The Human Element: A Time Capsule from the Anthropocene

(Hardback)

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For four decades, world-renowned environmental photographer James Balog has traveled well over a million miles from the Arctic to the Antarctic and the Alps, Andes, and Himalayas. With his images heightening awareness of climate change and endangered species, he is one of the most relevant photographers in the world today.

Balogs photography of and essays on 'human tectonics' humanitys reshaping of the natural environment reveal the intersection of people and nature, and that when we sustain nature, we sustain ourselves. This monumental book is an unprecedented combination of art informed by scientific knowledge. Featuring Balogs 350 most iconic photographs,The Human Elementoffers a truly unmatched view of the world and a world we may never see again.

Reviews

"James Balog, a photographer best known for his remarkable time-lapse glacier photos, has been chasing the climate story for decades. A new book compiling his work, The Human Element, is due out later this year."THE NEW YORKER

"James Balog's new book The Human Element is a magnum opus destined to be a photographic classic. It is a profound statement by a force of nature on the forces of nature. DENNIS DIMICK, FORMER EDITOR, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

A collection of visually arresting, powerful, historical-marker photos of the Anthropocene by one of the celebrated naturalists and photographers of our time. Physically the book is large, very heavy, and beautifully produced. It is like a museum exhibition, captured between covers. Since people dont need printed dictionaries any more, youd want to put it on a dictionary standboth so you dont have to hold it, and so you can carefully leaf through its hundreds of arresting images. However you can see this photographic record of our timein this book, in the gallery exhibits that should resume someday, or otherwiseyou should make a point of doing so. This is a beautiful, and alarming, and motivating portrait of our era. JAMES FALLOWS

An epic and triumphant achievement that reveals the decades-long arc of a career of a master photographer and concerned naturalistas well as his deep commitment to chronicling the adverse and ever-accelerating impact of humanitys toll on our precious planet. DAVID FRIEND, VANITY FAIR

"Your magnum opus is clearly a landmark accomplishment, offering forceful reasoning for urgent action! ... You deserve endless credit from the rest of us hapless humans for devoting your life and your astounding talent to ringing the alarm bell with a sharp call to action. ELIZABETH BROUN, DIRECTOR EMERITA, SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

"This is epic and so filled with wisdom and heart. I cannot believe that one human created all of this and also can't begin to imagine what it took to create it. This is your life, and a profound statement about our world. AMI VITALE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHER AND FILMMAKER

The Years Best Photo Books. Whether it's power stations pumping out smoke or a blazing forest, theenvironmental photographer James Balog offers a harrowing look into theimpact humans have on our planet. With its hurricane-crumpled homes,tsunami-swallowed freighters and even playful doodles of tyre tracks onsalt flats, this book can easily make a reader feel small. Yet it alsoinspires with its reverence and wonder, from the slow ache of ancientwoodland and its gnarled sculptures, to the smoke-blackened faces of
firefights up close. THE TIMES (LONDON)

"This book is a masterpiece." MAJOR GARRETT, CBS NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

Balogs hefty new book, The Human Element,presents an anthology of his words and pictures froma lifetime of bearing witness to human impacts on the planet.INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS

"Best Illustrated Books of the Year. Hugely important, this book bemoans the effects of climate change on our shrinking natural habitats. Balog's photographs range from shots of flowing lava to power stations issuing vast plumes of smoke, from flooded streets to burning forests and some amazing endangered species. Who would have thought that such destruction could be made so beautiful" DAILY MAIL UK

12 books on climate and the planet for the holidays. These books meet this fraught moment with confidence, vision, reflection, and imagination. Another COVID year behind. Another COVID winter ahead.A 26thglobal climate meeting just adjourned. In Washington, the more aggressive climate and social justice bill, the budget reconciliation bill, still in the balance.And records, oh so many records, brokenfor fire, for rain, and for temperatures.Are there books that can meet this moment Books that can lift burdened spirits over the holidays Yale Climate Connections has identified a dozen.[The Human Element] transforms anxiety into wonder and will, with compelling visualizations.Wrap one up for a relative or a friend. Or for yourself.YALE CLIMATE CONNECTIONS

Author Bio

James Balogis an avid mountaineer and the author of eight books. His2018award-winning filmThe Human Elementwas screened worldwide. Balogs Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) is the most extensive photographic study of glaciers ever conducted, and his documentaryChasing Icewon an Emmy and an Oscar nomination. His photographs are in dozens of public and private art collections and extensively published.