Earth Then and Now: Amazing Images of Our Changing World

This was a gift for my mother and I did thumb through it before I sent it to her... very interesting and the pics are something you don't see very often. Liked it very much....

Science author Fred Pearce and Firefly Books present a fascinating if often disturbing portrait of how various cities/regions of the earth have changed over the past century. Using 'before' and 'after' photographs, Pearce documents how pollution, war, urbanization, natural disasters and other forces have reshaped our planet. Although some of the comparisons are uplifting, many more are troubling. EARTH THEN AND NOW'S 288 pages are divided into sections on Environmental Change, Forces of Nature, Urbanization, Land Transformation, War/Conflict and Leisure/Culture. With each chapter Pearce showcases various cities, areas or geographic features. So, the reader is presented with before/after photographs of Patagonia's Upsala Glacier, downtown Beijing, Africa's Lake Chad, Bilbao's waterfront, the Wadi as Sirhan in Saudi Arabia, Mt. Saint Helens, St. Peter's Basilica, New Zealand's Mt. Cook, Madagascar's Betsiboka River, the Somme region of France, New York's Twin Towers, and so on. Many of the photographs are in color. Likewise Pearce utilizes a large number of satellite images. Viewing the images found in EARTH THEN AND NOW, I can only second the blurb found on the back's back cover. It hits the nail right on the head, terming the images "an alarming reminder of how radically the Earth is changing, not necessarily for the better." Amen to that! EARTH THEN AND NOW is an important book, one that should be viewed by anyone concerned about Mother Earth. Highly recommended.

Fred Pearce in his Earth: Then and Now manages to capture the attention of anyone that picks this book up. Wonderfully done, the book compares current photos to historic photos of the same scene from various places around the globe. Organized into 6 units or chapters ( Environmental Change, Urbanization, Land Transformation, Forces of Nature, War and Conflict, and Leisure and Culture) the images demonstrate how man can change his enviroment whether in a town or around a lake. Perhaps the most striking comparison are the images on page 30 of the Upsala Glacier in Patagonia. Having said that, there are other stunning images throughout the book. The most touching of the chapters in my opinion is the unit dealing with War and Conflict. At 288 pages, Earth Then and Now will be a book you want to return to again and again. This would make a wonderful gift.

I work at a library, and as I was covering this book, I just had to look inside. I'm a fan of satellite images of the Earth to begin with, so naturally my interest in this book was piqued. I only opened to a random page to take a peek, but I ended up completly hypnotized by the images and the concise captions. I literally could not put this book down. This book has an amazing magnetism to it; it draws you in and takes you for a ride around the world. Unfortunatley, a majority of the photos and explanations reveal the horrid and destructive ways of man altering the Earth and choking the environment. If anyone is in doubt that the Earth is being ravaged, this book will make clear to anyone of any age just how abusive we are of the planet. The section on glaciers is seriously scary. The images are just unbelievable, but sadly, they show the truth. From aerial shots of New Orleans before and after Katrina to satellite images of the recent growth of Las Vegas, this book explores not just the United States, but the world as well. Mountains after avalanches, volcanos after explosions, land after flood and drought, page after page you are assaulted with powerful imagery. Mostly focusing on the effects of climate change and deforestation, Earth Then and Now shows the "progress" that modern man has acheived on this noble planet. I reccomend that everyone on planet Earth read this book. It is a shocking eye-opener, and just simply unbelievable. A perfect coffee table book or addition to any library, you will not be dissapointed in Earth Then and Now. I just hope they printed it on recycled paper...