Seeing Gardens
de Sam Abell

Book Description
At the heart of every garden lies an idea; the greatest gardens represent not just nature's beauty but the clear vision of a gifted artist. The same is true of an inspired garden book.

To capture the essence of a garden demands both a keen eye and a subtle sensibility, the hallmark qualities of Sam Abell's acclaimed photography. Not for nothing is this volume entitled Seeing Gardens, for its landmark images have as much to tell us about how we see as what we see. To Abell, a scatter of pears ripening on a Moscow windowsill evokes an orchard just as surely as his portrait of a 600-year-old Japanese garden summons up an ancient tradition of artfully cultivated wildness. Each pebble, pond and twisted pine in that garden is carefully placed to create an idea of unstudied nature as resonant as reality itself.

As befits a book that melds two visual arts, Seeing Gardens lets its 150 pictures speak for themselves with a spare text that offers context rather than commentary. The book is at once thoughtful and elegant, and the anecdotes, recollections and aesthetic philosophy amount to a brief but telling memoir of Abell's three decades of interpreting gardens. His photographs include planned gardens in a variety of cultural settings; found gardens, created by nature but given form by the artist's frame; and the many allusions to gardens in daily life. Whether in the pruned symmetry of a line of plane trees along Lake Como's shores, the pristine shape of a wild water lily in the blackwater mirror of the Okeefenokee Swamp, or the leafy print of a vivid floral fabric, Abell discovers gardens everywhere. The gift of this book is the gift of seeing gardens in a new, intimate and involving way

The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation: From the Louisiana Purchase to Today
de Stephen E. Ambrose

Book Description

From northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River runs its course along the borders of ten states and cleanly bisects the nation. But the Mississippi is more than an imposing natural landmark; it is embedded in every facet of America’s national identity.

Stephen E. Ambrose, renowned author of Undaunted Courage, historian Douglas G. Brinkley, author of The Unfinished Presidency, and award-winning National Geographic photographer Sam Abell traveled the entire length of the Mississippi—from its mouth at Delacroix Island, Louisiana, to its source at Itasca, Minnesota—to bring readers the full, rich history of AmericaIs great river. In 11 chapters, each covering a length of the river, readers will witness the early explorations of DeSoto and the momentous signing of the Louisiana Purchase; they will meet Jim Bowie, Ulysses S. Grant, and Robert Johnson; they will relive the Civil War and the Great Flood, the Underground Railroad and the Trail of Tears; and they will discover the immense impact of the Mississippi on American arts, from the birth of the Blues to the literature of Mark Twain and T.S. Eliot. To expand the book’s visual dimension, each chapter of The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation is illustrated with period paintings, lithographs, artifacts, and maps, and features unique photographic essays by Sam Abell.

The result is a lively, comprehensive, and beautiful work that panoramically explores and celebrates the American icon that is the Mighty Mississippi as it celebrates America itself.

Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery
de Stephen E. Ambrose

Book Description
Lewis and Clark’s Voyage of Discovery defined the American spirit like no other event of the 19th century. Now, in celebration of its bicentennial, Stephen E. Ambrose offers a refreshing look at the explorers and their legendary journey in this IMAX® bicentennial edition of Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery. In a new illustrated introduction, Ambrose talks about the making of the film and its significance in commemorating and documenting the expedition, and the land it crossed, 200 years later. Voyage of Discovery is an exceptional work of history and photography that National Geographic is proud to feature in coordination with the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council and their celebration of 2003-2006.

Changed by time but timeless in its inspiration, the Lewis and Clark Trail comes to life through Stephen E. Ambrose’s inspired narrative, rich commentary, personal selections from the explorers’s journals, and an accompaniment of stunning new photographs that exhibit the undying beauty of the American West. National Geographic photographer Sam Abell presents an array of compelling modern images from the Missouri to the Pacific Coast that offset rare historic photos, art, and maps—some sketched by Lewis and Clark themselves.

People's Lives: A Photographic Celebration of the Human Spirit
de Bill Wright

Book Description
"Bill Wright's greatest talent is his unique ability to transform the personal into the universal. . . . These are people's lives, but not just those of the individuals recorded before his lens. They are all of us." --Roy Flukinger, Senior Curator of Photography and Film, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin From the mountain villages of Nepal to his hometown of Abilene, Texas, Bill Wright has traveled the world to learn about and photograph other people's lives. The directness and intimacy of his images bear witness to the remarkable rapport that he has achieved with people in many walks of life, from a woodcarver in Tanzania to Aboriginal children in Australia. In fact, as Sam Abell observes, Wright's work is reminiscent of The Family of Man, the most influential photography book ever published. People's Lives records a photographic journey in celebration of the human spirit. In sixty-nine duotone images taken around the world, Bill Wright captures what is best in people--our joy, love, hope, and resilience. Many of the photographs are accompanied by extended captions in which Wright describes the encounters that produced them. In the preface, he also discusses his photographic career, artistic philosophy, and methods of working. Sam Abell of National Geographic Magazine offers a perceptive assessment and appreciation of Wright's work in the introduction.

About the author
Bill Wright is an award-winning photographer and writer, whose work has appeared in numerous exhibitions and books.