[.ca] Through the Lens: National Geographic's Greatest Photographs (ISBN 079226164X)

From Amazon.com:
Since the 10.5 million images in National Geographic's possession won't fit in a book, the 250 in this moderately glossy, minimally costly collection will do nicely. Through the Lens is a stunning collection of photos judiciously apportioned to represent the regions of the earth, the sea, and outer space; humans and nature; and even the history of the medium--a few historic black and whites contrast dramatically with the eye-popping modern color shots that dominate the book. As ever, the esthetic key to their impact is the use of big, emotional pictures with witty little captions, and whenever possible, startling juxtapositions. A Boston matron's faux-fur coat looks just like her pet Dalmatian (the caption identifies them as "spots fans"). The world's widest street (in Buenos Aires) by night looks great next to a grassy highway overpass for grizzly bears in Alberta. The famous green-eyed Afghan refugee poses in a purple burkha with her 1985 National Geographic cover. A Moscow shopper tries on a snowsuit, oblivious to the huge face in the ad on the wall behind him, whose nose he obscures and smile he bisects. A fuzzy shot of a 1907 inventor testing a multiwinged "Katydid" flying machine contrasts with a crisp 1974 shot of Skylab soaring far above fluffy clouds. Often, what's striking is the juxtaposition of ideas. An Arctic wolf making an impossible leap between ice floes arcs in midair, only its reflection hitting the frigid water. A 1935 Model T "surfs" a steep dune in White Sands, New Mexico. Chorus lines of stuffed cane-toad corpses with surreally clothespinned snouts perform on a taxidermist's shelf. Newborns are lined up like bread loaves in Shanghai. A woman in a white chador sits in the Tripoli airport, the white lines of fluorescent ceiling bulbs radiating behind her head like a saint's halo. This isn't the fanciest photo book of the season, but it certainly is a good deal. -Tim Appelo

Is Saudi-Arabia in Africa??:
I would underline what several reviewers pointed out about pictures and make (that's what the 2 stars are for), but I found that there are several serious errors in this book. One can find photos taken in Saudi-Arabia (pp222-223) or Israel(pp276-277) in the section about AFRICA! Hey, this is National Geographic--so far most reputable source of everything about our planet. The Middle-East and the Arabian peninsula are part of ASIA and not of Africa. I was astonished and very disappointed to see that the editors apparently didn't take care about these 'minor' issues.

Definitely worth the price, but...:
Through the Lens is an excellent collection of National Geographic photos, and for only $30, well worth the cost. The book has several well known photos, as well as other beautiful, but not as publicized, pictures. The book is divided into sections based on continents, which (usually) makes it easier to find a specific picture. This book does have its share of problems however. There's no index, so you can't look for pictures with a specific theme. The majority of the pictures are centered in the middle of the two pages, so the middle of the pictures disappear into the binding. The pages are another problem entirely. The book is printed on glossy paper that absorbs liquid (apparently). Oil from your fingers is left as prints or smudges, even if you only are touching the page for a few seconds. These marks DO NOT disappear over time, and you can espeacially see them on the black pages. Even with these problems, this book is worth getting for the spectacular pictures inside.

Not Especially Satisfying:
I'll give 3 stars to this book for the hidden gems in it, and for the expansive collection of photographs. However, National Geographic seems to have chosen quantity over quanlity. I was genuinely surprised at the lack of pictures even worth being denoted 'good'. Some of them looked like the sort of thing the average person takes on a short vacation. Most photos in it are across both pages, and the large size makes almost every picture look grainy. It also makes the book seem like there are more pictures than there really are. The truly wonderful photos are pretty much all ones we've seen printed elsewhere, multiple times, like a humpback whale with seabirds about it by Flip Nicklin. I've even seen that one used in advertisements. Don't waste your money or time buying this book; there are others of much better quality and lower pricing. In short they are NOT the "Greatest" photographs.

National Geographic Through the Lens - A Review:
An avid reader and fan of Nationl Geographic for 5 decades, I was disappointed in the book. More than half of the featured photographs were recent, many taken in the last 5 years. So many of the breath taking pictures that I remeber were not included. I cannot even guess at what the critera was for photographs to be included in this book but, in my opinion, these are not the best of National Geographic.

beautiful photography:
More than the articles, when I think of National Geographic Magazine I think of the photography. I have long considered the photography in National Geographic to be some of the best magazine photography that I have seen. The images are typically stunning and give me a visual idea of locations that I would not even be able to imagine. I cannot speak to the technical craft of photography because I know nothing about that. Since I also have not looked at other National Geographic Collections, I cannot speak as to what is included in those collections and how it compares to this collection. What I can speak to is what I thought about this particular collection. Bottom line: I liked it. Since I am not a regular reader of National Geographic, all of the pictures were new to me. This is an excellent collection of photography for someone who just wants to look at some wonderful pictures. One can look through the book casually and enjoy the pictures (as I did), or one can study the pictures and see exactly what is going on and find nuance within the pictures. Either way works. Good pictures, good book, and it was an enjoyable time looking at some of the best of National Geographic's photography.