These beautiful photo books make an amazing Christmas gift
Got a relative who’s hard to buy for? Photo books make a fantastic gift, and the beautiful selection below is sure to delight the geography lover in your life.
Where Children Sleep Vol.2 by James Mollison
The second in a series, photographer James Mollison travelled the world to capture these images of children and the spaces they sleep in. They say a picture speaks a thousand words, and in this case, the cliché turns out to be true. A peruse through this fascinating book reveals both the glorious diversity of our planet and its cultures while also laying bare the huge discrepancies in wealth and comfort experienced by its youngest inhabitants.
Published by Hoxton Mini Press
Click here to buy at The Geographical Bookshop!
Then & Now: The Changing Face of the Arctic by Bryan Alexander
Photographer Bryan Alexander travelled to the Arctic every year since 1971 to document traditional life in the north’s indigenous communities. In this book, he presents images of people he met during his earliest visits (some of whom were just children at the time) alongside their contemporary portraits. In doing so, he reveals a mixed picture of change and tradition, with some people continuing to engage in traditional practices and others moving away from them. This enlightening book features portraits of indigenous people from four different Arctic regions in Greenland, Russia, Canada and Norway.
Special limited edition versions are available to buy at Arctica Publishing
Antarctica: A History in 100 Objects by Jean de Pomereu and Daniella McCahey
By retracing the history of Antarctica through 100 varied objects drawn from collections across the world, this book tells the story of human exploration into this most inhospitable of continents. From the snow goggles adopted from Inuit technology by Amundsen and the lifeboat used by Shackleton and his crew, to a sealing club made from the penis bone of an elephant seal and ice cores containing up to 800,000 years of climate history, these well-chosen and intriguing objects lead the reader through the main themes of Antarctic travel, from heroic exploration to vital climate change research.
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing
Read an extract here and click to buy from The Geographical Bookshop!
The Hidden Beauty of Seeds & Fruits: The Botanical Photography of Levon Biss
A beautiful photographic study of seeds and fruits, produced by photographer Levon Bliss from the carpological collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. A master at ultra-close-up photography, Bliss reveals the hidden wonders of these lifeforms and provides an insight into the curious adaptations that have evolved over thousands of years, enabling species to thrive. Captioned with scientific text that provides the backstory for each specimen, The Hidden Beauty of Seeds & Fruits will please anyone who revels in the small, overlooked beauty nature has to offer.
Published by Abrams
Click here to buy from The Geographical Bookshop!
The New Big 5: A Global Photography Project for Endangered Wildlife by Graeme Green
Until recently, the Big Five referred to the five big-game animals that were most difficult for colonial hunters to shoot and kill for trophies. Wildlife photographer Graeme Green’s New Big 5 project set about to reclaim that gruesome, antiquated term by asking people around the world to vote on the five animals they most like to photograph and see in photos – shooting with a camera, not a gun. More than fifty thousand people voted, and the New Big 5 of Wildlife Photography was born. The book contains 226 portraits and creative photos of creatures in their natural habitats from 146 globally renowned photographers. And who are the New Big 5? Elephants, gorillas, tigers, lions and polar bears.
Published by Earth Aware Editions
Click here to buy from The Geographical Bookshop!
Portrait of Humanity Vol.5
Published by Hoxton Mini Press, this book supports a world-touring exhibition organised by 1854 Media, an award-winning digital media platform for photographers. Each portrait is accompanied by a personal story from the photographer who captured it – providing a window into the lives of their subjects.
Published by Hoxton Minin Press
Click here to buy from The Geographical Bookshop!
Strahan’s Mammals of Australia by Andrew M. Baker & Ian C. Gynther
From marsupials and monotremes to rodents, seals and whales, this is the definitive guide to Australia’s unique mammals, fully updated for this fourth edition. It provides a written account of every species of native mammal known to have existed in Australia since European settlement, with 403 species covered in total. Illustrated with more than 1,500 colour photographs, each species account includes a detailed description of the animal and its behaviour.
Published by Bloomsbury Wildlife
Click here to buy from The Geographical Bookshop!
The Secret Life of Birds of Prey by Chloé Valerie Harmsworth
Enter the fascinating world of the UK’s birds of prey, and learn all about their habits, habitat, behaviour and diet, as well as where you can ethically experience these birds for yourself. The book also discusses the birds’ impact on our culture, their value and uses in falconry, their persecution and decline, their return to the UK and conservation efforts. Featuring stunning photographs and first-hand accounts of encounters with these enigmatic birds.
Published by White Owl Books
Click here to buy from The Geographical Bookshop!
Extinction: Our Fragile Relationship with Life on Earth by Marc Schlossman
Not the cheeriest subject, but fascinating nonetheless. The result of a ten year effort to catalogue specimens from the Field Museum in Chicago, this book combines unique photographs with text about the species themselves, reasons for decline and the conservation efforts in place to prevent further extinction. The specimens revealed in this book are not on public display and the only way to see many of them is through these photographs. While some of the creatures presented are still alive in the wild today, others, such as the passenger pigeon, are gone forever.
Published by Ammonite Press
Read an extract here and click to buy from Amazon
Aerial Atlas of Ancient Britain by David Abram
The only way to truly experience the scale and beauty of Britain’s ancient monuments is from the air. Photographer David Abrams travelled the country, taking aerial photos to reveal the most spectacular ancient landscapes, including Neolithic enclosures, cairns and stone circles; Bronze Age villages, farmsteads, tombs and burial mounds; and Iron Age hillforts.
Published by Thames & Hudson Ltd
Read our interview with the photographer here and click here to buy from The Geographical Bookshop!
