TIME Great Discoveries: Explorations that Changed History [Hardcover]

Editors of Time Magazine (Author), Kelly Knauer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2009 | Series: Time

Here is a book designed to inspire the heart, challenge the mind, delight the eye, engage the armchair traveler and, yes, encourage your bootheels to be wanderin'. The editors of Time have sought out the most exciting new discoveries in the fields of geography, paleontology, astronomy and archaeology and combined them with classic tales of exploration to present a book that is vast in scope and pulsing with the energy of fresh knowledge. It includes the latest updates on the fascinating fossilized dinosaur-birds of China; reports of revelatory recent digs in Egypt; and an overview of new findings from the swarm of craft now investigating Mars, Jupiter and the moons of Saturn.

The book's journey takes us from Siberia's Yamal Peninsula, where the 40,000-year-old carcass of the baby mammoth Lyuba emerged from the permafrost, to a mysterious cave on Indonesia's island of Flores, where an unusual species of miniature early humans, dubbed "the hobbits," once lived. The cast of striking characters includes the brilliant Chinese paleontologist Xing Xu, Egypt's famed tomb-raider Zahi Hawass-and nasa's plucky Martian rovers, Opportunity and Spirit. Readers will be surprised to learn how much new information has emerged in recent years about subjects we thought we knew well, from the wreck of the Titanic to the mysteries of the Pueblo cliff-dwellers of the American Southwest.

In addition to its probing, wide-ranging account of great discoveries past and present, the book offers a host of arresting photographs that create a spectacular visual panorama of Planet Earth's most powerful forces and most exotic regions. Welcome aboard-and bon voyage!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Time (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1603200835
• ISBN-13: 978-1603200837
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 1 x 12.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #448,387 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 Armchair adventurers take note!, September 20, 2009

By 

Mark McGinty "Author, "The Cigar Maker"" (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TIME Great Discoveries: Explorations that Changed History (Hardcover)

What a great new addition to my collection of adventure books: TIME Great Discoveries: Explorations that Changed History. This is more than your ultimate coffee table fodder. Filled with stunning photographs that capture the most amazing discoveries of our world ¬- spanning the wonders of geography, paleontology, astronomy and archaeology - and combined with wonderful, classic tales of exploration, this is the perfect book for an armchair adventurer like me.

The book is filled with page after page of stunning, high-resolution, color photographs of the most amazing scenery of this world and beyond. Overhead shots of Machu Picchu, Stonehenge and Mayan pyramids are simply mind-boggling in scope and detail. The collections of ancient coins and weapons, unearthed after being lost for hundreds of years, and the fascinating bog bodies provide dazzling links to the past and remind us that our ancestors were not much different than we are. With an informative and educational narrative accompanying each discovery, the book is perfect for young adults and seasoned travelers alike.

From the depth of the diamond mine in Kimberly, South Africa to the frozen North and South Poles, to the far reaches of our solar system, TIME takes you on an adventure through time and space, visiting Shackleton's crew in 1915 and journeying beyond the Milky Way, looking back through billions of years of supernovas and galaxy clusters. Dinosaurs and cavemen, the aurora borealis, an elk herd crossing the mountains of Montana, robots exploring the surface of Mars (if you like this kind of stuff then you'll love Great Discoveries). And that's just the tip of the iceberg - which also makes a cameo in the cool section about the Titanic.

My daughter is 4 and just becoming interested in the wonders of the world. This is the perfect book to leave on display for her to discover and page through at her leisure, or one for me to read carefully as I sit back with a glass of wine and some light music on a lazy autumn night. Stunning, engaging and delightfully well-crafted, this is the type of book that will inspire the mind and encourage you to travel the world and enjoy the wonders it has to offer!

Mark McGinty is the author of "Elvis and the Blue Moon Conspiracy"

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificently illustrated throughout, October 12, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TIME Great Discoveries: Explorations that Changed History (Hardcover)

Magnificently illustrated throughout, "Great Discoveries: Explorations That changed History" showcases succinct histories underlying epic explorations and discoveries in such diverse subjects as geography, paleontology, astronomy, and archaeology. From dinosaur digs to underwater dives for the Titanic, from Egyptian tombs to space age explorations of the solar system, "Great Discoveries" truly lives up to its title and readers will find it as informed and informative as it is engaging and entertaining. With its thoroughly 'reader friendly' text, "Great Discoveries" is a strongly recommended addition to both school and community library collections.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous book!, January 9, 2010

By 

Kathleen Edelmuth (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TIME Great Discoveries: Explorations that Changed History (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book! The written details of the sites depicted

are outstanding. This would also be a great tool for a teacher.