Product Description

From Earth we have looked deep into the universe, embarking on a journey of discovery that has revealed the cosmos to be richer than we could ever imagine. But what happens when we reverse the process, when we look back on Earth from the heavens? We see a familiar planet from a new perspective. We are presented with an atlas of an invisible Earth - an Earth that lives and breathes around us but one which, paradoxically, we are too close to see. With the satellite's all-seeing eye we can follow a thread of gold weaving its way through a mountain range; we can uncover cities swallowed by shifting sands or dense jungle; we can gaze into the eye of the hurricane or the maw of the volcano; we can watch forests disappear and ice sheets melt. Often possessing an abstract - almost alien - beauty, such vistas are the landscapes of the information age. The book travels the world in four chapters: Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Earth flies us over mountains, forests, deserts and tundra. Water follows rivers and coastlines, explores ice fields and seas before plunging into the abyss of the deep ocean. Air examines storms, hurricanes, wind-sculpted patterns and atmospheric phenomena such as the aurora borealis. Finally, Fire ends the book with volcanoes, asteroid impacts, forest fires, pollution and man's impact on the environment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #254590 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From the Inside Flap
From Earth we have looked deep into the universe, embarking on
a journey of discovery that has revealed the cosmos to be richer than we
could ever imagine. But what happens when we reverse the process, when we
look back on Earth from the heavens? We see a familiar planet from a
startling new perspective. We are presented with an atlas of an invisible
Earth - an Earth that lives and breathes around us but one which,
paradoxically, we are too close to see. With the satellite's all-seeing eye
we can follow a thread of gold weaving its way through a mountain range; we
can uncover cities swallowed by shifting sands or dense jungle; we can gaze
into the eye of the hurricane of the maw of the volcano; we can watch
forests disappear and ice sheets melt. Often possessing an abstract -
almost alien - beauty, such vistas are the landscapes of the information
age.

This book travels the world in four chapters: Earth, Water, Air and Fire.
Earth flies us over mountains, forests, deserts and tundra. Water follows
rivers and coastlines, explores ice fields and seas before plunging into
the abyss of the deep ocean. Air examines storms, hurricanes, wind-sculpted
patterns and atmospheric phenomena such as the aurora borealis. Finally,
Fire ends the book with volcanoes, asteroid impacts, forest fires,
pollution and man's impact on the environment.

From the Back Cover
Earth: mountains, forests, deserts and tundra.
Water: rivers, coastlines, ice fields and the deep ocean abyss.
Air: storms, hurricanes and atmospheric phenomena.
Fire: volcanoes, asteroid impacts and man's effect on the planet.
Earth as you have never seen it before.

About the Author
Nicolas Cheetham studied at the University of Edinburgh where he read Classics and Byzantine History and took a postgraduate MSc in Artificial Intelligence, before working as an editor specializing in popular science for a London publishing house. He also is the author of Universe: A Journey From Earth to the Edge of the Cosmos