Amazing Rare Things

Starred Review. A true feast . . . marvelous . . . passionate . . . widely accessible. A book to savor . . . sumptuous . . . transcendent. Amazing Rare Things is a book to savor in your favorite chair. You'll imagine yourself with naturalist and artist Maria Sibylla Merian as she tramps into the wilderness of Surinam. The sumptuous drawings and watercolors reproduced in this volume bear witness to the endeavors of Merian, Leonardo da Vinci and other artists who recorded the plants, animals and insects they observed with intensity. The accompanying prose bristles with detail. . . . The coupling of words and images is primal, yet transcendent. --Susan P. Williams, Washington Post Book World A true feast for anyone interested in natural history, this marvelous book makes the underappreciated artworks of a passionate, talented group widely accessible. --Publishers Weekly (starred review) All the essays and naturalist Attenborough's introduction are written for a general audience. The paper and print quality is superb, with an amazing level of detail visible in the color plates. Recommended for public and academic libraries. --Library Journal This volume . . . shows how artists shaped, and were shaped by, an era of booming scientific discovery. From meticulously rendered flowers to surreal reptilian portraits, 160 full-color illustrations capture a profound curiosity about the natural world. --Seed Magazine Looking at these illustrations allows us to peer inside the minds of people centuries ago for whom creatures in other lands were inaccessible exotica. An ideal gift for anyone enthralled by both art and nature's wonders. --Victor Swoboda, Montreal Gazette The superb reproductions recommend Amazing Rare Things, from Merian's big-nosed lantern flies investigating pomegranate blossoms to Catesby's painting of a tiny slay-legged lizard working its way up a riot of foliage. --Michael S. Gant, Metroactive In its elegant, quiet way, this may be the most visually compelling book I've come across this season. . . . The 160 color illustrations depict with exquisite artistry an array of exotic plants and animals brought to Europe's attention as a result of 15th- and 16th-century voyages of exploration. Renowned naturalist David Attenborough and expert colleagues contribute a series of engaging essays that illuminate the history of our urge to depict the natural world and the particular perspectives and achievements of the artists. --Barnes & Noble Review The Age of Discovery, the 15th through the 18th centuries, gave rise to magnificent exploits and explorations of art, science and ideas. Amazing Rare Things is a rich testament to that heady period. . . . Artworks are elegantly interspersed throughout the text and comprise a wonder of visual delights (enlivened by Attenborough's arcane, amusing commentary). . . . In today's world, imperiled as it is with threats of global warming and loss of various species, this stunningly beautiful book is a masterful tribute--and a wakeup call. --Book Page At first, second and third look, sheer fascination will keep you turning pages to see the painting of the next wondrous plant or animal and find out what they are. Even the more mundane subjects are so lovely that a lot of people probably are going to be tempted to cut the plates out and frame them. --Carol Edwards, Charleston Post and Courier This attractive volume by naturalist Attenborough et al. chronicles select dimensions of the development of natural history illustration in the 'Age of Discovery'. . . . Recommended. --Choice Gazing at the catalog in one's own private palace is almost as good as viewing the originals. --Caroline Ash, Science A feast for the eyes, reproducing magnificent illustrations in their original vibrant colors. --Charles C. Kolb, Science Books & Films A beautiful and informative survey of five of the most remarkable items in the Royal Collection. --David Buisseret, The Journal for the History of Discoveries Silver medal winner for the 2007 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award in the Nature category Selected as a 2008 AAUP University Press Book for Public and Secondary School Libraries Scientists often wonder who first illustrated biodiversity, and I imagine that artists often wonder about the chronology and development of accurate depictions of natural history. Amazing Rare Things is a welcome and long overdue integration of art and science. --Margaret D. Lowman, author of It's a Jungle Up There and Life in the Treetops Animals were the first things that human beings drew. Not plants. Not landscapes. Not even themselves. But animals. Why? . . . There is a common denominator that links all these artists--the profound joy that all feel who observe the natural world with [a] sustained and devoted intensity. --From the Introduction by David Attenborough