Beaches

by Gideon Bosker, Lena Lencek

The authors of The History of Paradise on Earth, the best-selling history of everyone's favorite place, are back with a breathtaking visual companion. From moody, craggy coastlines to serene swathes of turquoise water and white sand, Beaches is an astounding photographic survey of the ineffable allure of paradise on earth. This spectacular collection of images from renowned photographers, including Richard Misrach, Joel Meyerowitz, and Art Wolfe, stirs the spirit, capturing the mutable beauty of sand, sea, and sky. Throughout, concise and poetic pieces of historic and scientific lore unveil little-known facts and curiosities. With an astonishing range of vision, Beaches evokes the idiosyncratic beauty of the world's most stunning coastlines.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction

132 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2000

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice Zen-like early morning picture book for when you need a little pre-day calm.

Compared to more common coffee table-type books, this one is surprisingly small (roughly 10" square), with even smaller photos. As such, many of the pictures are simple and almost abstract in composition, color and feel. Also unlike other "ocean" books, this one is nicely lifeless (except for a few small penguins and distant bathers), with only 1-2 underwater shots — but otherwise, this is all earth, air and water.





Gotta spend more time at the beach…

[Desiree Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The GOOD: A beautiful book, with lovely photos, and nice, thick, feels-good-turning-them pages. Photos from all over the world. The set-up is almost like looking at gorgeous picture-post cards. Interesting pages throughout, with info about beaches, the water, sand movement, waves - almost like an earth sciences or marine biology lesson. The text is sprinkled in at just the right amount - not too brief, not too verbose.

The BAD: My personal preference would have been for more sand and ocean wave photos, but this also includes lakes and other bodies of water, along with related items, such as close-ups of tide pools critters. Also, there is a section at the back that recommends places to find that restful beach, organized by continent. Cool idea, but as specific hotels are mentioned, it felt more than a bit like advertising to me, which ruined the chill vibe.

OVERALL: A beautiful book for your coffee table or guest suite, which is a pleasure to peruse.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naturally I disregarded all that pretentious stuff in the text...and just went thumbing through the pitchers!

[Fostergrants · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful photographs of the world's beaches along with interesting facts written almost poetically. a lovely book to save for winter days when you don't feel like reading a lot and would like a visual escape.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Photos only, but breathtaking photos. I own this one.

[Fritters · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of interesting facts about how beaches work, put poetically, and gorgeous coastal photography. What's not to like? It made me want to reread my oceanography textbook...