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The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty
Snowflakes may be an everyday, common subject, but you ve never seen them like this! A collection of amazing photography of snow crystals using a unique system designed to take super-detailed micro images of these miniature ice masterpieces, The Snowflake is an extraordinary look at a seemingly ordinary object.
The general public is interested in popular science subjects, weather, and amazing photography. The Snowflake has elements of all these, and with its appealing combination of informative text and fascinating photography, there is no other book like it on the market. Author Kenneth Libbrecht, an executive officer of physics at CalTech and the pre-eminent snow-crystal researcher, discusses the physics and mythology of snow and how snow crystals are made. Photographer Patricia Rasmussen presents remarkable color micro-photography of snowflakes, and also discusses the history of snow-crystal micro-photography as invented by farmer Wilson Bentley.
112 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2003
7 people are currently reading
310 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
June 2, 2015
What an excellent book! First the photographs are amazing. The photos are beautiful, each one so unique. The snowflake is truly a temporary work of art. In order to capture these images, the photographer had to quickly photograph each individual snowflake as it fell in seconds. A fallen snowflake starts to lose it's it's shape in seconds. (Actually "snow crystal" is the term for snowflake.) A snow crystal refers to a single crystal of ice. Snowflakes are a mystery due to their complex and symmetrical shapes. A snowflake forms when water vapor in the air condenses directly into solid ice. As more vapor condenses onto a nascent snow crystal, the crystal grows and develops, and this is when elaborate patterning emerges. This book covers Dr. Libbrecht work as well as the history of Wilson Bentley success in photographing his first snow crystal in 1885.
I was drawn by the beauty of the snowflakes as well as the research by Dr. Libbrecht. It also brought me back to my grade school years when I collected rocks and crystals. Great read.
I was drawn by the beauty of the snowflakes as well as the research by Dr. Libbrecht. It also brought me back to my grade school years when I collected rocks and crystals. Great read.
October 20, 2013
This is an incredible book; Kenneth Libbrecht is a professor of physics at Cal Tech, and his close-up color photographs of snowflakes is truly miraculous. I've given away several copies of this book and cannot recommend it highly enough. His work was even honored on a stamp (back when they were 39 cents).
The website to see more of these breathtaking images is: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/sn...
And many of his snowflake books and products can be found at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos...
If you want to add magic to your life, add this book!
The website to see more of these breathtaking images is: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/sn...
And many of his snowflake books and products can be found at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos...
If you want to add magic to your life, add this book!
September 2, 2011
Mind-boggling. I knew a lot about snowflake physics, but this book increased that by 5 or 10 times at least. And the photography is beautiful beyond my ability to describe. You must read this book
December 14, 2010
A *wonderful* book! You'll never look at snow the same way. It not only shows you fantastic detailed photographs that reveal the beauty of different snowflake structures, it also explains all about how snowflakes are created, what conditions how they look, why every snowflake is different, even why snow is white! Very very cool indeed. Literally and figuratively.
January 16, 2016
What a beauty! I have to say this was such a seasonal read for me, it has made me appreciate the snowflake and the wonder of it all at a new level. I'm not a super science person, but this was very readable and enjoyable. The amazing photography was total eye candy and helped balance out the science of it all.
June 5, 2017
As someone who has developed a slight obsession with photographing snowflakes (snow-crystals) over the last two years I found this book to be very helpful in understanding the science behind snowflakes, their formation and the different types. This book includes a classification chart that I hope to use next winter when I spend hours outside attempting to photograph snowflakes. The photographs in this book are simply amazing and I'd love to have the same photographic equipment and setup that the author and photographer had. For now I just use macro tubes and although I am not getting the same types of amazing images, they are still amazing to me and I really enjoy seeing the snowflakes so up close. In the future I am going to make sure I document my photos with the temperature and humidity levels.
The other thing I really enjoyed about this book was the history on the first photographed snowflakes and have now added another book to my wishlist thanks to the references in this book. It was very enjoyable and I believe anyone who loves snow and winter would like this book. Although it contains a lot of science it is very easy to read for us non-scientists.
The other thing I really enjoyed about this book was the history on the first photographed snowflakes and have now added another book to my wishlist thanks to the references in this book. It was very enjoyable and I believe anyone who loves snow and winter would like this book. Although it contains a lot of science it is very easy to read for us non-scientists.
February 11, 2018
Snow day with no Hebrew School. I had planned to use this book this weekend but we got snowed out. The photography in this book is stunning. Paired with readings about snow, it makes for a lovely, winter's Shabbat service. I teach that everyone is created in the image of the Divine. And everyone is unique. And all means all. Snowflakes illustrate exactly this point. Every year I have students write a blessing for snow. After 8 days of snow every day, I needed this book again. As Henry David Thoreau said in his journal in 1856 (quoted in the book) "How full of the creative genius is the air in which these are generated. I should hardly admire them more if real stars fell and lodged on my coat."
The author was raised in North Dakota with all its blizzards and is a CalTech and Princeton educated physicist and teaches at CalTech. The photographer is from Wisconsin, where as Sinclair Lewis said, "Snow isn't just a season; it is an occupation."
The book combines the science of snow with the real beauty of individual snowflakes. A book on a snowy morning, not to be missed. Now back to snow shoveling.
The author was raised in North Dakota with all its blizzards and is a CalTech and Princeton educated physicist and teaches at CalTech. The photographer is from Wisconsin, where as Sinclair Lewis said, "Snow isn't just a season; it is an occupation."
The book combines the science of snow with the real beauty of individual snowflakes. A book on a snowy morning, not to be missed. Now back to snow shoveling.
October 28, 2019
A beautiful, mostly photographic book, depicting the pure magic of snowflakes.
There are words too mind, descriptions of how certain types of snowflakes are formed, temperature analysis, general information about snow formation. But the biggest pull of this book are the amazing photographs.
If ever you've had a snowflake fall on your hand and wondered how nature came up with such a fascinating creation, you will love this book.
There are words too mind, descriptions of how certain types of snowflakes are formed, temperature analysis, general information about snow formation. But the biggest pull of this book are the amazing photographs.
If ever you've had a snowflake fall on your hand and wondered how nature came up with such a fascinating creation, you will love this book.
April 18, 2018
The next step past Snowflake Bently: there's some science here. This books says something about the different types of flakes/crystals, how they are formed in nature as well as the lab, and a little of the chemistry behind that. It is a lovely start, I only wish there were more details and history.
It is picture book format and there are gorgeous pictures.
It is picture book format and there are gorgeous pictures.
December 24, 2022
So beautiful.
And to think of the acres of fields, of forests, the surfaces of lakes, the roofs of houses, the porch railings, and on and on and on - covered deep in snow crystals - how could they be numbered? And yet each one a singular, unique ice flowering, an ephemeral bloom.
What a collection! I can't get enough of it.
And to think of the acres of fields, of forests, the surfaces of lakes, the roofs of houses, the porch railings, and on and on and on - covered deep in snow crystals - how could they be numbered? And yet each one a singular, unique ice flowering, an ephemeral bloom.
What a collection! I can't get enough of it.
February 13, 2018
Reading somewhere about a boy asking his father: What is a snow flake?
The father didn't know how to explain what is a snow flake"
I too didn't know, so I read the beautiful book
The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty.
I enjoyed it.
Simple test
Amazing photos.
The father didn't know how to explain what is a snow flake"
I too didn't know, so I read the beautiful book
The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty.
I enjoyed it.
Simple test
Amazing photos.
March 13, 2021
What a beautiful season book with stunning photographs of snowflakes, The Snowflake shows the snowflakes' beauty and explains it. An informative book with chapters explaining the physics of snowflakes and the uniqueness of them, The Snowflake is a perfect read and display book for the season.
September 6, 2025
This is not the first physics book to make me cry but most definitely the first to make me cry in awe. One of the most fascinating books (and I could end this sentence here) about everything we know and don’t know about the secrets that ice crystals tell - or keep.
November 20, 2018
Beautiful photography, loved the pictures. Reading how snowflakes are formed is interesting but in the end WAY TO scientific and detailed for me.
September 13, 2019
I love this book I read it all the time
October 8, 2020
Awesome photography, and good scientific explanations of just how it works.
January 15, 2021
Relatively quick, interesting and understandable read about the composition, formation and types of snowflakes including the history of observation with gorgeous photos.
April 20, 2022
Gorgeous photography: written by a physicist so the science portion, though fascinating, was a bit over my head. Still intriguing, a quick read.
February 22, 2023
Beautiful photos and interesting information on snowflakes.
May 31, 2024
It’s quite amazing the snowflake didn’t melt considering how long I’ve left the book on shelf…
January 15, 2025
Perfect for anyone who wants to understand how the shape of a snowflake depends upon temperature and humidity.
Gorgeous photos
Gorgeous photos
Read
December 14, 2010The weather has inspired me to read snow-related books, so I’ve been reading this one and The Snow Tourist at the same time. According to The Snow Tourist, the author of The Snowflake, Kenneth Libbrecht, is actually the foremost snow scholar of our time, following in the footsteps of Wilson Bentley (who first photographed snowflakes) and Ukichiro Nakaya (who first made artificial snowflakes so he could study them).
I didn’t realize until about 30 or so pages in that the author was a scientist (actually, he’s a physicist), and he does a VERY GOOD JOB of making the technical aspects of snowflakes accessible to the general reading public. Be warned: this is not really a pleasure read, though it’s fascinating. It’s about the science of snowflakes, how they grow, why they grow as they do, what conditions are needed for their growth, their molecular structure, etc.
It’s remarkably readable for what it is, but the real genius of this creation is that it manages to be a coffee table book because of its FABULOUS illustrations—page after glittering page of glossy snowflake photographs by Patricia Rasmussen. The photographic equipment is provided by Libbrecht so I suppose there must have been some teamwork involved. The result is a very wonderful marriage of beauty and information.
I didn’t realize until about 30 or so pages in that the author was a scientist (actually, he’s a physicist), and he does a VERY GOOD JOB of making the technical aspects of snowflakes accessible to the general reading public. Be warned: this is not really a pleasure read, though it’s fascinating. It’s about the science of snowflakes, how they grow, why they grow as they do, what conditions are needed for their growth, their molecular structure, etc.
It’s remarkably readable for what it is, but the real genius of this creation is that it manages to be a coffee table book because of its FABULOUS illustrations—page after glittering page of glossy snowflake photographs by Patricia Rasmussen. The photographic equipment is provided by Libbrecht so I suppose there must have been some teamwork involved. The result is a very wonderful marriage of beauty and information.
December 5, 2012
1.
사실, 이과생이라고 글을 못써도 된다는 건 정말이지 '천만의 말씀'이다.
원문이 아니라서 그런지 글 자체가 그렇게 감명을 주고 마음을 울리게 하는 정도는 아니지만 (요새는 매우 뛰어난 번역본들도 많이 나오는데 이 책은 그에 해당된다고 하기는 어려울 듯 하다)
분명 다듬어지지 않은 유리구슬과 같은 아름다운 표현들이 너무도 많다.
2.
지은이는 자신의 연구가 인류에의 공헌을 위한 것이 아니라
정말 단순한 지적 호기심에 따른 연구란다.
그런데 사실 따지고 보면, reverse causation과도 같은 문제이다.
진정한 혁신은 보이지 않는 곳에서 나오는 경우가 많은데, 그래서 오히려 이런 연구가 더 큰 파장을 몰고 올 수 있다.
다양성을 요한다.
내가 원하는 것을 하고 내가 하고 싶은 일을 하며 내가 바라는 대로 사는 삶을 살기 위해서는.
사실, 이과생이라고 글을 못써도 된다는 건 정말이지 '천만의 말씀'이다.
원문이 아니라서 그런지 글 자체가 그렇게 감명을 주고 마음을 울리게 하는 정도는 아니지만 (요새는 매우 뛰어난 번역본들도 많이 나오는데 이 책은 그에 해당된다고 하기는 어려울 듯 하다)
분명 다듬어지지 않은 유리구슬과 같은 아름다운 표현들이 너무도 많다.
2.
지은이는 자신의 연구가 인류에의 공헌을 위한 것이 아니라
정말 단순한 지적 호기심에 따른 연구란다.
그런데 사실 따지고 보면, reverse causation과도 같은 문제이다.
진정한 혁신은 보이지 않는 곳에서 나오는 경우가 많은데, 그래서 오히려 이런 연구가 더 큰 파장을 몰고 올 수 있다.
다양성을 요한다.
내가 원하는 것을 하고 내가 하고 싶은 일을 하며 내가 바라는 대로 사는 삶을 살기 위해서는.
January 8, 2009
dan got me this book for christmas. the photographs are amazing and the text is SO interesting. it's an in depth look at how snowflakes become snowflakes. the man is a physicist and has researched them for years! i didn't know there was so much to know about them. it made me want to go on a snowy vacation. i really liked it.
August 25, 2017
a great mix of the physics behind snowflakes and their beauty. it's full of pictures using state-of-the-art photography of individual flakes. the author is a physics professor that actually specializes in snowflake research. it was fascinating to learn just how they're made, which in turn made them even more beautiful.
October 31, 2016
Todella kiehtova kirja lumihiutaleiden salaisesta kauneudesta upeilla kuvilla maustettuna! Kirja oli selkeästi kirjoitettu, joten minäkin pysyin fysiikka-osioissa kärryillä. Kirjan luettuani katson lumihiutaleita varmasti aivan ei tavalla -mitä ne todella ovat, mistä ne tulevat ja kuinka ne syntyvät. Nyt pitäisi vain malttaa odotella hetki lumihiutaleiden putoamista :)
April 4, 2008
Snowflakes snowflakes snowflakes....
have you ever stopped to consider one??
next time it does snow just take a few min's to check one out.
i've been known to lay there for hour's freezin, just lookin and lookin and lookin....
( and yes i DO know that i am CRAZY, but that is why you love me. )
have you ever stopped to consider one??
next time it does snow just take a few min's to check one out.
i've been known to lay there for hour's freezin, just lookin and lookin and lookin....
( and yes i DO know that i am CRAZY, but that is why you love me. )
April 1, 2008
While I likely wouldn't have bought this, I might at least have been tempted. fortunately, this was gifted to us by my brother-in-law so we can not only read about thesse intriguing selicate fleeting myteries but look at the amazing illustrations which fill this book at our leisure.
July 26, 2008
I learned allot about snow from this book and saw even more pretty pictures of it. It contains not only the science of snow but also lovely quotes heading each chapter and some historical information.
August 14, 2009
I got this off the outlet on Amazon for less than it would cost to drive to a store to buy it ;) I love the pictures and I have always had a deep facination with snow. Fairly informative. I want to find another really cheap copy and tear out the pictures and frame them :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews