The Home Planet (Outer Space Photography ) [Paperback]

Kevin W. Kelley (Author), Jacques - Yves Cousteau (Foreword), Association of Space Explorers (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 1991

Six weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, and 500,000 copies sold in 16 editions around the world, this spectacular collection of photographs of Earth taken from space, accompanied by lyrical narrative of space travel in the words of astronauts and cosmonauts from eighteen different countries, illuminates just how precarious and vulnerable our planet really is. Full color throughout.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These 150 photos of Earth taken from space are accompanied by quotes from members of the multinational Association of Space Explorers. PW said of the hardcover: "The pictures are spectacular" and "the space explorers' comments . . . range in eloquence, but are uniformly affecting and well-intentioned."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This is an oversized browsing book filled with magnificent pictures taken from space. As can be guessed from its title, most of the photographs are of portions of the earth's surface. The concise text consists of short quotations from astronauts and cosmonauts describing the emotional impact of being in space. Naturally, the comments are predominantly from Americans and Soviets, but among the 18 nations represented are France, Germany, Syria, and India. Each commentary is given in the speaker's native language with an English translation. A truly beautiful book. Harold D. Shane. Baruch Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley; Illustrated edition (October 2, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201550954
• ISBN-13: 978-0201550955
• Product Dimensions: 13.9 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #888,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new perspective, March 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Home Planet (Hardcover)

A wonderfully moving and beautifully compiled collection of images. Mountain ranges and river deltas dissolve into abstract designs of astounding beauty. The accompanying commentaries show a world united in space in a way that is sadly absent on Earth. The book would make anybody want to become an astronaut.

This is the perfect present for any occasion. It has touched the hearts of everyone I know who has ever seen it. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent choice for anyone of any age, March 6, 2002

By 

Catherine S. Vodrey (East Liverpool, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Home Planet (Outer Space Photography ) (Paperback)

This superb coffee table book by Kevin W. Kelley is especially apt in this day and age, when so much in life feels precarious and precious. A simple and simply eloquent collection of photographs and quotations, it is so much more than the sum of its parts.

The astronauts who have either landed on the moon or have orbited the earth have so much to tell us and it's easy to see from the photographs why they feel words fail them. Luckily for us, words DON'T fail them. This select, small group of men and woman try mightily to tell us what their experiences were, and overwhelmingly they succeed in conveying the mystery and beauty they saw from their unique perches in space. A few of the better bits include:

"[From space] you have an almost dispassionate platform--remote, Olympian--and yet [seeing the earth from up there is] so moving that you can hardly believe how emotionally attached you are to those rough patterns shifting steadily below."
- THOMAS STAFFORD, USA

"O. Henry, the American writer, wrote in one of his stories that if you want to encourage the craft of murder, all you have to do is lock up two men for two months in an eighteen-by-twenty-four-foot room. Entering 'Salyut,' which was to be both our home and our office for six months, we told each other: We are brothers. I am you and you are me."
- VALERIE RYUMIN, USSR

"Before I flew, I was already aware of how small and vulnerable our planet is; but only when I saw it from space, in all its ineffable beauty and fragility, did I realize that humankind's most urgent task is to cherish and preserve it for future generations."
- SIGMUND JAHN, GERMANY

In no book that I can think of does the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words" better fit. The photographs herein are astonishing in showing the exquisite planet we occupy. A view of England's North Sea coast looks like a slab of lapiz lazuli, its surface flecked with sparkle and hue. Canada's Lake Winnipeg from space has the appearance of something primal, almost fetal. The Indian Ocean off Madagascar looks like a sheet of slate over which some divine presence has tossed a handful of diamonds. So few of us can ever hope to share the experience of these men and women that this book is all the more precious, and beautiful.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only Being in Orbit Could Give You a Better View!!!!, March 27, 2001

By 

John R. Keller (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Home Planet (Hardcover)

This coffee table book presents some of the best photographs taken of the Earth and the Moon by both astronauts and cosmonauts. Due to the large size of the book, these photographs are even more stunning. In addition to the photographs, several quotes by those who have flown in space accompany each photograph.

One of things that I really liked about the book is that other than the small quotes, there is very little accompany text. The only real text is at the end of the book, where NASA's chief photographic planner describes "Why Space Photography?" I found thispart kind of chilling where he states, "it is a far more air-polluted Earth today than it was in the past ... twenty years ago"