.

Seventeen collaborations in snow and ice between international architects and artists, The Snow Show took place in early 2004 in a remote area of Finnish Lapland. A short introduction by curator Lance Fung explains the history and ideas behind this exceptional event and the individual artworks. This is followed by a lavish 144-page full-colour portfolio of the finished projects, ranging from room-sized cylindrical ice-block lanterns to an 81-metre-square mosaic of frozen designer waters and an amphitheatre made from snow.The artworks are ordered by construction technique: compacted snow, cast ice, harvested ice and experimental processes.

Printing on a different stock in two icy colours, the remaining 64 pages explain the techniques used to make each structure, with project descriptions written by the artists and architects themselves. With exquisite photography, detailed plans and sketches, the book is a celebration of overcoming natures harshest conditions with ingenuity, elegance and beauty.

Puteti comanda aceasta carte acum. In 48 de ore cartea este la dumneavoastra acasa, la locul de munca sau la oricare alta adresa.

The best-selling, unrivalled beginner’s guide to identifying the most common species of tree in northern Europe. This is the perfect pocket guide for anyone who wants to identify those deciduous or evergreen species they may come across on hill or in dale, in the town or in the countryside. For each tree included in the book, there is a wealth of both textual and visual identification information.

Remarkably detailed illustrations show not only the overall shape of the tree but also details of leaf shape, flowers, fruits and bark. There’s also information on the origin of each species, its height, preferred habitat and growing conditions. Illustrations of cones, catkins, nuts and fruits allow you to distinguish between similar species at a glance.

The introduction covers the life cycle of trees, the establishment of woodland, people’s relationship with forests and how to go about identifying trees, plus the all-important question — what exactly is a tree?

Puteti comanda aceasta carte acum. In 48 de ore cartea este la dumneavoastra acasa, la locul de munca sau la oricare alta adresa.

Explores the astonishing variety of climates that exist on earth. Provides illuminating explanations of the factors that influence global weather patterns and climate change.

Puteti comanda aceasta carte acum. In 48 de ore cartea este la dumneavoastra acasa, la locul de munca sau la oricare alta adresa.