Customer Reviews

Africa Collector's Edition

5 star:		(14)
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I am a collector of coffee table books, and I have many in my collection. I can say without a doubt that AFRICA by michael Poliza is the finest photography book that I have ever seen! In both presentation and content it is quite simply a magnificent book!! It is huge, 15 X 11.75 and 408 pages. There are 180 color photographs in it, all spread over 2 pages. The back of the book has small thumbnails describing each photo. Most of the photos were taken in Southern Africa, with the great majority being in Botswana. there are many close-up shots of animals, with a few landscape and aerial photographs included.

The photos by Mr. Poliza made me feel like I was actually in Africa, gazing into the eyes of a Lion, and that was a great feeling!!

This is a book that I will treasure owning and will take pride of place on my Coffee Table!!

Doug

After a recent trip to Tanzania & Kenya, I wanted to find some way to keep the images of the animal life I saw in those places fresh in my mind's eye. Michael Poliza's photography captures the colorful, raw elegance that is Africa in purest form. This large book is for anyone of any age who appreciates beautiful photography, and also for animal lovers everywhere who want to witness up-close the delicate balance of animal life at it's most majestic. A stunning addition to any collection.

I'm not really a lover of wildlife photography, but this incredible book impressed me because it is so very much more than that. It is a celebration of the beauty of African scenery; it provides intimate encounters with African fauna and flora; and it simply carries the reader away on a dream journey into wilderness spaces.

If ever a book, through sheer imagery, summarised why it is so important that we conserve wilderness, this is it. An inspiration.

A book for real animal and Africa lovers!! Excellent photos, combining nature photography and the art of composing colours and/or designs. Phantastic views from the air, but also from the ground. Who ever has been on a game drive in Africe, would have hoped to be able to get at least one of these pictures. Also the size (and the weight) is absolutely gigantic!

Having recently returned from Africa - my "long-time dream vacation" alas come true, I wanted to savor memories of its beauty and wildlife so I purchased Michael Poliza's book, AFRICA. If I was captivated by the sights I beheld in person during many game drives, I am completely spellbound now after laying eyes on Poliza's incredible, oversized photographs! I am pleased to have this coffee table book so readily available, to take me back to a place that will forever live in my heart. Thank you to Michael Poliza for expressing so beautifully in pictures what I can barely even explain in words! He has touched the core of my soul. His AFRICA photographs are phenomenal and truly inspiring! I know I will one day return to Africa but, until then, this book takes me there (so wonderfully) again and again, every day.

Worth buying and having one of your own. The other reviews say it all. I add that it is one of my favorite books --- there are over 1200 books in my library.

Of all the many great African wildlife photographers, there are a select few whose images stand out from the rest and transcend beyond photography to art - - Nick Brandt's "On This Earth", Anup & Manoj Shah's "The Circle of Life", Robert Haas' "through the eyes of the gods" and now Michael Poliza's "Africa".

As a wildlife photographer myself (I had the opportunity to meet Michael Poliza and observe him at work in the Linynati region of Botswana in 2002), beyond enjoying other photographers' images, I instinctively compare their work to mine. While anyone can take an occasional excellent photo, it is the collective body of work that defines the truly great photographers. Poliza's African wildlife portfolio demonstrates that he is one of those on a different artistic level than the rest of us, including much more widely known and acclaimed photographers like Beverly & Derek Joubert and Mitsuaki Iwago.

If you're going to invest in a single African wildlife coffee table book, you won't regret making it "Africa".

I've travelled all over Africa and have never before seen something that captures the best of its beauty like this book.

Incredible!!

Having been on safari in Kenya and Tanzania several times, I have long wanted a book that would capture that experience. Of course, no book can really bring back the feeling of being there, the vast distances, the smells, the heat or cold, the wind and the general experience of being in a place that is unlike anywhere else you have ever known. But, this book comes as close as you are ever likely to get. The photographs give you both the panoramas of the African plains, teeming with animals, and extraordinary close-ups that you can't get even when you are there. The impact of the photos comes not just from their high quality and professionalism, but because the book is designed to give them the scale and scope that they deserve: this is really a huge book, with very large double page layouts, and a weight that is so great that it is rather difficult to hold. But even though this is a very expensive book, it is fully worth it. If you, or your children, want to know what African animals look like in the wild, no other book will give that experience so fully or so thoroughly. When one considers that many of these animals are endangered-that some of the very ones in this book have probably already been poached-this book stands as a testimony to an Africa that sadly few of us will ever experience again in real life. I note too that the book is extremely high quality in its construction, with thick, heavy paper and real sewn binding. This book is heirloom quality. Highly recommended.

I met Michael Poliza in Kenya this past May (2008) and that was the first time I saw his photographs. When I returned home, I immediately went on line to see what photography books he had available for purchase. I purchased Africa and have never seen more beautiful photography, this book is truly a work of art. It is worth ten times the amount of the price. As you turn each page, you will feel as if you are there in Africa, instead of your living room and the next day you will be calling your travel consultant to get you on the next plane to this magical country.