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Beyond: Visions Of The Interplanetary Probes
"These images are a spectacular reaffirmation that we are privileged to live in the greatest age of exploration the world has ever known."-From Arthur C. Clarke's foreword Since the 1960s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been sending unmanned satellites to explore the planets, moons, and sun. These probes have amassed a stunning visual record of other worlds, revealing not one but scores of new frontiers, from rust-red Mars to the ethereal rings of Saturn. Author Michael Benson has spent years compiling and digitally processing the best of these images. In Beyond this "deskbound cosmic pilgrim" ( Atlantic Monthly ) has pulled together the most spectacular of them into one volume that presents these photographs for the first time as art. The resulting book consists of two the first is a spectacular visual tour of the solar system, with views every bit as compelling as the work of the great landscape photographers on earth; the second is a series of beautifully written essays that explain the story behind these the history of the probes' journeys, how they work, and why they were built. This book shows us how modern science has revealed the astonishing beauty and mystery of the solar system and its awe-inspiring worlds far beyond any places human beings have ever directly observed.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Michael Benson
8 books30 followersMichael Benson is a journalist and maker of documentary films, including the award-winning Predictions of Fire (1995). His work has been published in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and Smithsonian, among other publications, and he has been a television (CNN) and radio (NPR) reporter. He is also the author of the Abrams bestseller Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes. He lives in New York City.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 23, 2011
The photos from our solar system probes are striking and rendered with their usual care by Abrams. The text is adequate and not quite always for younger readers.
Don't expect photos of all planetary moons.
Still, on the balance a very useful book that will inspire further exploration.
Don't expect photos of all planetary moons.
Still, on the balance a very useful book that will inspire further exploration.
January 18, 2018
Beyond: A Solar System Voyage is a great non-fiction book filled with amazing pictures taken by space probes throughout history. The introduction and the first chapter on the history of space exploration was very interesting. After that, I was very confused by the order of the chapters. I assumed it must be depending on the timeline of robotic space exploration, but it was not based on that at all. So, it was a little hard for me to follow it as a whole book. But it was nice to read in bits and pieces. My mom says it makes a great “coffee table book” because of its great pictures. I really liked the pictures – they are all very good quality, and show images of the planets and moons that I have never seen before in my other books on the solar system. I especially liked the chapter on asteroids, which had a lot of informative pictures. Asteroids is usually a topic that is not included in such detail in other books. The text of the book is not very informative. It speaks in an informal way, and does not have too many scientific facts about each planet or moon. But it does a great job of describing what each space probe did.
What I really enjoyed about this book is that each image has the name of the probe that took the picture along with the date on which it took the picture. That was good to see. I learned about a lot of robotic spacecraft that I had not heard of before.
A very different thing about this book are the inside pages of the front and back hardcovers. The inside of the front hardcover has a great illustration of the solar system. And the inside of the back hardcover has great pictures of space probes in a timeline format. This really put things in a visually understandable format for me.
Overall, I would say that this book is great for anyone who wants to read about robotic space exploration and wants a book with great pictures. It would not be a good selection if you want a lot of information on the planets or moons themselves. It is also not a book that can be read by someone who is new to the topic of solar system and astronomy. You would need to have basic knowledge of all this before you read this book.
I would recommend this book for anyone from 10 years to adult.
I gave this book 3 stars, because it does not have an understandable format to the book chapters, has mainly pictures and not much facts related to the planets and moons being pictured. It is great to read about the timeline of robotic space exploration though. I felt the title did not immediately tell me that it was mainly about that.
Dhruv K., 8, North Texas Mensa
What I really enjoyed about this book is that each image has the name of the probe that took the picture along with the date on which it took the picture. That was good to see. I learned about a lot of robotic spacecraft that I had not heard of before.
A very different thing about this book are the inside pages of the front and back hardcovers. The inside of the front hardcover has a great illustration of the solar system. And the inside of the back hardcover has great pictures of space probes in a timeline format. This really put things in a visually understandable format for me.
Overall, I would say that this book is great for anyone who wants to read about robotic space exploration and wants a book with great pictures. It would not be a good selection if you want a lot of information on the planets or moons themselves. It is also not a book that can be read by someone who is new to the topic of solar system and astronomy. You would need to have basic knowledge of all this before you read this book.
I would recommend this book for anyone from 10 years to adult.
I gave this book 3 stars, because it does not have an understandable format to the book chapters, has mainly pictures and not much facts related to the planets and moons being pictured. It is great to read about the timeline of robotic space exploration though. I felt the title did not immediately tell me that it was mainly about that.
Dhruv K., 8, North Texas Mensa
September 23, 2017
I thought this book provided a great overview of all the planets in our solar system, as well as our moon and asteroids. I liked hearing about the history of human's view of the heavens throughout history. The images were meticulously picked out and the text was quite in-depth for the planets. It was cool to find out things like the word "planet" is "wanderer" in Ancient Greek or the surface temperature of Mars. It's definitely interesting to find out how long each planet's year takes, if it has seasons, or how similar it is to Earth. I wish we knew more about other life forms in the universe, but it was satisfying to know which moons and planets would most likely be able to sustain life. It was a quick and interesting read, and I recommend it to curious astronomers.
June 10, 2021
While containing some bigger wording and concepts that may be harder for a young kid to really understand, this was still a great look into our solar system and our journey of learning and discovery. Includes great photographs of the planets and moons and our sun, as well as a general overview of our history of how we learned how our solar system and the planets work.
May 11, 2017
A fabulous look at our solar system. If only the author hadn't felt the need to bash the Bible...
November 8, 2019
Magnificent images from interplanetary vehicles. Outstanding !
January 15, 2022
Don’t waste time reading reviews. Just read it. The images are too sublime for words.
June 27, 2023
Dark gray background and white text, worst of all.
Funny chapter order when they put the Sun between Venus and Mercury.
Funny chapter order when they put the Sun between Venus and Mercury.
February 21, 2020
I enjoyed this book because I was looking for a nonfiction spacey book.
October 2, 2011
Amazing pictures of objects in the Solar System, from the Nasa archives. This
is more of a picture book, really. It's more like I'm lazily looking through it
than actual reading.
I read about this book, and the
matching exposition
in an article in the New York Times. The pictures on the website were
breath-taking, so I ordered the book. Some of them are pictures of the Earth
taken from orbit, kinda like those of
@Astro_Soichi on Twitter.
Others are from other planets and moons, taken by space probes, some with false
color. The writer worked with astronomers and astroscientists to ensure his
false coloring was as close as possible to reality.
is more of a picture book, really. It's more like I'm lazily looking through it
than actual reading.
I read about this book, and the
matching exposition
in an article in the New York Times. The pictures on the website were
breath-taking, so I ordered the book. Some of them are pictures of the Earth
taken from orbit, kinda like those of
@Astro_Soichi on Twitter.
Others are from other planets and moons, taken by space probes, some with false
color. The writer worked with astronomers and astroscientists to ensure his
false coloring was as close as possible to reality.
March 29, 2010
Cool photos of the planets. However, I felt like the author had a chip on his shoulder he was trying to exorcise in the text.
The book is meant for young readers but the author spends an undue amount of time explaining his editorial/writing choices.
Presumably this is a simplified version of his adult book, Beyond, from 6 years previous. That would explain why some of the vocabulary seems advanced. The glossary is pretty minimal compared to the number of scientific words throughout the text.
Decent overall though. Looking forward to checking out some of the reference websites listed in the back.
The book is meant for young readers but the author spends an undue amount of time explaining his editorial/writing choices.
Presumably this is a simplified version of his adult book, Beyond, from 6 years previous. That would explain why some of the vocabulary seems advanced. The glossary is pretty minimal compared to the number of scientific words throughout the text.
Decent overall though. Looking forward to checking out some of the reference websites listed in the back.
December 31, 2013
A fascinating book about the solar system that is light on words but good with pictures. And what pictures, taken from imagery provided by the various space probes and 'modified' to present images that might be what the human eye would see.
Consider the book as a pictorial summary of what we currently know about the solar system. I look forward to an update to the book when the newest bunch of space probes have visited the planets under represented in this book and returned yet more stunning and mysterious images: Uranus, Neptune and the dwarf planet Pluto.
Consider the book as a pictorial summary of what we currently know about the solar system. I look forward to an update to the book when the newest bunch of space probes have visited the planets under represented in this book and returned yet more stunning and mysterious images: Uranus, Neptune and the dwarf planet Pluto.
November 16, 2007
i keep this book on my coffee table for my kids. we look at it from time to time. it's nice to know that my kids could tell the difference between a volcano and a crater by the age of three. science is beautiful. throughout the history of western thought it has been our struggle to understand the heavens that has propelled our understanding of humanity forward. and i intend to instill that sense of wonder very deeply in my children.
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July 29, 2011As Michael Benson states, "I strongly believe the remarkable photographic legacy of these space missions constitutes a valuable chapter in the history of photography as much as it belongs to astronomy or the planetary sciences." This book is his successful contribution to all of the above mentioned legacies! It's an excellent book for people any age to learn about the solar system and the visuals are the best I have ever seen. Strongly recommended!
March 30, 2013
295 pictures of the solar system, taken by probes over the decades. The photography is stunning, and the images are far more detailed the those usually seen through telescopes. And even more; the printing is superb, making the images almost jump to life off the page. The pictures of Jupiter with its moons Io and Europa are amazing, as are the images of Neptune. I have never seen planetary photography this realistic and detailed.
September 7, 2013
How can a book filled with some of the most amazing pictures ever taken be anything less than five stars? This book gave me a new appreciation of the solar system, boggled my mind, taught me many things I never knew but probably should have, gave me an appreciation for some of humanity's greatest achievements, and made me realize (as Arthur C. Clarke points out in the intro) that we have travelled in space much more than we think we have.
December 30, 2009
Stunning photos from years of space probes show the planets up close and personal. Text is informative, if occasionally dry. Great resource for planet reports and the brilliant photos will hook browsers.
Read full review on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/200...
Read full review on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/200...
April 20, 2010
Seriously amazing photos of the planets, some of their moons, asteroids, and the sun. Very cool.
Not to be confused with his more recent book, Beyond: A Solar System Voyage, which is meant for younger readers.
Regardless of age, I think I'd still pick this one. It has loads more photos and enjoyable foreword & afterwords by Arthur C. Clarke and Lawrence Weschler, respectively.
Not to be confused with his more recent book, Beyond: A Solar System Voyage, which is meant for younger readers.
Regardless of age, I think I'd still pick this one. It has loads more photos and enjoyable foreword & afterwords by Arthur C. Clarke and Lawrence Weschler, respectively.
June 7, 2010
This one really didn't do much for me. The pictures are beautiful, but the text was kind of haphazard and boring. Still, some kids may find it interesting, I suppose. It does have some good facts mixed in.
January 9, 2011
The photos are stunning, it fuels my imagination, and inspires me. I originally borrowed it from the library, but liked it so much, I bought it.
July 31, 2011
Absolutely beautiful book filled with clear and detailed images taken in the last 40 years from space probes. It's just as much of an art book as it is a science book.
August 18, 2013
Wonderful book ! ... great pictures and appropriate info ...
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April 12, 2019It is interesting It has the summary from what we already know
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews