The Complete Earth: A Satellite Portrait of Our Planet by Douglas Palmer

Living up to its title, this glorious tome reveals the whole planet, pole to pole, cloud-free, at a resolution of 500 miles to every pixel, or 90 miles to every inch. At this scale, we can trace the Amazon from Andean headwaters to Atlantic mouth, explore the trackless sand seas of the Sahara, or follow the corrugated ridges of hills and mountains that mark the frontline of India’s tectonic assault on Eurasia as if we were in low-Earth orbit. These images are supplemented by a wealth of even higher resolution satellite imagery that zooms in on noteworthy features—from volcanoes to cities, river deltas to glaciers. In addition, 12 double-page-spreads chart one year in the life of our planet as they follow the ebb and flow of the seasons across the globe: we watch snow fall in the North as it melts in the South, and desert lands bloom and fade as the rains come and go. Accompanying these images, a brief but informative text explores the history of each landscape, explaining the how and when of its mountain ranges, deserts, and plains.