I have looked at a lot of different views of Earth from space – taken by astronauts, satellites and other spacecraft – so I was not expecting to be all that impressed by the images collected into a new book called Earth from Space. But I was very wrong.
Earth from Space, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, published by Abrams. There are a few of the familiar shots that even many people who aren't obsessed with this kind of imagery may recognize, like deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon, the wild growth of urban Las Vegas and the creeping shrink of glaciers. But there are so many more of places I had never seen: mangroves in the Gulf of Bengal, pre-and-post disaster Chernobyl, shrimp farms in Vietnam, an extinct volcano in Algeria, and lots more. The book has 150 images, and it was really hard to choose just 12 to show you (the publisher Abrams was very generous and let me choose the images, but wisely drew the line when I told them I had 40 favorites).
The author, Yann Arthus-Bertrand (an environmental activist who also published the book Earth from Above), arranged the scenes into themes including pollution, desertification, urban sprawl, farming and natural disasters. Often, trying to support themes with imagery requires including images that may be relevant and descriptive but aren't also beautiful. Not so here.
I'll admit I didn't read much of the text, which includes captions and interviews with activists, scientists and other experts. I was too busy admiring the Earth. If you have read this far, it's time for you to stop and check out a few of the amazing images in this book.
All images and captions courtesy of Abrams / Earth from Space*. Image credits are included in the individual captions.*
