Title: You Are Here: Around the World in 92 MinutesAuthor: Chris Hadfield
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publication: January 1st 2014, Pan Macmillan
Pages: 208 Pages, Hardcover
Source: Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me this delightful, picturesque treasure in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: 5/5 Cupcakes!.
In You Are Here, bestselling author and celebrated astronaut Chris Hadfield creates a virtual orbit of Earth, giving us the really big picture: this is our home, from space. The millions of us who followed Hadfield's news-making Twitter feed from the ISS thought we knew what we were looking at when we first saw his photos. But we may have caught the beauty and missed the full meaning. Now, through photographs - many of which have never been shared - Hadfield unveils a fresh and insightful look at our planet. He sees astonishing detail and importance in these images, not just because he's spent months in space but because his in-depth knowledge of geology, geography and meteorology allows him to reveal the photos' mysteries.
Featuring Hadfield's favourite images, You Are Here is divided by continent and represents one (idealized) orbit of the ISS.
When I received this book to review, my happiness levels soared to the tremendous heights of the exosphere. As many of you may know, I am a complete physics and chemistry geek and I want to study astrophysics one day. I am utterly fascinated by outer space. The galaxies, the stars, the planets, our solar system - how all of this combined creates the gorgeous world we live in and the magnificent world beyond our world. I am so utterly keen to accompany others in discovering the secrets of the universe beyond ours, one day. However, this delightful read made me realise all the millions of secrets that lie within the crevices on this planet, our planet, and how I would quite like to learn more about our own, before I try unlocking the secrets above.
What I loved about You Are Here, is that it made me appreciate this world. It made me appreciate the volcanoes and the glaciers, the rivers and the clouds that have been engraved within the earth's form. How these countless natural monuments have pushed and struggled through sediment, how deadly beautiful volcanoes are formed due to persistent magma that has clawed its way to the surface and erupted again and again to make stunning yet terrifying constructions. It made me realise, like Chris Hadfield had, that the universe seems to have a sense of humor. With some naturally formed wonders resembling a laughing face, a comical seal, an exclamation mark, or how certain rocks and mountain combined forms the shape of an eye. I got to see the evident division between Mexico and the USA, or how certain clouds, drifting a certain way, resemble sugar sprinkled on the top of a cupcake. It made me realise that heavenly perfection not only reigns in the starlit sky above, but within the very air we breathe and the on the very soil our feet walk upon. You Are Here was such an eye-opening read, to show the earth is such a wondrous architect of these carefully formed structures. The way the book is laid out is fantastic too, with words artistically arranged on the page and clipart scattered on various pages, it makes the book have a somewhat comfortable, welcoming feel to it.
I want to thank Chris Hadfield for taking such gorgeous pictures and for sharing the beauty of our earth from an otherworldly perspective. I will probably never be able to explore outer space and see our planet from such a different angle, so thank you Chris Hadfield for giving me, and millions of others, the impossible chance of seeing our planet earth in such an artistic, unique light. You Are Here is a book that everyone will find great delight in as it will have you marveling at how glorious our world truly is and it will make you so very thankful that we have a chance to set foot on this planet and live our lives in such a richly-colored, extravagant place.
I give it: 5/5 Cupcakes!
