One of Space.com's Best Space Photography Books
"Is there a person left on the internet who hasn't yet swooned over astronaut Chris Hadfield's jaw-dropping images from space? Here's a chance to have them in your home.... While we've seen plenty of NASA images of our planet, Hadfield's instantly feel more personal. These photos were taken by a curious human, not as part of a larger organizational mandate. Hadfield was capturing his photos not necessarily as a scientist, but more as a zero-gravity sightseer on behalf of all civilization."—Alissa Walker, Gizmodo
"You Are Here ... offers readers a magnificent photographic view of something very familiar: Earth."—Sarah Gray, Salon
"Awe-inspiring photos... Sprinkled among the pictures are Hadfield's fun factoids about life without gravity."—Parade
"A photographic exploration of the planet, a series of spectacular images snapped from the International Space Station."—David Martindale, Dallas Morning News
"Eye-opening and often whimsical."—John McMurtrie, Houston Chronicle
"A visually stunning tour of Earth.... Breathtaking photos."—CBS This Morning
"A stunning book of photos."—Alyssa Newcomb, ABC News
"Fun and fascinating."—David Martindale, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"The photos are fascinating, and Hadfield's commentary is by turns insightful and playful, revealing deforestation on one page, and landforms that resemble ears on another. A sure hit for fans of photography, cartography, geography or space travel."—Wendy Sawatzky, Winnipeg Free Press
"The book is incredibly well designed, with a visually interesting mix of typography and layouts....It is sure to capture the attention of adults and kids, and evoke a sense of wonder about our beautiful but slightly banged up rock we call home."—Ariane Coffin, GeekMom
The photos "offer fascinatingly unfamiliar perspectives on Venice, the Sahara desert, Australia's sparsely populated interior, and the oil and gas sites of New Mexico."—Henry Hitchings, Wall Street Journal
"This planetary photo tour-surprising, playful, thought-provoking, and visually delightful-is also punctuated with fun, fascinating commentary on life in zero gravity.... You are Here opens a singular window on our planet, using remarkable photographs to illuminate the history and consequences of human settlement, the magnificence of newly uncovered landscapes, and the power of the natural forces shaping our world and the future of our species."—Alan Petrucelli, Examiner.com
"Chris Hadfield sorted through his thousands of snaps from 2,500 trips around the Earth and, with an unending sense of wonder, brings you the best."—Adele Peters, Fast Company
"Stunning photos."—Jacqueline Howard, The Huffington Post
"An astounding volume of 192 full-color photographs."—Leo Mirani, Quartz
"Striking, abstract views of Earth alongside something familiar."—Megan Gannon, Space.com
12/01/2014
Engineer and former Canadian Air Force pilot Hadfield first flew in space in 1995 and in 2013 became commander of the International Space Station. During his tenure, the author's Twitter feed, which expressed his wonder at views of Earth and allowed followers to discover amazing images of our planet, gained in excess of one million followers. This title collects Hadfield's favorite images—around 30 each for Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America, and South American—all annotated with informative and exciting comments, many of which only someone who's had an extra-terrestrial experience can provide. A frequent theme is pareidolia, which the author explains is "the phenomenon of perceiving faces and figures in clouds, landforms and man-made objects"; Hadfield also notes when Earth's surface resembles familiar objects or materials, for example, elephant skin. Most of the book, however, needs no such commentary, with the author creating a sense of wonder merely by describing what is in front of him, often offering social and historical information on the place in question, too. A map on the closing spread notes the location that each photo depicts. VERDICT This attractive title is packed with geographical information and is one of those rare books that both children and adults will find fascinating.—Henrietta Verma, Library Journal