Customer Reviews

Earth From Space: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is incredible. To my knowledge there is no other collection available with such up-to-date (many were shot in 2003) and high-resolution photographs of our planet from space.

Most of the photos are mind-boggling. There are many instances of comparison shots that span decades. For example, a 1967 Rhodonia (province in Brazil) shot and a 2002 Rhodonia - the Amazonian deforestation as seen from space is shocking. This book is a fantastic resource for the conservation-oriented.

It is also a very aestetically pleasing book. While many photos show ecological damage, others show the wonderful wholeness of our planet. Shots of snow-covered North America (after a winter storm) were also very beautiful - I had never seen such a photo before, with great swaths of the Midwest covered in white. City shots are also very revealing.

You will have difficulty closing this book once it is opened. I give it my highest recommendation.

This collection of color satellite images is fascinating and awe inspiring. Dramatic images show weather phenomena like active hurricanes, forest fires and tornado paths. Rivers, oceans, lakes and deserts illustrate the varieties of our planet and other images show how man-made constructions have altered the earth. Especially distressing are images that show the effects of deforestation and oil spills. Cities like Paris and New York are featured as well as famous structures like the pyramids, Statue of Liberty, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in New Orleans and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. City views alone would make a fascinating book - this volume shows aerial views of Paris, New York, Venice, San Francisco, San Diego, Pittsburg, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. One of the most memorable images is a photo of Earth taken at night showing city lights.

Lots of computer graphic enhanced pics, Not alot of text, But it does have lots of pics of the natural world and human impact. A must for a geography lovers library.

If you want a colorful, generalized book about the types of things remote sensing satellites can 'see' and 'detect' this is a book for you. The aerial photography is stunning and the commentary about the photos is well done, although too short and lacking in detail.

As there is little 'depth', this is not a book for the academic-minded. It's niche seems to be as a 'coffee table' book, but unfortunately my copy came paperbound (instead of hardcover) so it makes a rather 'floppy' coffee-table package.

I would have given 4-stars if the book were hardbound (even if it cost $4 more that way) but, as-is, I'd recommend the paperback edition only for the most budget-minded. However the price is very low and the color reproduction is excellent.

This should be a delight to look at as well as useful for all age groups as well as useful to geologists like myself and of course geographers.

The condition of the book is good.
It took about 10 days to delivery the book from US to Hong Kong. The delivery is quick.