Review by Booklist Review
Showcasing the work of a specialist in archaeological photography, this loosely themed album offers a broad range of eye candy for fans of ancient artifacts, fossils, remote natural locales, and rare animals. Each of the 14 shoots places viewers on location with a French (mostly) explorer or scientist from Jean-Yves Empereur (sunken Alexandria) and Giuseppe Orifici (Easter Island) to Jean-Louis Etienne (precise benchmark measurements of Arctic ice) and Michel Brunet (earliest proto-human fossils). Confined to captions and a few introductory paragraphs, the text supplies useful background along with the occasional contradiction (the number of stone moai on Easter Island is 887 on one page and 1,200 on another) or dispensable generality. The photos are far more likely to command attention, being a dramatically lit, sharply reproduced, and tellingly angled array of close-ups, landscapes, views of scientists at work, composite images, and, in one section, live-action shots of thong-clad athletes reenacting ancient Olympic games. Though it's not a prime source of research material, casual browsers will consider this book a real find.--Peters, Joh. Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Photographer Compoint offers a striking survey of archeological discoveries and explorations into living mysteries. Twenty-five feet underwater, divers hover near a statue of a sphinx, a remnant of the ancient city of Alexandria; in southern Egypt, researchers unearth mummified bodies from tombs near the Kharga Oasis; a guide tracks and discovers the elusive blue bear in the Alaskan wilderness; and a team of paleontologists reconstruct the bones of the Baluchitherium, "the largest land-based animal that had ever lived." Compoint portrays the meticulous nature of excavation, transportation, and preservation of precious artifacts, while capturing the adrenaline-pumping excitement of piecing together mysteries past and present. Ages 9-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-A French photographer briefly introduces a variety of archaeological discoveries from around the world. The primary focus is on ancient sites, some fairly well-known such as Pompeii and Easter Island, while others are a bit more obscure, including Cahuachi, the site of giant drawings in Peru and Chile, and Zeugma, a site in Turkey now underwater due to recent dam construction. A more cryptic inclusion is the glacier bear or "mythic blue bear" from Alaska, as it is neither ancient nor a buried treasure. Entries are generally four to six pages, with beautiful color photographs of artifacts, archaeologists at work, and the surrounding areas; an introduction; and lengthy photo captions. The information is fairly generic, almost cursory at times, and really more of a teaser than anything else. The layout is attractive with large, glossy pages that highlight the photographs and could attract general browsers. Short biographies on each of the archaeologists are included, but no other source material or further information is provided. Libraries looking for a coffee-table book with some interesting tidbits to tantalize their readers may find this a good choice, but report writers or serious enthusiasts will have to look elsewhere.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA (c) Copyright 2011. 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.
Review by Horn Book Review
Photographer Compoint travels the world documenting many incredible finds in scientific fields including archaeology, paleontology, and climatology. Fourteen expeditions (not all of which are technically for "buried treasure") are here documented and shown in stunning detail through his photography. Short introductory sections plus detailed captions provide adequate background information for readers. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
