For many Africans the world of their ancestors, the spirits of nature and the lesser divinities are an integral part of their daily life. During trips through Africa over a period of thirty years, Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher have witnessed and come to know a new way of looking at the richness of different creeds. This book is a journey into the spirit, where ethnology, anthropology, theology, and journalism merge. The photographs of raw beauty and drama and the stimulating texts fill two books of great expressiveness that document the ancient ceremonies of Africa and, at the same time, present a surprising variety of ways of thinking, acting and believing.

A splendid pictorial journey across the immense and magnificent continent and its people.

Through images of extraordinary power and immediacy, photographer Gianni Giansanti takes the reader on a journey of discovery in Africa, and illustrates the life and traditions of the tribes who live there with a moving collection of African portraits. Each photograph becomes a masterpiece of abstract art, revealing close-ups of the tribes’ traditional body paintings. They use their bodies as canvases, painting their skin with pigments made from powdered volcanic rock and adorning themselves with materials obtained from the world around themsuch as flowers, leaves, grasses, shells and animal horns. African tribes are especially adept at this art, and - imbued with an exquisite sense of color and form - usually paint their naked bodies with colorful dots, stripes and circles, and encased themselves in elaborate arrangements of vegetation and found objects. This art is endlessly inventive, magical and, above all, fun. The book offers an incredible look at the stunning range of colors and textures of the life and people in Africa, while recording the fascinating beauty of a world always in danger of extinction.

A pictorial exploration of a wild and untamed region and of a population untouched by time and nature. In an era in which explorers can use cell phones to call from the peaks of the Himalayas, Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea have somehow remained untouched by "civilization". There are still hundreds of unknown populations in Irian Jaya, many of which are dying out. This volume introduces readers to this place that is the reign of the last men of the earth. The book takes us into the last remaining pockets of prehistory, untouched by time and nature, to reveal the lives of the people of this untamed Eden. This heritage of humanity, which will probably not withstand the advance of modernity, is examined thoroughly in a compelling text written by a journalist who specializes in in-depth anthropological research. Hundreds of specially commissioned pictures taken by a photographer famous for his daring reportage from every corner of the globe bring to life this remarkable vestige of prehistory. Through the authoritative text and unsurpassed photography, this book investigates the everyday lives of and challenges confronted by these people, evokes the island’s splendid yet hostile natural environment, and depicts the unique uncultivated characteristics of its flora and fauna.

This book portrays 25 of the most important rivers in the world, including the Nile, Mekong, Ganges, and Amazon . The aim is to make the reader appreciate the impressions, odors and colors to be enjoyed while sitting on the bank of a river or navigating its channels from source to mouth. Besides spectacular aerial photographs and panoramic shots, we have included intimate glimpses of the pulsating life which revolves around a river. We have included detailed information about the role these rivers have played in the growth of human civilization and in shaping the surrounding environment. A work of naturalistic and historical significance, this book also looks at the poetic impact these important waterways have always had throughout time.

A photographic invitation to make a journey through Nature.

We shall dedicate ourselves to the exploration of what humanity has seen fit to safeguard in these protected areas. We shall be surprised to see our planet’s most precious jewels administered with expertise and with love; we can plunge into this dreamlike reality if we leave our eyes and our hearts opened before the splendid images offered by this volume. So let us pause a while and enjoy the incredible images of this volume, a real journey through Nature. A journey of times gone by, when travelers took their time to explore, investigate or simply be entranced by the spectacle of a magnificent mountain, or the sunlight filtering through the forest, the tenderness of a mother towards her cubs, the momentous power of the waves. Let us relish the joy of knowing that these places are special twice over: for Nature has made them unique and human wisdom has made them national parks.

Whether white, black, red or yellow, of whatever religion or language, whether city dwellers or country folk, sedentary or nomadic, rich or poor, the peoples of the world are the creators of such diverse civilizations that even researchers have not yet fully mapped them. To document the beauty and richness of this heritage and to celebrate the variety of human types and cultures, the volume Peoples of the World presents a narrative supported by splendid photographs to describe the Earth’s most anthropologically interesting ethnic groups. They range from the Maori to the Rom, from the Maasai to the Inuit, demonstrating the diversity of humankind.