Review by Choice Review
This awe-inspiring, encyclopedic, stunning visual guide showcases in unparalleled quality some of the most unusual, important, and fascinating environments on Earth. Major sections treat Earth history; Earth in space; anatomy of Earth; changing Earth; mountains and volcanoes; rivers and lakes; glaciers; deserts; forests; wetlands; grasslands and tundra; agricultural, urban, and industrial areas; oceans and seas; coasts; climate; weather; and Earth's tectonic plates. Breathtaking photographs and photo-realistic digital artwork supported by expertly researched text and first-rate maps and sections take the reader on a journey to some of the most beautiful and dramatic places on our planet--from the desert to the rain forest, from the oceanic depths to the highest mountains, from the most remote to the most populated regions. This book also underscores the interaction between human activities and dynamic environments that effect our future welfare. A most beautiful, authoritative, and compelling reference to our changing Earth--a book for literally everyone. ^BSumming Up: Essential. All levels. T. L. T. Grose Colorado School of Mines
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
How to catalog the earth? Luhr and fellow staff members at the Smithsonian Institution have put together an encyclopedic, picture-rich, beautifully designed compendium that draws on up-to-date research in numerous fields to tell the incredible story of our planet's birth, place in the cosmos, and evolution, noting all the primary characteristics that make this flourishing blue green planet unique within the solar system. The writing is clear, animated, and engrossing. The page layouts are works of graphic art: loaded with complex visual and textual information, they are nonetheless airy, balanced, and inviting. A grand time line beginning with the big bang and moving through the full spectrum of geological eras serves as an overture to the detailed story of the earth's dramatic coalescence into the world we know. Detailed looks at rocks and minerals segue into multifaceted coverage of the atmosphere, tectonic plates, glaciers, earthquakes, volcanoes, deserts, grasslands, rivers, forests, mountains, oceans and seas, as well as the topography of civilization. This superb and stunning volume should be kept handy along with atlases and dictionaries. --Donna Seaman Copyright 2003 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Visually spectacular, this standout guide to our planet offers a thorough look at the Earth's physical dynamics. Divided into five major sections-Planet Earth, Land, Ocean, Atmosphere and Tectonic Earth-the book explores the planet's environment, weather systems and general physical makeup. The large-format volume begins with the Earth's history and anatomy, featuring pages of stunning photos (one image shows a river of red-hot lava running into the sea), comprehensive layouts and excellent diagrams (e.g., a cut-out of the Earth's structure, from inner core to the chemical composition of its atmosphere). A chapter on rocks explains the many various types of metamorphic and sedentary stones, for instance, while a chapter on rivers and lakes showcases beautiful photos of the endless Amazon, with smaller sidebar photos of the animals that live in the tropics and color-coded maps of the region. Pretty enough to serve as a coffee table book, this volume also contains a tremendous amount of absorbing information. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Review by Library Journal Review
In the same stunning visual style as the award-winning Animal, this incredible one-volume comprehensive review and catalog covers planetary features, landforms, and geological processes. The reader is taken on a fascinating journey, from the formation of the universe, through the development of Earth's minerals, rocks, and soils, to the building of landforms, mountains, volcanoes, glaciers, oceans, and unique ecological biomes. What sets this resource apart from others are the vast number and variety of profiles of key geological features linked to commentaries on environmentally sensitive issues. Each profile is framed by thematic panels, explanatory diagrams, biographical sketches of interesting explorers and scientists, photorealistic digital artwork, graphics, locator maps, charts, regional and feature-specific photographs. Written in a clear and factual style for readers with a nonscientific background, Earth is a comprehensive reference resource, an atlas of the world's geological features, an introductory textbook, and, above all, a work of art. Every page is truly visually stunning. Congratulations to editor in chief Luhr, who chairs the Smithsonian's Mineral Sciences Department; the senior art director; and a cast of writers, researchers, designers, illustrators, cartographers, contributors, consultants, and photographers. Essential for every K-12 school classroom, public, and personal library.-Ian Gordon, Brock Univ. Lib., St. Catherines, Ont. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
