Pictures Worth More than a Thousand Words

Looking for fantastic photography on a wide variety of topics? Check out these stunning titles this summer.

1) Oceanology
ISBN: 9780744020502
Call #: 551.46 OCE 2020
Book Size: 10.13 x 1.2 x 12.06 inches
MCLS Catalog Quick Link

What to Know: Oceanography’s back cover calls it “An informative and utterly beautiful introduction to the ocean, this book brings the riches of the marine world onto the printed page.”

About this title: From jellyfish that live upside down (page 108), to octopi that can change color (page 131), and sharks that can briefly crawl across land (page 44), this book is filled with fascinating marine life. Each entry in the collection contains a crisp, vivid photo alongside graphs and bite-sized descriptions of the subject.

Features:

• Table of Contents categorizes topics by location, including “rocky coasts”, “coral reefs”, and “polar oceans”.
• Accompanying graphs impart additional information relative to the large photos such as the impact of the moon on ocean tides (page 82) or how the anatomy of osprey feet helps birds of prey fish while remaining near the sea’s surface (page 98).
• A Classification section assists with identifying sea life.

2) The Planets – The Definitive Visual Guide to Our Solar System
ISBN: 9781465424648
Call #: 523 PLA 2014
Book Size: 10.19 x 0.91 x 12.19 inches
MCLS Quick Link

What to Know: From the back cover, “Explore the volcanic landscape of Venus, the dunes of Mars, the fathomless depths of Jupiter, and other wonders of the solar system. State-of the-art imagery and high-definition maps reveal each planet and major moon in beautiful detail, from atmosphere to core.”

About this title: The table of contents starts at the Sun and works its way out, traveling from Mercury to Neptune and beyond. Each planet’s entry begins with images and information about its atmosphere, for example, how Neptune’s blue color is attributed to “traces of methane” in addition to its “mainly hydrogen and helium” atmosphere (page 206), and then continues on to the moons and satellites that surround each planet. Additional sections describe and compare dwarf planets, cover comets and their orbits, and include information on the many satellite missions to photograph and collect data about the planets of our solar system.

Features:

• Depictions of Saturn’s rings from up close (page 176) and photographed by the Cassini spacecraft (page 174).
• Full page planetary cross-sections show internal structures for Venus (page 60), Mars (page 112), and Jupiter (page 152).
• -According to the MCLS Catalog description, “Featuring 3D models built using data gathered by NASA and the European Space Agency.”

3) The Library Book
ISBN: 9781597113748
Call #: 778.36 SCH 2017
Book Size: 11 x 1.1 x 14.5 inches
MCLS Catalog Quick Link

What to Know: According to The Library Book’s MCLS catalog entry, “Schiff's photographs capture the shifting architectural styles and missions of the library, from the very earliest American libraries to the modernist masterpieces of Louis I. Kahn and others. The sweeping 360-degree panoramas help the viewer maintain the original vision of the architects.”

About this title: From the five floors with stylized balconies and “sixty-one feet” of skylight at the George Peabody Library (page 220) to the castle-like interior of the “two city blocks long” Rose Reading Room at the New York Public Library (page 46), this title shows how varied and creative a library’s aesthetics can be. The table of contents lists each location by state. New Jersey libraries included in this title are Lewis Science Library in Princeton (page 98) and Newark Public Library (page 198).

Features:

• Pages that take full advantage of the book’s dimensions by displaying the outside and inside of the library across the top and bottom of both pages such as the Geisel Library (page 94), St. Louis Public Library (page 192), the Bates Hall Reading Room (page 217) and more.
• From the back cover, “More than 120 dramatic, panoramic photographs”.

4) Baseball's Greatest
ISBN: 9781618930552
Call #: 796.357 SPO 2013
Book Size: 10.75 x 1.1 x 13.25 inches
MCLS Catalog Quick Link

What to Know: The back cover of Baseball’s Greatest inquires and seeks to answer, “Who is the greatest centerfielder of all time? How about the most dominant pitcher? What’s the best game ever? SI’s team of experts once and for all settles the questions baseball fans have been debating since the first pitch was thrown”.

About this title: Featuring both long form articles pulled from issues of the magazine, “Jackie Robinson – Major League Hot Streak” (page 46) and shorter, more photography-based features, “Mike Schmidt – Phillies 1972-1989” (page 56), this title is filled with quotes from across the history of MLB, recognizing achievements of players alongside providing stadium statistics like Fenway Park’s full capacity of 37,493 (page 223) and how Camden Yards in Baltimore “kicked off a building boom of retro-ballparks” (page 228).

Features:

• Table of contents organizes by position, starting at first baseman and continuing counter-clockwise around the baseball diamond before exploring ballparks, franchises, and managers.
• Introduction goes over photography in baseball across history and what can and can’t be gleaned by photos alone. Also includes an explanation of how rankings were decided.
• Countdown lists at the back of the book cover uniforms (page 276), quotes (page 282), magazine covers (page 284), and a breakdown of all players who received votes for each position covered in the book (page 286).

5) The Grand Canyon: Between River and Rim
ISBN: 9780847863044
Call #: 979.132 MCB 2018
Book Size: 13.3 x 1.12 x 10.85 inches
MCLS Catalog Quick Link

What to Know: From the inside cover, “Readers are invited to follow award-winning photographer Pete McBride and best-selling author Kevin Fedarko on a once-in-a-lifetime journey: a 750-plus mile, end-to-end hike of the Grand Canyon from Lees Ferry to the Grand Wash Cliffs. Includes rarely seen photography of such locations as Marble Canyon, Havasu Creek, Great Thumb Mesa, “Heli Alley,”, and Mount Synella.”

About this title: The table of contents sets up this adventure over the course of nearly a year, beginning in Fall and ending the following Summer. Each season spends time in different portions of the Grand Canyon to provide the sense of both the passage of time and the journey from Lees Ferry all the way to the Grand Wash Cliffs. These large, artfully taken, high-definition photos provide an immersive experience.

Features:

• Takes full advantage of the its physical dimensions; two-page spreads stretch to close to 27in/68cm wide photographs.
• Journal-entry articles describe the sights, sounds, and sensations of traveling the Grand Canyon across different seasons, times of day, and weather patterns.
• Notable photos include the Escalade Trail (page 76-77), lightning on the north rim (page 196-197), and a view from the canyon’s second river at night (page 82-83).

6) The Game Console: A Photographic History from Xbox to Atari
ISBN: 9781593277437
Call #: 668.748 AMO 2019
Book Size: 8.38 x 0.86 x 10.38 inches
MCLS Catalog Quick Link

What to Know: From the back cover, “The Game Console is a visual tour of the rise, fall, and monumental resurgence of the game console, from the earliest single-game consoles to the groundbreaking Nintendo Switch hybrid device. Discover consoles you never knew existed, follow the turbulent evolution of the industry, and get a rare peek at the hardware inside some of history’s most iconic videogame systems.”

About this title: A museum exhibition you can hold in your hands, this title starts with the first edition of the Magnavox Odyssey and travels through 6 decades and across 8 console generations to the Nintendo Switch. Each entry has a summary covering its history with a large photo of the system, its controllers, accessories, and many also include layered photos of dissected consoles like the Sega Genesis (page 87) and Game Boy Color (page 153) allowing you to see normally hidden computer chips and how all the parts all fit together.

Features:

• Stratified photos present striking visuals of individual systems’ inner workings.
• Covers 86 consoles beginning in 1972 and ending in 2017.
• Specs graphs provide info regarding system processors, RAM, initial list price and more.

- by Lauren Costantini, West Windsor Branch