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Natural Wonders of the World
Discover Earth's most beautiful and fascinating natural landmarks. From the spectacular granite domes of Yosemite to the reefs of the Bahama Banks and the ice sheets of the Antarctic, this is an unparalleled survey of the world's natural treasures.
From the Rocky Mountains to the Great Barrier Reef and everything in between, Natural Wonders of the World combines breathtaking landscape photography and illustrations with 3-D terrain models and other explanatory artworks to reveal what lies beneath the surface and explain the geological processes to show how the features were formed. Plants and animals that inhabit each environment are also included, making Natural Wonders of the World a complete celebration of our world.
Produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution.
From the Rocky Mountains to the Great Barrier Reef and everything in between, Natural Wonders of the World combines breathtaking landscape photography and illustrations with 3-D terrain models and other explanatory artworks to reveal what lies beneath the surface and explain the geological processes to show how the features were formed. Plants and animals that inhabit each environment are also included, making Natural Wonders of the World a complete celebration of our world.
Produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution.
440 pages, Hardcover
Published October 3, 2017
123 people are currently reading
763 people want to read
About the author
D.K. Publishing
9,025 books2,092 followersDorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
April 28, 2022
Coffee Table Books are a staple of many book stores and many seem to come to rest in piles on the remainder tables. Big format; beautiful photographs; catchy titles seem to persuade publishers that the public will flock.
I am not sure how many have bought the recently published (2017) Natural Wonders of the World with an exquisite photo of an aurora on the cover. While I have limited space for coffee table books, my Kindle Fire seems to raise no protest when I load them (and save the trees).
This is a thick, as well as big, book packed with content. Unlike many of its ilk, the writing is good and plentiful. Natural Wonders of the World takes a mostly geographical approach to its content, roaming the world from continent to continent and identifying its collection of “wonders.” Each continent is “scoured” for wonders in certain categories: Mountains and Volcanoes; Glaciers and Ice Sheets; Rivers and Lakes; Deserts; Forests and Grasslands; Coasts, Islands and Reefs.
There is a separate section on the “Oceanic” wonders, and in the books final pages we find wonders of weather, such as the auroras and cyclones, that are not confined to a particular location. There are helpful graphics as well as the lovely photographs.
It was difficult not to ponder, while browsing, the changes that are and will be brought by climatic events such as violent storms and melting ice. I give this book high marks for its ability to transcend the individual “wonders” and provide an appreciation of our planet’s real wealth.
I am not sure how many have bought the recently published (2017) Natural Wonders of the World with an exquisite photo of an aurora on the cover. While I have limited space for coffee table books, my Kindle Fire seems to raise no protest when I load them (and save the trees).
This is a thick, as well as big, book packed with content. Unlike many of its ilk, the writing is good and plentiful. Natural Wonders of the World takes a mostly geographical approach to its content, roaming the world from continent to continent and identifying its collection of “wonders.” Each continent is “scoured” for wonders in certain categories: Mountains and Volcanoes; Glaciers and Ice Sheets; Rivers and Lakes; Deserts; Forests and Grasslands; Coasts, Islands and Reefs.
There is a separate section on the “Oceanic” wonders, and in the books final pages we find wonders of weather, such as the auroras and cyclones, that are not confined to a particular location. There are helpful graphics as well as the lovely photographs.
It was difficult not to ponder, while browsing, the changes that are and will be brought by climatic events such as violent storms and melting ice. I give this book high marks for its ability to transcend the individual “wonders” and provide an appreciation of our planet’s real wealth.
August 23, 2019
A beautiful coffee table book. The photography is excellent, it’s well organised geographically and by features, and full of interesting facts. One to pick up every now and then when wanderlust sets in.
March 15, 2022
Großartiges Buch mit vielen Abbildungen über die natürliche Welt.
Das Buch ist eingeteilt in ihre Kontinente. Für jeden Kontinent gibt es eine Erklärung wie sich dieser Kontinent entwickelt hat und was die Besonderheiten von bestimmten Orten sind.
Afrika, Nordamerika, Australien, Südamerika, Asien bis zu den ozeanischen Inseln.
Darüberhinaus werden auch bestimmte Wetter-Phänomene wie Tornados und Eisregen erklärt.
Das Buch ist eingeteilt in ihre Kontinente. Für jeden Kontinent gibt es eine Erklärung wie sich dieser Kontinent entwickelt hat und was die Besonderheiten von bestimmten Orten sind.
Afrika, Nordamerika, Australien, Südamerika, Asien bis zu den ozeanischen Inseln.
Darüberhinaus werden auch bestimmte Wetter-Phänomene wie Tornados und Eisregen erklärt.
January 22, 2023
I read this on Kindle, and enjoyed seeing a few different amazing places each day. Light, but informative.
October 25, 2022
An amazing and gorgeous book showing nature around the world. It is divided into continents and shows you the most wow places on each continent! It made me make a list of future places to go. The book is oversized and has the most beautiful color photos. It is over 400 pages of the most amazing things you will ever see! I spent the last three weeks with it on the coffee table and have finally paged through every photo. The world is amazing—mountains, plains, rivers, forests, volcanoes, glaciers, it shows them all!
September 14, 2018
Received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I need to start off with saying this is a gorgeous book, which was reviewed by myself and my elementary school aged daughter. We both found it just absolutely gorgeous, with a mix of both elementary and advanced comments and facts. I think the geographic break up of the sections obsess book flow naturally as you move through it..
August 11, 2017
Title: Natural Wonders of the World
Author: DK
Publisher: DK Publishing / Penguin / Random House
Published: 10-3-2017
Pages: 440
Genre: Reference
Sub-Genre: Science, Natural History; Earth Sciences
ISBN: 9781465464170
Reviewed For NetGalley and DK / Penguin / Random House
Reviewer: DelAnne
Rating: 5 Stars
Kenya's Lake Agadi is absolutely spectacular, but as an opening Photo it will grab your eye and have you savoring the entire book. Each offering is a wonder in themselves. As you look through the photos you will find yourself awe inspired by places you have visited such as the Grand Canyon or the beautiful Florida Ever Glades and those you want to experience such as The Monteverde Cloud Forest or the renowned Great Barrier Reef.
Think National Geographic muscled up. It is a Coffee Table type book that will spend little time actually on the coffee table.
My rating of "Natural Wonders of the World" is 5 out of 5 stars.
Amazon Link: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/146546417...
B&N Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/natu...
Books-A-Million Link: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Natura...
Google Play Link: Not Available
Indigo Link: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/...
GoodReads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Kobo Link: Not Available
The Reading Room Link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...
Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/DelAnne531/status...
Author: DK
Publisher: DK Publishing / Penguin / Random House
Published: 10-3-2017
Pages: 440
Genre: Reference
Sub-Genre: Science, Natural History; Earth Sciences
ISBN: 9781465464170
Reviewed For NetGalley and DK / Penguin / Random House
Reviewer: DelAnne
Rating: 5 Stars
Kenya's Lake Agadi is absolutely spectacular, but as an opening Photo it will grab your eye and have you savoring the entire book. Each offering is a wonder in themselves. As you look through the photos you will find yourself awe inspired by places you have visited such as the Grand Canyon or the beautiful Florida Ever Glades and those you want to experience such as The Monteverde Cloud Forest or the renowned Great Barrier Reef.
Think National Geographic muscled up. It is a Coffee Table type book that will spend little time actually on the coffee table.
My rating of "Natural Wonders of the World" is 5 out of 5 stars.
Amazon Link: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/146546417...
B&N Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/natu...
Books-A-Million Link: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Natura...
Google Play Link: Not Available
Indigo Link: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/...
GoodReads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Kobo Link: Not Available
The Reading Room Link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...
Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/DelAnne531/status...
December 14, 2017
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
DK Publishing and Smithsonian team up to deliver another gorgeous coffee table book of photography and accompanying text devoted to the incredible diversity and beauty of planet Earth. The photography is nothing short of stunning and the text is interesting and in-depth. Most of the accompanying information is presented as sidebars with the photos inset into the sidebars.
The book is divided into thematic geographical sections: Introduction, North America, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Antarctica, the Oceans, and Extreme Weather. This is a substantial glossy book, 440 pages in hardbound format.
The pictures are breathtaking. DK has never failed in my experience to present gorgeous and timely books. This one is precisely that, a worthy addition to that legacy.
Five stars, a really beautiful book.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
DK Publishing and Smithsonian team up to deliver another gorgeous coffee table book of photography and accompanying text devoted to the incredible diversity and beauty of planet Earth. The photography is nothing short of stunning and the text is interesting and in-depth. Most of the accompanying information is presented as sidebars with the photos inset into the sidebars.
The book is divided into thematic geographical sections: Introduction, North America, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Antarctica, the Oceans, and Extreme Weather. This is a substantial glossy book, 440 pages in hardbound format.
The pictures are breathtaking. DK has never failed in my experience to present gorgeous and timely books. This one is precisely that, a worthy addition to that legacy.
Five stars, a really beautiful book.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
August 13, 2017
I can't really afford to travel - if I save up I can every now and again, but I know I'll probably never be one of those people who will be fortunate enough to see the whole world. Which is why I love, love, love photography books that focus on the world's natural beauty. Hey, if you aren't going to see it in person, why not enjoy the photos? DK is one of my favorite publishers of photography and reference books - their books are always extremely detailed, gorgeous, and loaded with tons upon tons of useful information. "Natural Wonders of the World" is no exception. The adobe digital editions file provided by Netgalley is obviously a very low-low-res version of the final book - now I'm desperate for the final version because it's going to be amazing.
This book is also a great reminder as to why we should protect our planet. Our planet is beautiful. Maybe we should do something about climate change before the beauty in the world dries up or floods?
This book is also a great reminder as to why we should protect our planet. Our planet is beautiful. Maybe we should do something about climate change before the beauty in the world dries up or floods?
January 7, 2018
This book, is another great reference book by the publisher, Dorings Kingsley.
The book is full of stunning photography, great page layout and it is easy to digest the information provided.
The natural wonders of our beautiful earth are categorized by each continent. The book does not just decscribes the places or the natural wonder features but also describes how they came to be.
It is a great science book for young and old. You can get your children of the internet and have them use this book for some old fashion research for their school assignments or projects as this book contains a wealth of information.
This book also makes a great coffee table book, that will be read and not just be part of a decor. I highly recommend this book!
I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The book is full of stunning photography, great page layout and it is easy to digest the information provided.
The natural wonders of our beautiful earth are categorized by each continent. The book does not just decscribes the places or the natural wonder features but also describes how they came to be.
It is a great science book for young and old. You can get your children of the internet and have them use this book for some old fashion research for their school assignments or projects as this book contains a wealth of information.
This book also makes a great coffee table book, that will be read and not just be part of a decor. I highly recommend this book!
I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
June 26, 2024
Another book I love. Great photos and descriptions of the places. You’ll learn a lot from this book. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s interested in geography.
September 2, 2017
Look and Learn
This is an interesting and surprisingly substantive coffee table book tour of the natural world. DK Publishing and Smithsonian have teamed up recently to produce a number of rewarding books on science and nature topics, and this is a fine, if slightly different, offering.
Most of the DK books have a theme and a clear structure. We start with single cells and end up in the brain. Or we open in Sumer and end up at today. Or, we start out on a sandy beach and end up in the deepest parts of the oceans. This book, though, is more of an unapologetic survey of every neat natural wonder you could thing of. The scale is big - Grand Canyon big, and you'll get a view of pretty much every landform imaginable. (Mainly - glaciers, volcanoes, rivers, mountains, deserts, forests, and coastal features.) Rather than by topic or natural process or alphabetically, these wonders are organized by continent. We start in North America and once we've nailed that we move on to the next continent. That's actually an insightful way to go, because as we skip around North America we get an exceptional sense of the continent as a whole - landforms, water features, climate, forests and wildlife, and so on. Turns out there is a theme of sorts after all.
This is also much more than an "Art Photography" volume. Sure, there are hundreds of quality photos, but this isn't really a pretty picture book, (or just only a pretty picture book). DK has mastered the art of factoids, side bars, informative captions, detailed cross-sections and blown up cut-outs and the like. The information content can be dense, and what counts as "interesting" is wide ranging and just a bit idiosyncratic. (For example, for the Sonoran Desert we get a description of the desert, comparisons of different desert plant root system strategies, a graphic distinguishing plateaus, buttes, mesas, and monuments, a visit from a resident rattlesnake, a touch of history, and two scenic photos and a desert-in-bloom photo. That's on one and a half pages.)
So, this is wonderful in a lot of different senses, and a work of interest and substance. A nice find.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
This is an interesting and surprisingly substantive coffee table book tour of the natural world. DK Publishing and Smithsonian have teamed up recently to produce a number of rewarding books on science and nature topics, and this is a fine, if slightly different, offering.
Most of the DK books have a theme and a clear structure. We start with single cells and end up in the brain. Or we open in Sumer and end up at today. Or, we start out on a sandy beach and end up in the deepest parts of the oceans. This book, though, is more of an unapologetic survey of every neat natural wonder you could thing of. The scale is big - Grand Canyon big, and you'll get a view of pretty much every landform imaginable. (Mainly - glaciers, volcanoes, rivers, mountains, deserts, forests, and coastal features.) Rather than by topic or natural process or alphabetically, these wonders are organized by continent. We start in North America and once we've nailed that we move on to the next continent. That's actually an insightful way to go, because as we skip around North America we get an exceptional sense of the continent as a whole - landforms, water features, climate, forests and wildlife, and so on. Turns out there is a theme of sorts after all.
This is also much more than an "Art Photography" volume. Sure, there are hundreds of quality photos, but this isn't really a pretty picture book, (or just only a pretty picture book). DK has mastered the art of factoids, side bars, informative captions, detailed cross-sections and blown up cut-outs and the like. The information content can be dense, and what counts as "interesting" is wide ranging and just a bit idiosyncratic. (For example, for the Sonoran Desert we get a description of the desert, comparisons of different desert plant root system strategies, a graphic distinguishing plateaus, buttes, mesas, and monuments, a visit from a resident rattlesnake, a touch of history, and two scenic photos and a desert-in-bloom photo. That's on one and a half pages.)
So, this is wonderful in a lot of different senses, and a work of interest and substance. A nice find.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
January 4, 2018
I get these books, mostly, because I love to look at the photographs of the natural scenery. They are so stunning and breathtaking. This book though, added a lot of detailed information about each of the photos which was wonderful. I got to learn about glaciers, how the Blue Whole near South America was created, the Nile River and so much more. It talked about the geology, history and natural development and creation of each location. The book was divided up into several large sections, one for each continent, one for the Oceans and Extreme Weather. Within each section were smaller ones such as Glaciers, Forests, River and Lakes and other. In some cases the smaller sections were tailored to fit into the larger categories. The final one hundred or so pages was a Glossary and Index. Beautiful to look at, informative and interesting to read.
January 12, 2018
Natural Wonders of the World is a visually stunning book; that alone makes this a worthwhile purchase. When you add the fascinating scientific facts that accompany the excellent photographs, facts which are presented in an easy to understand fashion, you have a book that is guaranteed to please!
This is not a book that is meant to be read cover to cover, but rather one to pick up time and again to peruse, admire and satisfy your curiosity about the many natural wonders of our Earth.
This would make a wonderful addition to any library!
Many thanks to NetGalley and DK Publishing for allowing me to review such an amazing book! The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
This is not a book that is meant to be read cover to cover, but rather one to pick up time and again to peruse, admire and satisfy your curiosity about the many natural wonders of our Earth.
This would make a wonderful addition to any library!
Many thanks to NetGalley and DK Publishing for allowing me to review such an amazing book! The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
May 12, 2021
This is an exceptional book. I absolutely love it. But there's one problem with the book. I have noticed that some beautiful natural wonders are not mentioned and some are not elaborately explained. I know that it's practically not possible to mention each and every natural wonder on earth. But you could have written more about places like africa and new guinea. East African rift valley is very long, you could have written more about its lakes, glacier and mountains. What about islands in Pacific like Palau, Samoa and Vanuatu etc ? Nevertheless, It was still an amazing book. But I hate partiality.
- Sunny (reviewer)
- Sunny (reviewer)
September 2, 2021
While visually stunning in its own right, dense, and chock full of information... Personally, I use the Natural Wonders of the World book as a resource and aid for ecological and geographic worldbuilding for the Dungeons and Dragons game I run in a homebrewed setting. But I can think of a million different uses for this book. This is genuinely one of my favorite books in existence; I must've checked it out from my local Library a hundred times by now.
August 14, 2017
DK Publishers never fails to disappoint - their reference books are chock full of information beautifully laid out with gorgeous photos and simple explanations (all of which I need). Broken down by continents, oceans, and extreme weather, this is a great reference book for students of all ages and/or anyone interested in the natural world.
November 21, 2018
The photography and information in this book was absolutely brilliant. Highly recommend to anyone interested in the forces of nature and the natural wonders of the world. There were things in here I had no idea existed and my my mind was constantly blown about our wonderful, amazing planet.
April 14, 2020
DK publishers doing what they do best: present tons of facts with brilliant art and photography to go with it.
Earth is an amazing place; nature, geography and geology fans will appreciate this book!
Earth is an amazing place; nature, geography and geology fans will appreciate this book!
September 12, 2021
Two words: Visually stunning.
Read it slowly over several weeks and you will enjoy it. Watching YouTube videos after reading about a place you find interesting will add to the overall experience.
My bucket list is now complete!
Read it slowly over several weeks and you will enjoy it. Watching YouTube videos after reading about a place you find interesting will add to the overall experience.
My bucket list is now complete!
June 13, 2022
I thought I’d just skim through it, skipping to sections I am interested, but I ended up pretty much reading it cover-to-cover. The photographs are stunning, very informative scientifically, yet stays concise. I am inspired!
June 20, 2022
I have read many books about travel and the world, and this book has stood out as one of the best. Many of the images are simply stunning, and the actual information is well researched and very informative.
January 2, 2023
Wow, if this doesn't make you appreciate the beauty and strangeness and variety of this planet we live on, I don't know what will! Stunning photographs of incredible places, coupled with a wealth of information.
Highly, highly recommend!
Highly, highly recommend!
January 29, 2024
This is an encyclopedia that approaches the fascination of the great outdoors around the world.
Among the DK encyclopedias, this book is relatively new in publication, has an easy-to-read layout and design, and has a selection of excellent photographs by top photographers.
Among the DK encyclopedias, this book is relatively new in publication, has an easy-to-read layout and design, and has a selection of excellent photographs by top photographers.
April 25, 2025
An amazing book to read, especially if you travel. It shows places I'd never dreamed of visiting and now can't wait to see. Read it. Take your time. It's like being reintroduced to nature all over again.
December 28, 2017
Beautiful book, laid out by continent, so excellent for "bucket list" trip planning. Recommended.
March 12, 2018
Beautiful photography.
April 16, 2018
I didn't read all of this but it is richly illustrated, with information about the earth and the natural activities of this planet. Scientific but written for the lay person.
Want to read
August 31, 2019This was so pretty to look at. Full of wonder, physical copy is a must to enjoy those intricate numerators of nature.
Special thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for this review copy.
Special thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for this review copy.
November 5, 2019
Stunning pictures juxtaposed against equally engaging stories.
The world is your oyster, and this is your roadmap.
The world is your oyster, and this is your roadmap.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews