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Editor: Leah Bendavid-Val
A National Geographic Publication
In Through the Lens, 250 spectacular
images from the National Geographic
archives—some famous, others rarely
seen—are gathered in one lavish
and beautiful volume.
The book is divided into geographical
regions—Europe, Asia, Africa and
the Middle East, the Americas, and Oceans
and Isles—with a special section
devoted to space exploration. Each geographical
section features an array of photographs
that exemplifies the area’s unique
people, wildlife, archaeology, culture,
architecture, and environment, accompanied
by brief but informative captions. From
Barry Bishop’s heroic Mount Everest
climb in the 1950s to the glorious wildlife
of Asia and Africa, from ancient Maya
culture to the Afghan girl found 17
years after her piercing green eyes
captivated the world, these are some
of the finest and most important photographs
ever taken.
Featuring master photographers from
the late 1800s to today, including Frans
Lanting, David Doubilet, David Alan
Harvey, Jodi Cobb, William Albert Allard,
Nick Nichols, and Annie Griffiths Belt,
this is a grand photographic celebration
of some of the greatest the world has
to offer.
From Publishers Weekly
This monumental collection of 250 photos, mostly in color and drawn from
the National Geographic Society's archive of 10.5 million, will be published
simultaneously in 20 languages, with an eye toward the 113-year-old magazine's
international readership of 40 million. As in the magazine, the society's
signature blend of dramatic, rigorously composed natural shots and "family
of nations"-style culture peeps are backed by broad captions and
text ("Perfecting la dolce vita, the people of Europe are renowned
for their wholehearted embrace of life's rewards, from festivals to fine
dining to stolen moments with friends or loved ones") often far exceeded
by the pictures themselves. Meticulously (and sympathetically) deconstructed
in Catherine Lutz and Jane Collins's early '90s book Reading National
Geographic, the society's broader-crossing humanism is in full effect
here-and it retains its arresting power. The six sections ("Europe"; "Asia"; "Africa & the
Middle East"; "The Americas"; "Oceans and Isles"; "The
Universe") include the first color underwater photographs, as well
as collaborative work with NASA, and prominently credit the 84 photographers
whose work is featured, giving the book a less homogenous feel. More than
50% of the photos, crisply printed and mostly double-truck, are from the
last 10 years, with iconic favorites (like the 1985 cover portrait of
a green-eyed Afghan woman and its 1997 full-burqa reprise) threaded in.
Weighing in at seven pounds, with an initial international printing of
375,000 and with an accompanying exhibition this fall at the society's
Washington, D.C., Explorer's Hall museum, this book should make a considerable
impression.
© 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. |
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