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The Oldest Living Things in the World
The Oldest Living Things in the World is an epic journey through time and space. Over the past decade, artist Rachel Sussman has researched, worked with biologists, and traveled the world to photograph continuously living organisms that are 2,000 years old and older. Spanning from Antarctica to Greenland, the Mojave Desert to the Australian Outback, the result is a stunning and unique visual collection of ancient organisms unlike anything that has been created in the arts or sciences before, insightfully and accessibly narrated by Sussman along the way.
Her work is both timeless and timely, and spans disciplines, continents, and millennia. It is underscored by an innate environmentalism and driven by Sussman’s relentless curiosity. She begins at “year zero,” and looks back from there, photographing the past in the present. These ancient individuals live on every continent and range from Greenlandic lichens that grow only one centimeter a century, to unique desert shrubs in Africa and South America, a predatory fungus in Oregon, Caribbean brain coral, to an 80,000-year-old colony of aspen in Utah. Sussman journeyed to Antarctica to photograph 5,500-year-old moss; Australia for stromatolites, primeval organisms tied to the oxygenation of the planet and the beginnings of life on Earth; and to Tasmania to capture a 43,600-year-old self-propagating shrub that’s the last individual of its kind. Her portraits reveal the living history of our planet—and what we stand to lose in the future. These ancient survivors have weathered millennia in some of the world’s most extreme environments, yet climate change and human encroachment have put many of them in danger. Two of her subjects have already met with untimely deaths by human hands.
Alongside the photographs, Sussman relays fascinating – and sometimes harrowing – tales of her global adventures tracking down her subjects and shares insights from the scientists who research them. The oldest living things in the world are a record and celebration of the past, a call to action in the present, and a barometer of our future.
Her work is both timeless and timely, and spans disciplines, continents, and millennia. It is underscored by an innate environmentalism and driven by Sussman’s relentless curiosity. She begins at “year zero,” and looks back from there, photographing the past in the present. These ancient individuals live on every continent and range from Greenlandic lichens that grow only one centimeter a century, to unique desert shrubs in Africa and South America, a predatory fungus in Oregon, Caribbean brain coral, to an 80,000-year-old colony of aspen in Utah. Sussman journeyed to Antarctica to photograph 5,500-year-old moss; Australia for stromatolites, primeval organisms tied to the oxygenation of the planet and the beginnings of life on Earth; and to Tasmania to capture a 43,600-year-old self-propagating shrub that’s the last individual of its kind. Her portraits reveal the living history of our planet—and what we stand to lose in the future. These ancient survivors have weathered millennia in some of the world’s most extreme environments, yet climate change and human encroachment have put many of them in danger. Two of her subjects have already met with untimely deaths by human hands.
Alongside the photographs, Sussman relays fascinating – and sometimes harrowing – tales of her global adventures tracking down her subjects and shares insights from the scientists who research them. The oldest living things in the world are a record and celebration of the past, a call to action in the present, and a barometer of our future.
269 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
26 people are currently reading
1684 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
December 26, 2014
Every family should own a copy of this book.
I'm happy to see more books out photographing the glory and preciousness of our planet. Hopefully this young generation will insist on protecting it instead of destroying it.
I thought the text was a good balance of the author's story as well as descriptions of the photos. Much more personal. Not great prose? Who cares.
I'm happy to see more books out photographing the glory and preciousness of our planet. Hopefully this young generation will insist on protecting it instead of destroying it.
I thought the text was a good balance of the author's story as well as descriptions of the photos. Much more personal. Not great prose? Who cares.
September 3, 2015
I found this coffee table book about the oldest living things in the world at the library. The subject seemed fascinating, the pictures were wonderful. So I brought it home, fully expecting to peruse portions of it and return it. But then I read the first page. I was hooked. I read it from cover to cover, and researched more information about the subjects on the internet while I read. I ended up taking notes because I didn't want to forget all the interesting information. The author became interested with deep time and the living things that have lived through it when she saw Jomon Sugi, the longest living tree in the world, located on a Japanese island and estimated to be 2,180 to 7,000 years old. (Awesome!) For 10 years she then traveled the planet, sometimes through very harsh conditions, in order to research her subjects and take the beautiful pictures for her book (she's a professional photographer). She accompanies each set of pictures with a short description of the journey and these ancient life forms (trees, lichen, bacteria, coral, sea grass, coral, etc.) Some were even close to my neck of the woods, such as the the Giant Sequoia in California, Pando--a quaking aspen colony in Fishlake, UT, and the Humongous Fungus on the Malleur NF in eastern Oregon. I was surprised at first to read the author's personal information in her writings, but then I started to see the author as a person, on a journey, and I quite liked reading her story, her impressions and experiences. I enjoyed her humor. I shared her angst as she realized that global warming was threatening these ancient lives. To see that something has lived for for so long and then to see it die because of the effects of global warming is heartbreaking.
November 13, 2015
The concept is really fascinating, and Sussman accompanies her photographs with little essays ranging from a page to maybe 5 at the most. The thing is, when the landscape is gorgeous her composition really shines and the photos are gorgeous. When the surroundings are lackluster - maybe an ancient tree is sadly walled into a city square, or there are some dusty green brown yuccas in a dusty landscape - the photography suffers, and they just look like sad vacation shots. In addition, there's no real science explanations in here, not even just base level info, about clonal reproduction or why old trees are hollow, or anything, and that would have been really nice. There's one point where she writes about her fraught breakup with a long term partner, and it just seems weird and out of place, like the photos remind her of it and/or she's using it to inject interest into the photos, but I just wanted to know more about the actual organisms.
Want to read
December 23, 2015
2,000 years old
80,000 years old
4,841 years old bristle cone
More here:
http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marbl...
March 21, 2015
Fascinating subject, though I tired of the author's personal trials. I wanted more of the subjects, less of her boyfriend problems.
September 2, 2016
We like to think of ourselves as the crux of history: time begins and ends with us, and any aspect in which we are not involved in any way is unimportant. And yet, for much of its existence, this great big planet has churned without us, indifferent to our existence--or lack thereof--and unwilling to change itself to meet our petty demands. In fact, in the grand story of Earth, we are a recent addition--a footnote on the very last chapter--as we've occupied space here for less than one-ten-thousandth of one percent of this planet's total existence. We live on a world that we claim to dominate and oversee but in truth barely understand...a world that, were it not for our own irrevocable decisions, would scarcely know or care that we live among its rivers and trees. And so, unaccommodated and ignored, we began to cut and dig and burn; we killed off hundreds of species, leveled millions of acres of pristine ecosystems, and domesticated animals so thoroughly that they are now totally unable to survive in the wild; we changed the very genetic make-up of foods, rendered certain vegetables inedible, and poisoned soil through industrialized farming; we bored through and cut the tops off mountains, dammed up rivers, and emptied lakes; we did all of this and more until, at last, the world finally acknowledged us. In this case, it did so by beginning the long, slow process of killing itself.
This is no longer a debate, regardless of how some choose to distort--or ignore--the evidence; the debate is over. And by demanding the Earth live within our needs rather than vice versa, we have claimed victory over a planet while also unknowingly bestowing ourselves with defeat: over the next 100 years alone, the Earth's average temperatures will change wildly, affecting our ability to grow food and sustain an adequate water supply; the seasons will become unpredictable, the affects on our health will become even more pronounced, and entire ecosystems will be destroyed. And the greatest tragedy of all is that, on a personal level, the ways in which we will fight the affects of climate change will only exacerbate the problem. In summer, we will turn up the air conditioners even more, which will require more electricity and put more strain on already outdated power grids across the world; this increase in demand means power companies will need to generate more electricity through coal and gas, which pollute the environment and lead to even more climate change. (According to statistics from the Energy Information Administration, or EIA, 40% of the electricity currently produced in the United States comes from coal.) In winter, we will heat our homes with gas or electricity, once again putting stress on our nation's supplies on nonrenewable energy. The longer and more extreme the seasons, the more energy we use.
The evidence of this problem is just beyond our doors and windows. This year alone, while the rest of the world faced an unprecedentedly hot January and February, the United States faced the opposite--a winter so cold that it broke records almost a century old. At the same time, deniers pointed to those same decades-old records as proof that evidence of climate change is little more than a series of freak occurrences, all the while ignoring the fact that freak occurrences are so-called because they happen so infrequently and not, as is the case today, year after year. Unfortunately, it's those who deny climate change who seem to have control over the legislative powers needed to address the causes and, where possible, enact workable solutions to slow down the progression of disaster. (As it's been noted publicly, it's too late to actually stop climate change from happening.) It is therefore up to individuals to find their own solutions and reduce their own negative influence on the environment, even though this means we must sacrifice a little bit of comfort and convenience for the sake of a better, more stable, and more livable future: little to no air conditioning when possible, reducing car travel to only the most necessary journeys, growing more of our own food and buying food locally, heating homes through renewable resources, adopting solar and wind power, recycling, composting, eating less store-bought meat, and so on. The resources are there, and they are plentiful, but the impetus--and, in our shaky economy, the ability--is not, at least not to a great enough scale that we can have a measurable impact just yet. There are those who have already changed their lives, to be sure, but the vast majority continue on as they always have, either oblivious or ignorant to the harm they are causing.
There are also those few who see the inevitabilities of climate change and are racing to document the world as it is before it's too late. In the case of Rachel Sussman, this means photographing the world's oldest organisms. Traveling to some of Earth's most remote places, one continent after another, Sussman chronicles trees, plants, lichen, corral, bacteria, and anything else that is more than two millennia old. What she finds are astonishing symbols of life and its ability to persevere--living things that thrive despite disease, infestation, age, and human interference. However, the power of these organisms is tempered by the reality that, in our lifetimes alone, many will disappear due to man-made changes in the environment. This, despite having survived so much else, will be their undoing. Many of the living things Sussman documents are protected in one way or another, either through human measures or simple isolation from people--for example, the whereabouts of the oldest trees in the United States are undisclosed to keep them safe, and reaching the map lichens of Greenland (3,000 - 5,000 years old) requires extensive foot travel across a largely uninhabited part of the world. But even human intercession may not be enough for some, unaccustomed as they are to such rapid and unbearable changes.
There are those who might argue that, regardless of their age, these organisms are part of a great cycle of life on Earth, one which not only creates but destroys, recycling itself to make new organisms that can adapt more easily. They might dismiss Sussman's photography, not to mention the passion she has for her subjects and the overall premise of her work, as sentimental or near-sighted or even little more than a Thoreauvian delusion. The problem is that we all belong to this world and are of this world, and when another living thing--especially one that has survived for millennia--dies because of our actions, we are doing something wrong, and it is our responsibility to change. What's more, these organisms--regardless of their age, their locations, their incredible features--are much like us in that they are designed to survive in a narrow range, and any change in that range leads to death. Yes, we are unlike them in that we can move--a redwood, after all, cannot uproot itself after two thousand years--but the point is obvious: if climate change is hurting them in this way, how much longer will it be before these changes begin to hurt us, too? That question has an answer, and it's an unfortunate one: the changes already are. We just haven't accepted this yet, even though the world around us--the trees, the algae, the lichen, and so on--has already provided us with all the evidence we will ever need. It is evidence that most of us have chosen to ignore.
This review was originally published at There Will Be Books Galore.
This is no longer a debate, regardless of how some choose to distort--or ignore--the evidence; the debate is over. And by demanding the Earth live within our needs rather than vice versa, we have claimed victory over a planet while also unknowingly bestowing ourselves with defeat: over the next 100 years alone, the Earth's average temperatures will change wildly, affecting our ability to grow food and sustain an adequate water supply; the seasons will become unpredictable, the affects on our health will become even more pronounced, and entire ecosystems will be destroyed. And the greatest tragedy of all is that, on a personal level, the ways in which we will fight the affects of climate change will only exacerbate the problem. In summer, we will turn up the air conditioners even more, which will require more electricity and put more strain on already outdated power grids across the world; this increase in demand means power companies will need to generate more electricity through coal and gas, which pollute the environment and lead to even more climate change. (According to statistics from the Energy Information Administration, or EIA, 40% of the electricity currently produced in the United States comes from coal.) In winter, we will heat our homes with gas or electricity, once again putting stress on our nation's supplies on nonrenewable energy. The longer and more extreme the seasons, the more energy we use.
The evidence of this problem is just beyond our doors and windows. This year alone, while the rest of the world faced an unprecedentedly hot January and February, the United States faced the opposite--a winter so cold that it broke records almost a century old. At the same time, deniers pointed to those same decades-old records as proof that evidence of climate change is little more than a series of freak occurrences, all the while ignoring the fact that freak occurrences are so-called because they happen so infrequently and not, as is the case today, year after year. Unfortunately, it's those who deny climate change who seem to have control over the legislative powers needed to address the causes and, where possible, enact workable solutions to slow down the progression of disaster. (As it's been noted publicly, it's too late to actually stop climate change from happening.) It is therefore up to individuals to find their own solutions and reduce their own negative influence on the environment, even though this means we must sacrifice a little bit of comfort and convenience for the sake of a better, more stable, and more livable future: little to no air conditioning when possible, reducing car travel to only the most necessary journeys, growing more of our own food and buying food locally, heating homes through renewable resources, adopting solar and wind power, recycling, composting, eating less store-bought meat, and so on. The resources are there, and they are plentiful, but the impetus--and, in our shaky economy, the ability--is not, at least not to a great enough scale that we can have a measurable impact just yet. There are those who have already changed their lives, to be sure, but the vast majority continue on as they always have, either oblivious or ignorant to the harm they are causing.
There are also those few who see the inevitabilities of climate change and are racing to document the world as it is before it's too late. In the case of Rachel Sussman, this means photographing the world's oldest organisms. Traveling to some of Earth's most remote places, one continent after another, Sussman chronicles trees, plants, lichen, corral, bacteria, and anything else that is more than two millennia old. What she finds are astonishing symbols of life and its ability to persevere--living things that thrive despite disease, infestation, age, and human interference. However, the power of these organisms is tempered by the reality that, in our lifetimes alone, many will disappear due to man-made changes in the environment. This, despite having survived so much else, will be their undoing. Many of the living things Sussman documents are protected in one way or another, either through human measures or simple isolation from people--for example, the whereabouts of the oldest trees in the United States are undisclosed to keep them safe, and reaching the map lichens of Greenland (3,000 - 5,000 years old) requires extensive foot travel across a largely uninhabited part of the world. But even human intercession may not be enough for some, unaccustomed as they are to such rapid and unbearable changes.
There are those who might argue that, regardless of their age, these organisms are part of a great cycle of life on Earth, one which not only creates but destroys, recycling itself to make new organisms that can adapt more easily. They might dismiss Sussman's photography, not to mention the passion she has for her subjects and the overall premise of her work, as sentimental or near-sighted or even little more than a Thoreauvian delusion. The problem is that we all belong to this world and are of this world, and when another living thing--especially one that has survived for millennia--dies because of our actions, we are doing something wrong, and it is our responsibility to change. What's more, these organisms--regardless of their age, their locations, their incredible features--are much like us in that they are designed to survive in a narrow range, and any change in that range leads to death. Yes, we are unlike them in that we can move--a redwood, after all, cannot uproot itself after two thousand years--but the point is obvious: if climate change is hurting them in this way, how much longer will it be before these changes begin to hurt us, too? That question has an answer, and it's an unfortunate one: the changes already are. We just haven't accepted this yet, even though the world around us--the trees, the algae, the lichen, and so on--has already provided us with all the evidence we will ever need. It is evidence that most of us have chosen to ignore.
This review was originally published at There Will Be Books Galore.
January 21, 2020
I didn't read everything in this book, but was fascinated by the age of some of these plants. Maybe it's because I'm getting older that I admire and respect old "things." I'm saddened by the 8,000-13,000 year old Box Huckleberry plants in Pennsylvanian which were destroyed by road-building bulldozers. I'm intrigued and may have to visit the 80,000 year old, 100 acre forest of roots in Utah, supporting 47,000 aspen trees, that is only a day drive away. Caring for and protecting old plants demonstrates a respect of the environment and for other species that is far too rare on this earth. We need much more of that if we are going to save the planet. At some point the environment and planet Earth must become the highest priority in any decision making process. This is an important large format book with great photos.
February 23, 2021
I bought this monument of a book as a gift to myself for my thirtieth birthday. Thank you, past me! It is beyond a doubt the most beautiful and interesting book I have had the pleasure of reading. It touched me deeply, too. I cried, laughed, and not least marvelled at the gorgeous photos, mind-blowing facts, unlikely anecdotes and... well, life itself, in all its ancient glory.
September 29, 2014
As Time Goes By:
What an extraordinary book! As much as I love my Kindle this is a book that needs to be experienced in it's hardback format, even if it is heavy and somewhat awkward to read. Rachel Sussman is a world-class photographer and a pretty gutsy lady to boot. Sussman is joined by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Carl Zimmer who each provide short essays: Obrist on art philosophy and extinction; Zimmer on the science of longevity. The bulk of the text, however, is by Sussman and reads more like an explorer's journal rather than a "travel book". Reading about the complexities of an international photo assignment and trying to balance her time, and personal life, with that of professional scientist, park rangers, lodging accommodations and transportation in remote, far flung locations will give you a taste of what it's like to work in foreign lands all over the world, not to mention right here in the good-old USA. For the most part Sussman got what she was after but there were setbacks; like missing guides, government restrictions and even broken bones! One thing though this is not is a biology text-book. While you may pick up some interesting tidbits on botany, geology, evolution and the like, it is the photography that steals the show. And there are some truly outstanding images in this book. Sussman's composition and choice of a large format camera is wonderful, not to mention her unusual subject matter. From Giant Sequoias, Baobab Trees and Stromatolites to Huon Pines and Antarctic Moss you will be treated to frame after frame of natural beauty and remote places. The spread on Bristlecone Pines is the best I've ever seen, their wind twisted and polished "forest" is something to behold. The Quaking Aspen colony is another breath-taker, as is the Bald Cypress (The Senator) and Welwitschia in the Namib-Naukluft Desert. The book closes with Sussman's visit to Antarctica and some her most stunning images; the approach to Elephant Island; the King Penguin colony and Shackleton's grave site. Along with the text and photos look for the species location map and charts on taxonomy, deep timeline and growth strategy. All in all this is one of the best coffee-table picture books I've had the pleasure of reading and one that I will be revisiting from time to time. One look at the incredible cover shot should tell you the whole story. Enjoy!
Last Ranger
December 21, 2016
What a great concept! I really enjoyed this book. Although you could argue that it is a coffee table book with photographs of some of the oldest living things in the world, it could also be described as a travelogue, detailing Sussman's adventures as she attempts to reach and photograph some incredibly isolated or dangerous locales.
I ate up the scientific detail she provided on some of these trees, mosses, lichen, etc (the youngest of which is 2,000 years old and the oldest perhaps 600,000 years old), and actually wish there had been more. I could also quibble with some of her artistic choices for photographs, although I do understand that she didn't always have the luxury of getting the shots she wanted. Overall, however, an excellent read.
I ate up the scientific detail she provided on some of these trees, mosses, lichen, etc (the youngest of which is 2,000 years old and the oldest perhaps 600,000 years old), and actually wish there had been more. I could also quibble with some of her artistic choices for photographs, although I do understand that she didn't always have the luxury of getting the shots she wanted. Overall, however, an excellent read.
May 14, 2015
Some amazing things in this book, I'm lucky enough to have seen the California Redwoods several times, but wasn't familiar with the Underground Forests of Pretoria, South Africa and I really loved the Welwitschia trees and the Baobab trees in Africa. Seems like they're from another world, or more accurately a prehistoric one. World treasures that I hope mankind doesn't kill off, though the author has some 'deceased' photos in here too. Way to go mankind, dig up those 2,000 year old trees to build a road, not.
May 7, 2014
I loved the sound of this book when I read about it on "Brain Pickings" and was not disappointed in the beautiful photography and the essays which accompany them. I found her musings a little self-indulgent though and was disappointed in the quality of the editing (some fairly stand out typos). Nevertheless, the message of the book goes beyond importance though it is unlikely to be read by those who should read it the most.
January 15, 2015
A collection of photos and essays about the oldest living organisms on Earth. Flipping through gives the reader perspective on time and what it takes to survive. Some of the photos aren't the best quality but essays are well written and add personality. The info graphics and maps are also a great addition. Overall, a beautiful back in both design and content.
October 30, 2014
These photos knocked my socks off--in particular, the 2,000 year old baobabs and all of Antarctica. A truly awesome endeavor. Now, to go see that 80,000 year old strand of quaking Aspen in Fish Lake, Utah.
June 19, 2014
A beautiful 'coffee table book' that you actually enjoy reading!
November 23, 2014
Wonderful photography and short essays. Some of the things I have seen and some I plan to see as they are not that far from me.
January 21, 2019
(Probably, sadly, a 2.5: I feel a little magnanimous giving 3 stars [sorry]).
I don't remember where I first heard about this book, but the concept interested me and I've finally been able to read it.
I... enjoyed the anticipation of reading this book more than reading it.
Which was disappointing, because I enjoy thinking more about slow, patient living. And I thought nothing would provide a better example or opportunity for that than ancient organisms.
Something just didn't click into place with me and this book. Part of me thinks (perhaps) that this would be better viewed in a gallery/art exhibit format. Take this from the intro essay:
- I don't know what "large-format prints" means. Is this book an example of that? Or does that mean something the size of a wall?
- The quote also points to one of my major complaints: I would have preferred the organisms' scales were more accessible. Sometimes this means I could have used an example of the same species at a juvenile age. Sometimes it means I would have liked to see the scale of the organism in comparison to something recognizable. It turns out, I'm not good at judging cyanobacteria colony sizes.
Given that lack of calibration, most of the results seem like a lot of effort for... not great pictures?
Compounding that is the awkward(?) text accompanying photos of each organism. Most of the time the tales felt incomplete or unfocused or bland. (I just didn't care). Here is my humorous attempt at boiling down all the essays into one sentence: "I'm physically unprepared for this trip, surprised that I'm not everyone's top priority (I'm making a photo-essay, people!), and oh hey, old things have learned to survive in trying times: will they survive climate change?"
A few other thoughts:
- I'm glad that some of these things have survived against odds of human encounters (e.g. old trees in Northern Europe, like the Yew in Fortingall, Scotland).
- I did think the infographics were detailed/interesting.
- I would have liked a bit more detail on some of the science (instead of having to infer, e.g. how bits work to determine tree-age and somehow don't hurt/maim/kill the trees [I guess I'm a biology ignoramus] )
- Some of the more interesting photos for me were:
* The Llareta, in Chile (one of the prettiest organisms)
* Antarctica (some photos were actually geared toward 'epic' scales)
* Baobabs (some human scale in the photos)
* Huon Pine, Tasmania (seemed more prehistoric/isolated than most of the photos)
I think you should look at things around you carefully, appreciating the ways nature works.
Take pictures of the oldest things around you. Talk about them with your friends/neighbours.
The world is full of wonderful things, and we shouldn't take it for granted.
I don't remember where I first heard about this book, but the concept interested me and I've finally been able to read it.
I... enjoyed the anticipation of reading this book more than reading it.
Which was disappointing, because I enjoy thinking more about slow, patient living. And I thought nothing would provide a better example or opportunity for that than ancient organisms.
Something just didn't click into place with me and this book. Part of me thinks (perhaps) that this would be better viewed in a gallery/art exhibit format. Take this from the intro essay:
"I make large-format prints that have a physical presence meant to put the viewers into human-scale context with the subjects, while simultaneously obscuring the organisms' exact scales"
- I don't know what "large-format prints" means. Is this book an example of that? Or does that mean something the size of a wall?
- The quote also points to one of my major complaints: I would have preferred the organisms' scales were more accessible. Sometimes this means I could have used an example of the same species at a juvenile age. Sometimes it means I would have liked to see the scale of the organism in comparison to something recognizable. It turns out, I'm not good at judging cyanobacteria colony sizes.
Given that lack of calibration, most of the results seem like a lot of effort for... not great pictures?
Compounding that is the awkward(?) text accompanying photos of each organism. Most of the time the tales felt incomplete or unfocused or bland. (I just didn't care). Here is my humorous attempt at boiling down all the essays into one sentence: "I'm physically unprepared for this trip, surprised that I'm not everyone's top priority (I'm making a photo-essay, people!), and oh hey, old things have learned to survive in trying times: will they survive climate change?"
A few other thoughts:
- I'm glad that some of these things have survived against odds of human encounters (e.g. old trees in Northern Europe, like the Yew in Fortingall, Scotland).
- I did think the infographics were detailed/interesting.
- I would have liked a bit more detail on some of the science (instead of having to infer, e.g. how bits work to determine tree-age and somehow don't hurt/maim/kill the trees [I guess I'm a biology ignoramus] )
- Some of the more interesting photos for me were:
* The Llareta, in Chile (one of the prettiest organisms)
* Antarctica (some photos were actually geared toward 'epic' scales)
* Baobabs (some human scale in the photos)
* Huon Pine, Tasmania (seemed more prehistoric/isolated than most of the photos)
I think you should look at things around you carefully, appreciating the ways nature works.
Take pictures of the oldest things around you. Talk about them with your friends/neighbours.
The world is full of wonderful things, and we shouldn't take it for granted.
January 4, 2024
Photographic artist Rachel Sussman embarks on a global journey spanning all seven continents, documenting and observing the most ancient living entities on Earth.
Before reading, I anticipated a project introduction, rich essays, abundant photographs, and brief organism descriptions. However, the book included all and it also featured a considerable amount of travelogue-style narration. As someone not inclined towards travelogues, I found myself skimming through significant portions of the text. Nevertheless, some of the interesting things that remained with me are:
• She explored an ancient clonal colony of Pando in Utah, estimated to be 80,000 years old.
• Charting the slow-paced growth of Greenland's Map Lichen, where these organisms add a mere centimeter to their size over the course of a century.
• Among the ancient inhabitants of South America, the region boasts the eerie green Llareta, which has endured for 3000 years, alongside the equally enigmatic Brain Coral, with a lifespan of 2000 years.
• While in Europe, the title of the oldest living entity goes to the Posidonia Sea Grass, with an impressive lifespan surpassing 100,000 years.
• Topping the charts as the most ancient living entity in the record books is the Siberian Actinobacteria, boasting an astonishing age range of 400,000 to 600,000 years.
The stunning photographs were quite commendable. The pictures almost varied from moderately interesting to truly awe-inspiring.
The accidental fire that consumed a 3,500-year-old cypress by Sarah Barnes highlights the need to appreciate and protect ancient trees now, recognizing their vulnerability before they disappear forever. What has lived for an extensive period can succumb in mere minutes.
If we talk about the current Great Extinction, we stand to lose many life forms, most of which we may never have been aware of their existence. Environmental threats and climate change can outpace the ability of these living entities to adapt. Realizing this is truly humbling.
If you want to gain a perspective on time, and value nature starting from the world's oldest organisms, you'll surely find this a compelling read.
Before reading, I anticipated a project introduction, rich essays, abundant photographs, and brief organism descriptions. However, the book included all and it also featured a considerable amount of travelogue-style narration. As someone not inclined towards travelogues, I found myself skimming through significant portions of the text. Nevertheless, some of the interesting things that remained with me are:
• She explored an ancient clonal colony of Pando in Utah, estimated to be 80,000 years old.
• Charting the slow-paced growth of Greenland's Map Lichen, where these organisms add a mere centimeter to their size over the course of a century.
• Among the ancient inhabitants of South America, the region boasts the eerie green Llareta, which has endured for 3000 years, alongside the equally enigmatic Brain Coral, with a lifespan of 2000 years.
• While in Europe, the title of the oldest living entity goes to the Posidonia Sea Grass, with an impressive lifespan surpassing 100,000 years.
• Topping the charts as the most ancient living entity in the record books is the Siberian Actinobacteria, boasting an astonishing age range of 400,000 to 600,000 years.
The stunning photographs were quite commendable. The pictures almost varied from moderately interesting to truly awe-inspiring.
The accidental fire that consumed a 3,500-year-old cypress by Sarah Barnes highlights the need to appreciate and protect ancient trees now, recognizing their vulnerability before they disappear forever. What has lived for an extensive period can succumb in mere minutes.
If we talk about the current Great Extinction, we stand to lose many life forms, most of which we may never have been aware of their existence. Environmental threats and climate change can outpace the ability of these living entities to adapt. Realizing this is truly humbling.
If you want to gain a perspective on time, and value nature starting from the world's oldest organisms, you'll surely find this a compelling read.
November 12, 2018
What does this book say about "The Oldest Living Things in the World"? Those organisms are often slow-growing and adapted to extreme conditions, whether arid, dry, or even in solid ice. It also says the definition of what an individual organism consists of is rather fuzzy, for example genetic clones are treated as identical individuals in some parts of this book. And, it can't help but mention repeatedly how fragile they are despite their age.
There are a number of great picture here, but not all of them. I found a lot of the photography of some of the brushier plants harsh and indistinct; not composed to best articulate the plants. It was frequently deliberately unpretty in a way that I found either hit-or-miss, or taking some getting used to. I thought it got better photographically as it went; it could also have been the subjects becoming more photogenic.
Early in the text was kind of preachy, even for an environmental book, begging for each organism to be protected. It's an odd mix of being about the history of their organisms, their current situation, the journey behind the book, and hopes for the future. I found myself slowly more appreciative of the personal travel narrative which humanized the author, and fortunately it developed while the preachy aspects faded into the background. The further references to the current troubles developed more of a sense of humor.
There were some infographics that I thought were really enlightening and added a great deal to the presentation.
The opening essays were welcome, and showed contrasting interests in the project in a nice way.
Overall, this is a book that, perhaps not unlike film, can take a little while to develop, but can be worth the journey for a more interesting set of pictures.
There are a number of great picture here, but not all of them. I found a lot of the photography of some of the brushier plants harsh and indistinct; not composed to best articulate the plants. It was frequently deliberately unpretty in a way that I found either hit-or-miss, or taking some getting used to. I thought it got better photographically as it went; it could also have been the subjects becoming more photogenic.
Early in the text was kind of preachy, even for an environmental book, begging for each organism to be protected. It's an odd mix of being about the history of their organisms, their current situation, the journey behind the book, and hopes for the future. I found myself slowly more appreciative of the personal travel narrative which humanized the author, and fortunately it developed while the preachy aspects faded into the background. The further references to the current troubles developed more of a sense of humor.
There were some infographics that I thought were really enlightening and added a great deal to the presentation.
The opening essays were welcome, and showed contrasting interests in the project in a nice way.
Overall, this is a book that, perhaps not unlike film, can take a little while to develop, but can be worth the journey for a more interesting set of pictures.
August 3, 2019
Interesting, educational, unique, amazing, but also at times depressing. There are 30 (I think) different species in this book, only one being an animal (coral) simply due to Sussman picking "oldest" to mean over 2000 years old. I get the distinct feeling I would be in much more awe if I could stand where she did and see these things in person, but it's still upsetting to hear some of the ways these things are being harmed or neglected for the sake of money or simply out of ignorance.
This book is a little memoir/autobiography in nature; each set of pictures about the subjects is accompanied by a few pages of text. Some of the text is about the species and how she found it, but some is also why she was in a certain location, what happened there, etc. Almost a travelogue in a way. I was very tempted to skim or outright skip the text sections just because I was in it for the pictures and science, but I did learn some things so I'm glad I did read it front to back. 4 out of 5 for this reason. I wasn't really interested in hearing about her emotional turmoil with her boyfriend and all that. I don't think it takes away from the quality of the book any, and it makes it better for some readers, I'm sure. Just not what I was looking for from the book.
This book is a little memoir/autobiography in nature; each set of pictures about the subjects is accompanied by a few pages of text. Some of the text is about the species and how she found it, but some is also why she was in a certain location, what happened there, etc. Almost a travelogue in a way. I was very tempted to skim or outright skip the text sections just because I was in it for the pictures and science, but I did learn some things so I'm glad I did read it front to back. 4 out of 5 for this reason. I wasn't really interested in hearing about her emotional turmoil with her boyfriend and all that. I don't think it takes away from the quality of the book any, and it makes it better for some readers, I'm sure. Just not what I was looking for from the book.
April 30, 2019
What a beautiful coffee table book. While it was a little cumbersome to carry around, this book was amazing. I absolutely loved the gorgeous photos and short anecdotes of how the author experienced everything about the environment she was being exposed to. I felt like I got a good grasp on who she is and I appreciate her so much more for delving into such a niche topic. I’m super jealous of the fact that she gets to do something so special.
January 13, 2022
I really enjoyed this book, it was a great mix of thoroughly researched documentary material, beautiful photos, and compelling travel logs. Really just a joy to read. My only wish is that Sussman had written even more about each of her expeditions in those travel log portions, but in a coffee table book format, there's only so much space for prose I suppose, and it would be a shame to lose any of the incredible photos!
November 23, 2023
Absolutely beautiful photos and surprisingly interesting text about not only the organisms, but the author's experiences traveling to all seven continents to document them. However, shame on the University of Chicago Press for sloppy proofreading of an otherwise high-quality book. I was dismayed by numerous typos and basic errors; e.g., "naval" oranges and "conversation" instead of "conservation."
September 6, 2021
Sussman photographed anything existing in nature that is over 2,000 years old. The project is such an incredibly fascinating concept, and I learned a lot of interesting facts through the essays accompanying the photos. Reading it just makes you feel small in a good way, and for me, also motivated to do more to help keep these things alive.
July 15, 2019
Lovely coffee table book! The author traveled to the far reaches of the earth to photograph and capture the essence of some of the oldest living things on the planet and how they are, or are not, surviving to this day. Great photos and engaging dialogue.
January 27, 2020
What a brilliant book. Amazing photographs paired with a good story, and words that paint a thousand pictures. Well researched and an important document as these places may not always be visitable. Sussman's passion for the quest is evident throughout and the book is brilliantly put-together.
February 19, 2020
What an extraordinary book! Rachel Sussman is astute at sharing fascinating scientific information alongside a beautifully candid personal story. The photographs are amazing. This is definitely the crown jewel in my book collection.
March 1, 2020
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book slowly, weekend mornings for the last couple of months. The essays that accompany Sussman's travels to see and photograph the oldest living things in the world were informative and read like a travelogue.
March 21, 2018
50% beautiful photography, 25% science, 25% travel anecdotes.
April 9, 2018
Very interesting tree and nature photos!
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