Favorite illustrated books, featuring photography, maps and drawings, including the spectacular Times Comprehensive Atlas and a group of books celebrating UNESCO World Heritage Sites from Angor to Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal and Great Barrier Reef.

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	Explorations, Great Moments of Discovery from the Royal Geographical Society  •  Royal Geographical Society EXPLORATION •  2002 •  PAPER  • 340 PAGES A trove of archival photographs from the RGS, bundled in a lavish oversize book with accompanying text by such luminaries as John Hemming (Americas), Sir Wilfred Thesiger (Middle East), Dr. Richard Leakey (Africa) and Sir Edmund Hillary (Asia). It includes 300 photographs of the great expeditions, explorers and places, many in color, some famous and others never before published, including an excellent section on polar exploration. Originally published in a hard cover edition as Royal Geographical Society Illustrated. (EXP34, $35.00)
	Angkor, Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire  •  Joe Ortner  •  Ian Mabbett  •  John Sanday ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 288 PAGES A striking collection of 240 photographs with accompanying essays on the architecture, history and meaning of Angkor. Handsomely produced and packaged in a slip case by the art publisher Abbeville. Joe Ortner (Where Every Breath is a Prayer) photographed 50 monuments of the Khmer Empire, including rooftop views, landscapes, and details of inscriptions and art. John Sanday, Director of the World Monuments Fund in Cambodia since 1989, Ian Mabbett, an authority on the Khmer empire and others contribute the context for the photographs. With black-and-white floor plans and antique watercolor illustrations. (CBD31, $95.00)
	Atlas Maior  •  Peter van der Krogt ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 626 PAGES A richly embellished, gloriously annotated collection of maps from the largest, most complete atlas of its day, published between 1662 and 1672 by Amsterdam mapmaker and entrepreneur Joan Blaeu. The gold-heightened, hand-colored 11-volume original, from which this sumptuous book is taken, is the showpiece of the Austrian National Library in Vienna. Editor Peter van der Grogt provides a history of this exceptional example of art and cartography. (MAP22, $200.00)
	Galen Rowell, A Retrospective  •   Sierra Club  •  Galen Rowell ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 288 PAGES • NEW A tribute to the renowned traveler, photographer and friend, by a host of contributors and the editors of Sierra Club books, featuring a stunning sampling of Rowell's magnficent color photographs, including mountain images, Antarctica and the Arctic. (PHT21, $50.00)
	Havana  •  Robert Polidori CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 160 PAGES Originally commissioned to accompany an article in the New Yorker, Polidori's gorgeously produced collection of large format photographs capture the crumbling splendor and dazzling colors of the city. (CBA57, $75.00)
	The World of the Polar Bear  •  Norbert Rosing  •  Ian Stirling NATURAL HISTORY •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 204 PAGES • NEW Norbert Rosing provides all new photography for this second edition of his sumptuous and informative volume showcasing not only the photogenic bears and their cubs but also the sly Arctic fox, sleek seals, ungainly walruses, myriad seabirds and glimmering aurora borealis. Accompanying essays describe life in Churchill and the author's own experiences traveling and working in the Hudson Bay. (ARC50, $45.00)
	St. Petersburg, Architecture of the Tsars  •  Dmitri Shvidkovsky  •  Alexander Orloff ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1996 •  HARD COVER  • 360 PAGES A handsome, oversize study of the buildings constructed during the reigns of the Russian tsars since Peter the Great. The book combines insightful text, excellent photography and a good balance between building exteriors and interiors. Organized chronologically, it covers the Baroque architecture of Peter the Great, Neoclassic splendor of Catherine the Great and Art Nouveau of Nicholas II. The author, Dmitri Shvidkovsky, is a member of the Russian Federation's Academy of Fine Arts. (RUS152, $95.00)
	Taj Mahal  •  M.C. Joshi  •  Jean-Louis Nou  •  Amina Okada ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1993 •  HARD COVER  • 231 PAGES An informative, photographic tribute to the great monument with accompanying essays on history, design and inscriptions by Amina Okada, curator of the Musee National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet in Paris, and M.C. Joshi of the Archaeological Survey of New Delhi. With 158 full-color photographs (including four magnificent foldout pictures) by the late Jean-Louis Nou (to whom the book is dedicated). Nou balances exterior and large-scale views with many detailed, close-up photographs of inscriptions, flora designs and sculpture. With a floor plan, quotations from the Koran and brief excerpts from travelers' accounts. (IDA108, $75.00)
	Eyes over Africa  •  Michael Poliza NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 408 PAGES Poliza's breathtaking double-page portraits capture the diversity and beauty of Africa from a low-flying helicopter -- a birds-eye view of the landscapes, wildlife, villages and cites of 19 different countries. (AFR205, $125.00)
	The Great Naturalists  •  Robert Huxley NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 304 PAGES Natural history as told through the lives and travels of the most influential naturalists. Includes widely-renowned and lesser-known contributors, from Darwin and Aristotle to Mary Anning, known as the "Princess of Paleontology" for her skill at finding fossils. (NAT133, $39.95)
	Planet Ocean, A Voyage to the Heart of the Marine Realm  •  Laurent Ballesta  •  Pierre Descamp  •  Jean-Michel Cousteau NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 368 PAGES A dizzyingly colorful tour of marine life from the poles to the reefs, featuring 25 expert essays and 400 color photographs of coral, crustaceans, fish, mammals and plants. Ballesta's exquisite portraits celebrate the astounding adaptations and variety of life under the sea, including bizarre Antarctic fish, weird benthic creatures, multi-colored reef beauties, marine turtles, sharks and rays. (OCE115, $40.00)
	Inside China  •   National Geographic Society CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 272 PAGES The diverse landscapes and peoples of China as seen through the lenses of photographers past (Henri Cartier-Bresson, Li Zhensheng, Marc Riboud) and present (Mark Leong, Edward Burtynsky, Sebastio Salgado). Jonathan Spence, Minxin Pei and other modern experts offer essays on the history and future of the country. (CHN444, $50.00)
	Antarctica, The Global Warning  •  Sebastian Copeland  •  Mikhail Gorbachev  •  Leonardo di Caprio NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 206 PAGES This collection of 120 full-color photographs by celebrity photographer Sergio Copeland documents his voyage aboard Lady Patagonia on behalf of Global Green USA. With the DVD, SOS: A Global Warning, with extensive behind-the-scenes dialogue, shot on the ice, between Copeland and his co-producer, aerial artist John Quigley. The story of this production-at-sea includes a montage of live-action set to a contemporary, original musical score. (ANT255, $55.00)
	Planet Earth, As You've Never Seen It Before  •  Alastair Fothergill NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 309 PAGES The flora, fauna and natural history of the Earth's poles, forests, plains, deserts, mountains and oceans in stunning color photographs, companion to the television series presented by the Discovery Channel. (CON35, $39.95)
	In Buddha's Land  •  Moe Min RELIGION •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 208 PAGES This beautiful, illustrated portrait of monuments, monasteries and rituals is both a striking visual overview of Buddhism as practiced in Burma, and a splendid introduction to the country. (BMA52, $35.00)
	Life, A Journey Through Time  •  Frans Lanting EXPLORATION •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 303 PAGES • NEW Lanting evokes the evolution of life on Earth, its beauty, diversity and grandeur, in 200 sumptuous color photographs. From fiery eruptions, geysers and stark geology, through single-celled organisms and fish, to the rise of amphibians and reptiles, birds, flowering plants and mammals, this is a splendid tale of biodiversity and wonder. Life is also a touring exhibition and multi-media presentation with a score by Philip Glass. (NAT110, $59.99)
	Burton Holmes Travelogues  •  Genoa Caldwell TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 366 PAGES • NEW A glorious selection of photos, hand-tinted lantern slides and tales from Burton Holmes's extraordinary multi-volume Travelogues, originally published in 1901. From the grand boulevards of Paris to China's Great Wall, from the construction of the Panama canal to the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Holmes was there, camera and pen at the ready. He made a career of sharing his stories, colorful photographs, and films with audiences across America, billing himself as "the World's Greatest Traveler." (TVL116, $59.99)
	New Zealand, A Natural History  •  Tui De Roy  •  Mark Jones NATURAL HISTORY •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 160 PAGES Naturalists and photographers both, de Roy and Jones present the wildlife, habitats and splendor of their adopted homeland in this pictorial celebration. (NZL76, $35.00)
	The Andes, As the Condor Flies  •  Tui De Roy NATURAL HISTORY •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 160 PAGES This stunning collection of 350 color photographs, organized geographically, showcases the landscapes, habitats and wildlife of the Andes from Ecuador's cloud forests to little-visited regions of the Peruvian Andes, to the Altiplano and Patagonia. (SAM79, $35.00)
	Bhutan, A Visual Odyssey Across the Last Himalayan Kingdom  •  Michael Hawley CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 218 PAGES Remarkable in many respects, this gorgeously produced book features hundreds of photographs of the landscapes, places, festivals and especially the people of Bhutan. It's in part the record of four treks across the Himalayan kingdom by Michael Hawley and his team from MIT. All proceeds from the book are donated by the publisher to education in Bhutan. It's Hawley's little big book, still an impressive five pounds. The world's largest book, from which it is drawn, is a 150-pound, 5-by-7-foot technical marvel, available upon request with a custom aluminum stand for a $15,000 donation. White glove overnight shipping by FedEx is included. (BHU20, $100.00)
	Mapping the Silk Road and Beyond  •  Kenneth Nebenzahl ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 176 PAGES This collection of 80 stunning maps, presented chronologically, traces European exploration of Asia from Alexander the Great through the 19th century. Ken Nebenzahl, a noted map dealer and authority on antiquarian cartography, sponsors a prestigious lecture series on maps at the University of Chicago. (CAS113, $49.95)

	One-Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy  •  Paolo Lazzarin   • GUIDEBOOK  •  Each charming town gets an appreciative essay and evocative color photographs in this handsome tribute and excellent guide. (ITL546, $45.00)
	Dogon, Africa's People of the Cliffs  •  Stephanie Hollyman   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Hollyman's 125 intimate photographs capture the essence of the tightly knit, cooperative society of the Dogon of Mali, their traditional ways of life and distinctive architecture. (WAF46, $49.50)
	Estancias: The Great Houses and Ranches of Argentina  •  Maria Saenz Quesada  •  Xavier Verstraeten   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Two dozen of Argentina's most magnificent country estates are featured in this sumptuously illustrated volume featuring 200 color photographs and a cultural and social history by Maria Saenz Quesada (ARG62, $75.00)
	One Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in France: Food & Wine  •  Simonetta Greggio   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Each charming village gets an appreciative essay and evocative color photographs in this handsome tribute (and excellent guide to choosing where to visit). (FRN611, $50.00)
	The Cities Book, A Journey Through The Best Cities In The World  •   Lonely Planet Publications   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  An eclectic roundup of 200 cities from London, Paris and New York to Bamako, Chiang Mai, and Nuuk, (WLD83, $50.00)
	The Essential Africa  •  Michael Poliza   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A condensed volume of Poliza's sumptuous Africa, which contains the very best of the full size edition and half its photographs. (AFR183, $35.00)
	Tibet, An Inner Journey  •  Matthieu Ricard   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Ricard draws on his long association with the region and Buddhism for this collection of 191 vivid color photographs of the people and landscapes of Kham, or Eastern Tibet. (TBT113, $45.00)
	Ansel Adams, 400 Photographs  •  Ansel Adams  •   Stillman, Andrea G.   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  This hefty volume highlights Adams' entire career from his first striking images of Yosemite and the High Sierras in 1916 to the 1960s. Much of the focus is on National Parks. (GEN407, $40.00)
	Colors of Provence  •  Michel Biehn  •  Heinz Angermayr   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A handsome sourcebook and celebration of the French countryside, its culture, landscapes and traditions, organized by color and scattered throughout with recipes, quotes and notes. (FRN173, $29.95)
	Distant Shores, The Odyssey of Rockwell Kent  •  Constance Martin  •  Rockwell Kent   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A striking collection of work by the great American illustrator and adventurer. (ART34, $24.95)
	First Class, Legendary Train Journeys Around the World  •  Patrick Poivre D'Arvor   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  An illustrated celebration of the elegance and regency of great trains of past and present, including the Orient Express, the Trans-Siberian and the California Zephyr. (WLD126, $35.00)
	From Lucy to Language  •  Donald Johanson  •  Blake Edgar   • ARCHAEOLOGY  •  A strikingly illustrated survey of human evolution, featuring 200 stunning color photographs of significant hominid fossils. (EAF85, $65.00)
	South Southeast  •  Steve McCurry   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A remarkable portfolio of images taken in and around Afghanistan, Burma, India Pakistan and other sites in South and Southeast Asia. (ASA34, $59.95)
	The Grand Tour, Travelling the World with an Architect's Eye  •  Harry Seidler   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  An illustrated survey of the world's great buildings, ancient and modern. This fat book is stuffed with over 500 beautiful color photographs taken by Seidler, a prominent Australian architect with an eye for images. (WLD125, $14.99)
	The Past from Above  •  Georg Gerster   • ARCHAEOLOGY  •  A celebration of World Heritage, Gerster's dazzling low aerial photographs depict exceptional archaeological sites, castles and sanctuaries from the Great Wall of China to Stonehenge, the Acropolis, Borobudur, Aleppo and the fortified town of Carcassonne. (WLD88, $39.95)
	Call of the North, An Explorer's Journey to the North Pole  •  Andre Malaurie   • EXPLORATION  •  A handsome, oversize memoir and celebration of the Inuit by the French polar explorer (Last Kings of Thule), featuring 300 of Malaurie's color photographs spanning 50 years in the Arctic. Malaurie became the first Frenchman to reach the Pole by dogsled in 1951. (ARC109, $60.00)
	Climb Every Mountain  •  Colin Monteath   • EXPLORATION  •  Polar explorer, photographer, and writer Monteath's illustrated chronicle of high altitude adventure includes a South Georgia traverse, dogsledding in Greenland and trekking in Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. (WLD114, $40.00)
	Lonely Planet Guide to the Middle of Nowhere  •   Lonely Planet Publications   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  Organized geographically and handsomely illustrated, this oversize book celebrates remote destinations worldwide, from Antarctica and the Gobi to Siberia. (TVL117, $35.00)
	Unknown Lands, The Log Books of the Great Explorers  •  François Bellec   • EXPLORATION  •  An exquisitely illustrated selection of eyewitness accounts, maps, and reports from the logs of Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco de Gama, James Cook, and others from the great age of exploration. (EXP32, $55.00)
	Everyman's Library 100 Titles Set  •   Various   • LITERATURE  •  An enduring hardcover library of 100 beautifully made essential classic and contemporary works from literature to history to philosophy. (GEN401, $2197.95)
	Amazing Rare Things, The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery  •  David Attenborough   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  An exquisite selection of 160 natural history drawings and watercolors. (NAT132, $37.50)
	Animal Life, Secrets of the Animal World Revealed  •  Charlotte Uhlenbroek   • NATURAL HISTORY • COMING IN OCTOBER  •  A sumptuously illustrated overview of the diversity of animals, their ecology and behavior. (NAT152, $50.00)
	Antarctic Oasis, Under the Spell of South Georgia  •  Pauline Carr  •  Tim Carr   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  An oversized portrait of South Georgia, featuring 100 stunning color photographs, by Tim and Pauline Carr, the yachtsmen who have made the extraordinary island their home. (ANT44, $40.00)
	Galapagos: Ocean, Earth, Wind & Fire  •  Jonathan R. Green   • NATURAL HISTORY • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE  •  A handsome portfolio of color photographs by naturalist-guide, diver and photographer Jonathan Green, including an extensive chapter on underwater life. (GPS72, $49.95)
	Great Barrier Reef  •  David Doubilet   • NATURAL HISTORY • OUT OF PRINT  •  Underwater master of color and light, Doubilet captures the beauty and diversity of the Great Barrier Reef in 125 stunning photographs. (AUS118, $40.00)
	Serengeti, Natural Order on the African Plain  •  Mitsuaki Iwago   • NATURAL HISTORY • BEST SELLER • FAVORITE • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE  •  This handsomely produced volume by the celebrated Tokyo photographer features 300 full-color images of the Serengeti plains. It's one of our favorite photo collections -- beautiful and timeless. (EAF04, $35.00)
	Spirit of the Wild  •  Steve Bloom   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  A striking portfolio of 57 color photographs (CON39, $34.95)
	The Canadian Rockies  •  Mike Grandmaison   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  An oversize portfolio of stunning peaks, valleys, lakes and rivers in Banff, Jasper, Yoho and beyond. (CND286, $40.00)
	The Living Wild  •  Art Wolfe   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  Wolfe's handsomely produced portfolio -- noteworthy for its emphasis on habitat and surroundings, production quality and geographic range, includes essays by George B. Schaller, William Conway, Richard Dawkins, Jane Goodall and others. With 140 different species photographed in 40 countries around the world. (NAT53, $65.00)
	Vanishing World, The Endangered Arctic  •  Mireilla De La Lez  •  Fredrik Granath   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  (ARC203, $40.00)
	Wild at Heart, Man and Beast in Southern Africa  •  Peter Godwin  •  Chris Johns  •  Nelson Mandela   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  This superb collection of 128 full-color photographs tackles conservation, development and tradition in Southern Africa. It's a well-illustrated portrait of the region by National Geographic photographer Chris Johns and veteran journalist Peter Godwin. (SAF130, $65.00)

Here are some other groups of books that might interest you. Click to view a listing:

More Books
Atlases
Cartographia
World Heritage
Where to Go
Our Planet Earth
Africa Illustrated
For the Birds
At the Movies