Mountains from Space: Peaks and Ranges of the Seven Continents [Hardcover]

Stefan Dech (Author), Rudiger Glasser (Author), Reinhold Messner (Author), Ralf-Peter Märtin (Author), Sigmar Wittig (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005

Using highly specialized, advanced digital satellite imaging-first made possible in the year 2000 with the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission-this book presents an astounding collection of images of the Earth's mountain ranges carefully compiled over the course of five years by the German Remote Sensing Data Center. Now available to the public for the first time here, the most majestic peaks on all seven continents are visible as they never would be to the naked eye-in views taken from 500 to 15 miles above the Earth that reveal the entire mountain range at once, unobstructed by clouds, haze, and the refraction of light.

Mountains from Space is much more than a collection of extraordinary pictures; it is a serious work of nonfiction about every important aspect of these fascinating geological formations, from their genesis by volcanic activity to their specific sociological features. Contributions by esteemed scientists and mountaineers alike highlight this provocative study of our planet Earth.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Professor Stefan Dech holds a teaching chair for remote exploration at the University of Würzburg, Germany.

Rüdiger Glaser is a climate researcher who holds the teaching chair for physical geography at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

World-renowned mountaineer Reinhold Messner shares his unique perspective and experience along with other mountaineers like Stephen Venables, Christophe Profit, and Alexander Huber.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; 1st US edition (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810959615
• ISBN-13: 978-0810959613
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 11.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #967,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Beauty From Above., December 21, 2005

By 

Betty Burks "Betty Burks" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mountains from Space: Peaks and Ranges of the Seven Continents (Hardcover)

These spectacular pictures taken from different media (Space.cam using Shuttle Radar) are a unique collection of Earth's mountain ranges on all seven continents, some as seen from Space during the Shuttle Radio Topography Mission. Stefan Dech, professor at the University of Wurzburg in Germany where these 120 images were compiled, as head of the Remote Senisng Data Center over a five year course concludes: "distance creates clarity."

These views of Earth's "natural sculptures" taken by highly technical instruments available only to the Space program, are from a distance of only fifteen miles above the Earth to five hundred miles out in Space. Dech felt awe in processing this geophysical data into actual photographs and now is able to share the marvel for the first time. They allow us to see the beauty and vulnerabilty, and "appreciate its wholeness without boundaries."

Of all the coffee-table books of photos from Space on the market all at once, this shows our planet's craters caused by volcanoes in Hawaii and glaciers caused by global warming like the Malaspina Glacier in Alaska. The world's tallest mountain is Hawaii's Mauna Kea, and the snow is visible on Mt. Kilmanjaro in Tanzania which reaches 19,340 feet (eighty percent of its glacier mass has melted away).

Some of these scientific images are digitally enhanced to make details free of haze, light refraction and clouds. Vast panaromas taken by astronauts from the International Space Station are shown in their glory. The first photos taken during the Apollo missions, particulary 8 and 11, showed the whole Earth as seen from Space.

There is a good view of Anarctica's Vinson Massif, as are Russian, European, Australian, South American (Andes and Aconcagua), the Himalayas in India, and the Rockies and Mr. McKinley in North America. Dech is assisted in this presentation to the public by Glaser, a climate researcher who teaches at the University of Freiburg.

Accompanying the breath-taking photographs, we have some personal acounts of mountain climbers such as Alexander Huber, Chris Profit, Stephen Venables and Reinhold Messner. He holds the claim-to-fame of being the first man to climb Mt. Everest 'without supplemental oxygen.' A great admire of Sir Edmund Hillary (the original conqueror who used an ice pick to cut the last steps 'on the roof ridge of the earth,' Messner was the first to climb all fourteen of the world's 8,000 meter peaks and wrote a book about it, ALL FOURTEEN 8,000ers. He worries about global warming, calling the tall mountain ranges "ecological fever thermometers."

Mr. Dech's conclusion, looking down at those same mountains as seen from Space, agrees with Messner: "the view that extends out from a great distance is a gift." This book would make a wonderful gift.

Messner has also written REINHOLD MESSNER, FREE SPIRIT: A CLIMBER'S LIFE, THE NAKED MOUNTAIN, and THE CRYSTAL HORIZON: EVEREST - THE FIRST SOLO ASCENT.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A reminder that we live on planet Earth, December 15, 2005

By 

C. Uttich (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mountains from Space: Peaks and Ranges of the Seven Continents (Hardcover)

These photographs of our planet Earth show an enormous view, however, the details provide an intimate look into our world. The book is a "Oh, look at that.." resource for everyone. The images will draw you back to the book over and over again.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very pleased., April 27, 2010

By 

Carrie H. (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mountains from Space: Peaks and Ranges of the Seven Continents (Hardcover)

We were very pleased with the quick service by the vendor, and the very good condition of this used book. The book itself, however, has computer graphics that are way out of proportion, and extremely over-colored (again, no reflection on the vendor). it is still a book worth ordering, and we will look forward to ordering from this vendor again!

Carol :>