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America from Space [Paperback]

Thomas B. Allen (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)


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Book Description

March 3, 2001

From the sprawling cities of California to Maine's island-flecked coast, from the glaciers of Alaska to the beaches of Florida, here is the United States as you have never seen it before.

America from Space takes you into orbit over the United States. You see what Space Shuttle astronauts see when they aim their camera at their homeland. Here is America by night, a breathtaking view of the entire nation pulsating with lights marking cities and suburbs. Here are the Great Lakes, the mountains and cities, rivers and seashores -- each image a piece of the nation. Together they create a unique and fascinating portrait of the United States of America.

Sections of this book include:

  • Fire and Ice: Hawaii and Alaska
  • The West Coast: from Washington to the Mexican border
  • The West: the wild lands of deserts and canyon
  • The Rockies: the backbone of the continent
  • The Heartland: the grandeur of the Great Plains
  • The Great Lakes: deep waters and fertile lands
  • The Southland: Blue Ridge Mountains, New Orleans, Florida
  • The Northeast Corridor: an urban swath along the coast.

In Wyoming's Bighorn Basin, stunning views are transformed into geological data: bright yellow marks an oil field, orange shows a mesa; red, purple and blue color irrigated field. In a flood region of Texas, varying blue and purple shades show what lands were under water.

What the images show most of all is the beauty of the land and the seas that touch it. "Life is like landscape," Charles Lindbergh wrote after his historic solo flight across the Atlantic. "You live in the midst of it, but can describe it only from the vantage point of distance." Here is a new vantage point, a new way of seeing and understanding our country.


Editorial Reviews

Review

A perfect library book. (Booklist )

A beautiful example of how technology advances the view of our remarkable land, which can be appreciated by all audiences. (Science Books and Films )

About the Author

Thomas B. Allen, former associate director of National Geographic Books, is a frequent contributor to National Geographic Magazine. He and his wife live in Bethesda, Maryland.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Firefly Books (March 3, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1552095592
  • ISBN-13: 978-1552095591
  • Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.1 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #717,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have been writing since my teen years, when I covered high school sports for my hometown newspaper, The Herald, in Bridgeport, Conn.
I continued working at the paper while I was in college. In the mid-1950s I began working for The New York Daily News, writing feature stories. In 1963, I left The News, going to Chilton Books in Philadelphia, and then to the National Geographic Book Division. I began freelancing in 1981, but I continued contributing to Geographic publications.

 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
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3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Book of colored pictures, not photographs, May 17, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: America from Space (Hardcover)
The colored pictues are amazingly beautiful, and there are lots of them showing fine details of the US. The only thing you have to think about before buying this book is that they are not true-color photographs. The satellite digitally recorded infrared reflection from the earth surface. (Various objects reflect diferent infrared wavelengths). Since the infrared has no color, the colors had to be assigned to them. Even though you end up with very detailed pictures of spectacular colors, they are not their true colors. If you want a true-color (and even more beutiful) book of photograps from space, you should buy the book "Orbit" by National Geographic Society. It has true-color photographs taken by hand-held cameras of astronauts. I own both books and love them both, but if you have to choose one, "Orbit" is a clear winner..
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Photographs of the USA Taken From Space, April 10, 2001
By 
John R. Keller (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: America from Space (Hardcover)
This book contains over a hundred color photographs of the United States, some of which are digitally enhanced, taken by remote sensing satellites and space shuttle astronauts. A small amount of text and a location of a map accompanies each photograph.

The book presents most of the major geological features of the United States and has at least one photograph from each state. As someone who has traveled and lived in many places in the USA, some of them quite remote, I was amazed to see what geological features I had overlooked. There are also a good number of photographs showing some of the major cities in America.

If you like good photography or geology, this book is definitely for you.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Fine-quality photos, but poor proofreading, September 6, 2005
This review is from: America from Space (Paperback)
_____________________________________________

I've always been fascinated by satellite photos of earth, and I own

several books of them. This has better-quality reproduction than any

of mine, and is focussed on the USA, which is nice if you live here.

I might quibble with the large number of false-color photos -- but

then there are some nice side-by-side comparison shots too. The text

is so-so & bears signs of hasty and careless composition: New Orleans

is described as "five miles below sea level"; there's a "Vertical"

Assembly Building at NASA's Canaveral spaceport -- but the photos

are bright and clear. I'm particularly taken by one meandering-river

shot (p. 96), where you can almost see the meander-bends moving,

whipping back & forth across the flood plain. Or check out the

wonderful Ouachita ridge-&-valley shot at p.92-93. At least have a

look at a library copy -- I'll probably buy one if I see it at a good price.

review copyright 1999 by Peter D. Tillman

Consulting Geologist, Tucson & Santa Fe (USA)
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
THE TWO youngest stars on the U.S. flag represent Alaska, a land that was born as ice, and Hawaii, a land that was born in fire. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, New Jersey, North America, Lake Erie, United States, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, Mississippi River, San Francisco, Atlantic Ocean, Grand Canyon, New Mexico, Niagara Falls, Chesapeake Bay, Los Angeles, Gulf of Mexico, Hudson River, Lake Superior, New England, New Orleans, Rio Grande, Earth Satellite Corp, Great Plains, Lake Powell, Space Shuttle
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