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Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle [Hardcover]

Michael Benson
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

List Price: $55.00
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Book Description

October 1, 2009
In Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle, author and filmmaker Michael Benson assembles an outstanding collection of astronomical images from observatories around the world and in space. We live in a golden age of astronomical observation. Some of the resulting images are well known and have inspired millions of people; others, equally breathtaking, have never been published before. For this book, Benson has culled the very best, and organized them into a thrilling journey through space and time to the universe's great places, ranging from "nearby" nebulae in our own Milky Way galaxy to the light of the Hubble Deep Field that has traveled billions of light-years.
 
Every bit as innovative and beautiful as the author's successful Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes but far grander in conception, Far Out is an inspiring work of art and science on the cutting edge of human perception.

A Guide to the Cosmos, in Words and Images Dazzling and True ­–New York Times Book Review

 

[With Far Out] Take a good long look into space-time. –Los Angeles Times

 

Far out by Michael Benson proves that putting the photographable universe into a book doesn’t dampen its beauty. – Men’s Journal

 

An exquisite picture book of outer space. –San Diego Union Tribune

 “2001: A Space Odyssey and Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle: both are inspirational moving pictures. Far Out punches deep into space, like a series of jump cuts. It is a truly cinematic experience to see these magnificent images in rapid succession. Like the Star-Child in Stanley Kubrick’s vision of a Mankind evolving to a higher level, Far Out inspires me again to imagine a Universe filled with life, and each of those billions of pinpoints being orbited by worlds and beings of breathtaking beauty. Very moving pictures.”
—Douglas Trumbull, Oscar-winning Visual Effects Supervisor, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Trek, The Motion Picture
 
“The inventive, imaginative Michael Benson here unfolds the universe in its multiple dimensions.”
—Dava Sobel, author of Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter, and The Planets
 
“That the images in Michael Benson’s latest book, Far Out, are completely mind-blowing goes without saying. What’s especially dazzling about this volume, though, is the way Benson’s text takes the shards of those blown minds and completely reconfigures them into such a startlingly new and fresh awareness: a trembling awe all its own.”
—Lawrence Weschler, author of Everything That Rises and Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees
 
“First he gave us the beauty of our solar system’s neighbor worlds in Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes, but Michael Benson hasn’t stopped there. In this spectacular new offering he gives us the universe itself, presented in such stunning and vivid detail that I am awed by every page. Open this book, take the journey, and be amazed.”
—Andrew Chaikin, author of A Man on the Moon and A Passion for Mars




Frequently Bought Together

Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle + Planetfall: New Solar System Visions + Hubble's Universe: Greatest Discoveries and Latest Images
Price for all three: $101.90

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Journalist, filmmaker and photographer Benson follows his book Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes with an even more stellar array of astronomical photographs that offer glorious views of space, moving successively from close to home to the outermost regions of the universe, moving simultaneously farther from Earth and farther back in time. Benson's emphasis on the correlation between geological time and astronomical distance sets this book far apart from others. Light rays, he says, move like ripples in a pond... so vast that the ripples extending out from each event take thousands, millions, or even billions of years to echo off its banks. Light reaching Earth now from the Witch Head nebula, some 740 light-years distant, was generated in the 14th century. Elsewhere, remote galactic clusters, aggregate bonfires shining across the blackness of deep time, cast light as old as Pangaea, the Earth's ancient supercontinent, which broke up to create today's continents. Benson illuminates the vast scale of the universe and its workings with large-scale quasi-cinematic photos that reveal scintillating stars, galaxies and Rorschach-like nebulae in their true colors. The 228 color photos are spectacular and enhanced with three eight-page gatefolds. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Michael Benson is a journalist, filmmaker, and photographer. His book Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes (Abrams) saw print in five languages and won a First Prize for Design award at the 2004 New York Book Fair. He has contributed articles to the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 328 pages
  • Publisher: Abrams; Anniversary tie-in ed edition (October 1, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0810949482
  • ISBN-13: 978-0810949485
  • Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 1.1 x 11.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
(16)
4.8 out of 5 stars
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The photos are stunning! Babou  |  8 reviewers made a similar statement
One can enjoy this book for many years. stargazer44  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Stunning imagery...how amazing a universe we live in. E. Porres  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Keeps me humble December 13, 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
When being outside under the starry sky isn't practical, browsing through this book is more than an adequate substitute for the real thing. I'd considered buying National Geographics' book about the accomplishments of the Hubble telescope, but after comparing it to this book, I was absolutely taken with the quality of the writing, the fabulous illustrations, and the especially the quality of the paper and printing.
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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most beautiful astronomy books ever December 15, 2009
Format:Hardcover
This book is full of page after page of jaw-droppingly gorgeous images of our universe. What's better, they are accompanied by text and close-ups that clarify what we are seeing and put them in context. There is no better photographic tour of the skies; it's the kind of book you'll want to return to again and again.
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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary book. October 6, 2009
By Babou
Format:Hardcover
The photos are stunning! The book also guides you to an exploration of space beyond the solar system which is fascinating! Wonderful book!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Perspective (and what a value)
I was originally searching for "Planet Fall", but stumbled on this at a much lower price. This book is a great value.

Pros:
1. Read more
Published 1 month ago by wesinator
5.0 out of 5 stars Images and information both A+
"Far Out" perfectly combines large, stunning images AND information (essays that open each section) that is up-to-date, relevant and a pleasure to read. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Bob Short
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on the universe I have ever seen
This book is visually stunning -- beautiful, captivating, and showing the universe as it currently is, and how it was back as far as the Big Bang. Read more
Published 20 months ago by John Brady
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning.
I got this book based solely on the cover art. Turned out to be packed with extraordinary images, beautifully bound, great organization and incredible commentary that is both... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Doug H.
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Stunning !!
So many full colored astrophotograhies. Each photograph has also got a consice description by Benson.
The images are listedin chronical orders. Read more
Published on December 30, 2010 by angeella
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing images
I have a small collection of books on astronomy and they have some beautiful images in them but nothing compares to the celestial wonder and imagery in this book. Read more
Published on October 19, 2010 by B. Eibisch
5.0 out of 5 stars Far out!
Great book! Wonderful pix and the text goes into the details one will not find in a coffee table book. Scholarly and well done! (signed) MS Physics
Published on August 24, 2010 by Jerry Davison
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Astrophotography
This is a beautiful astrophotography book, arranged by distance of the stellar systems are away from the Earth. Read more
Published on July 28, 2010 by Darrel Drumm
5.0 out of 5 stars Space photography
The absolute best space photography captured in a single volume. I highly recommend this book to everyone who has the passion for astronomy and the interest to see our universe and... Read more
Published on May 17, 2010 by Siegrune H. Wolborsky
1.0 out of 5 stars Coffee table book
This volume follows the worst tradition of Abrams "coffee table" art books. Much too heavy to hold and read and I found it impossible to relate the pretentious text to the... Read more
Published on May 10, 2010 by Michael Swift
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