Synopses & Reviews
In
Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle, author and filmmaker Michael Benson assembles an outstanding collection of astronomical images from observatories around the world and in space. We live in a golden age of astronomical observation. Some of the resulting images are well known and have inspired millions of people; others, equally breathtaking, have never been published before. For this book, Benson has culled the very best, and organized them into a thrilling journey through space and time to the universe's great places, ranging from "nearby" nebulae in our own Milky Way galaxy to the light of the Hubble Deep Field that has traveled billions of light-years. and#160; Every bit as innovative and beautiful as the author's successful
Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes but far grander in conception,
Far Out is an inspiring work of art and science on the cutting edge of human perception.
A Guide to the Cosmos, in Words and Images Dazzling and True andshy;and#8211;New York Times Book Review
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[With Far Out] Take a good long look into space-time. and#8211;Los Angeles Times
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Far out by Michael Benson proves that putting the photographable universe into a book doesnand#8217;t dampen its beauty. and#8211; Menand#8217;s Journal
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An exquisite picture book of outer space. and#8211;San Diego Union Tribune
and#160;and#8220;2001: A Space Odyssey and Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle: both are inspirational moving pictures. Far Out punches deep into space, like a series of jump cuts. It is a truly cinematic experience to see these magnificent images in rapid succession. Like the Star-Child in Stanley Kubrickand#8217;s vision of a Mankind evolving to a higher level, Far Out inspires me again to imagine a Universe filled with life, and each of those billions of pinpoints being orbited by worlds and beings of breathtaking beauty. Very moving pictures.and#8221;
and#8212;Douglas Trumbull, Oscar-winning Visual Effects Supervisor, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Trek, The Motion Picture
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and#8220;The inventive, imaginative Michael Benson here unfolds the universe in its multiple dimensions.and#8221;
and#8212;Dava Sobel, author of Longitude, Galileoand#8217;s Daughter, and The Planets
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and#8220;That the images in Michael Bensonand#8217;s latest book, Far Out, are completely mind-blowing goes without saying. Whatand#8217;s especially dazzling about this volume, though, is the way Bensonand#8217;s text takes the shards of those blown minds and completely reconfigures them into such a startlingly new and fresh awareness: a trembling awe all its own.and#8221;
and#8212;Lawrence Weschler, author of Everything That Rises and Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees
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and#8220;First he gave us the beauty of our solar systemand#8217;s neighbor worlds in Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes, but Michael Benson hasnand#8217;t stopped there. In this spectacular new offering he gives us the universe itself, presented in such stunning and vivid detail that I am awed by every page. Open this book, take the journey, and be amazed.and#8221;
and#8212;Andrew Chaikin, author of A Man on the Moon and A Passion for Mars
Synopsis
Portraits of the Mind follows the fascinating history of our exploration of the brain through images, from medieval sketches and 19th-century drawings by the founder of modern neuroscience to images produced using state-of-the-art techniques, allowing us to see the fantastic networks in the brain as never before. These black-and-white and vibrantly colored images, many resembling abstract art, are employed daily by scientists around the world, but most have never before been seen by the general public. Each chapter addresses a different set of techniques for studying the brain as revealed through the images, and each is introduced by a leading scientist in that field of study. Author Carl Schoonovers captions provide detailed explanations of each image as well as the major insights gained by scientists over the course of the past 20 years. Accessible to a wide audience, this book reveals the elegant methods applied to study the mind, giving readers a peek at its innermost workings, helping us to understand them, and offering clues about what may lie ahead.
Synopsis
Portraits of the Mind follows the fascinating history of our exploration of the brain through images, from medieval sketches and 19th-century drawings by the founder of modern neuroscience to images produced using state-of-the-art techniques, allowing us to see the fantastic networks in the brain as never before. These black-and-white and vibrantly colored images, many resembling abstract art, are employed daily by scientists around the world, but most have never before been seen by the general public. Each chapter addresses a different set of techniques for studying the brain as revealed through the images, and each is introduced by a leading scientist in that field of study. Author Carl Schoonovers captions provide detailed explanations of each image as well as the major insights gained by scientists over the course of the past 20 years. Accessible to a wide audience, this book reveals the elegant methods applied to study the mind, giving readers a peek at its innermost workings, helping us to understand them, and offering clues about what may lie ahead.
Praise for Portraits of the Mind:
"An odyssey through the brain, illuminated by a rainbow"
--New York Times
"Stunning images"
--Scientific American
"The collection of images in the new book Portraits of the Mind is truly impressive . . . The mix of history, science and art is terrific."
-Wired.com
"History, science, and art come together to provide a unique perspective on what's going on upstairs."
--New Yorker.com
"No knowledge of the source or subject matter of these images is necessary; the book is justified by their beauty alone."
--Science
"A remarkable new book"
- -Discover.com
"John Keats's insistence that truth is beauty is exemplified by Carl Schoonover's wonderful book Portraits of the Mind. Since one cannot understand the present without examining the past, this book offers a delightful and instructive way of accomplishing just that. I enthusiastically recommend this beautiful book both to students of brain science and to lovers of art."
-Eric R. Kandel, MD, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2000; University Professor at Columbia; Fred Kavli Professor and Director, Kavli Institute for Brain Science; Senior Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and author of In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind
"Portraits of the Mind achieves a rare combination of beauty and knowledge. Its images of the brain are mesmerizing, from medieval engravings to modern visualizations as gorgeously abstract as anything by Rothko or de Kooning. And in explaining the nature of these images, this book also delivers an enlightening, up-to-date history of neuroscience."
-Carl Zimmer, author of Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain-and How It Changed the World and The Mind's Eye Goes Blind: Fifteen Journeys Through the Brain
"Portraits of the Mind is a remarkable book that combines beautifully reproduced illustrations of the nervous system as it has been visualized over the centuries, as well as lively and authoritative commentaries by some of today's leading neuroscientists. It will be enjoyed by professionals and general readers alike."
--Dale Purves, MD, Professor of Neurobiology, Psychology and Neuroscience; and Philosophy at Duke University
About the Author
Michael Benson is a journalist, filmmaker, and photographer. His book
Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes (Abrams) saw print in five languages and won a First Prize for Design award at the 2004 New York Book Fair. He has contributed articles to the
New Yorker, the
Atlantic, the
New York Times, and the
Washington Post. He lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia.