Migrations: Wildlife in Motion (Earthsong Collection) - Hardcover

To apologize, it seems, for digitally altering certain images, photographer Wolfe says this is an art book more than a nature book. He's being oversensitive to possible criticism, but he's not being untruthful. The big, frequently two-page images of scores of migrating single species in this wider-than-high album are indeed artistic. In their perspective-crushing repetition of animal shapes, they reflect Wolfe's confessed inspiration by Austrian artist M. C. Escher's drawings of such things as stairs that mount in conflicting directions, delighting us with their "optical illusions." Many will find Wolfe's pictures more satisfying than Escher's, though, because they provoke curiosity about what their animal subjects are doing. Unfortunately, Sleeper's text, which comes at six-page intervals to inform us generally about the depicted species, doesn't satisfy on this score. Fortunately, Wolfe's own remarks at the end of the book in regard to the photos often do; when curiosity gets the best of you, flip back there while paging through these artful nature photos. Ray Olson

In this large-format book, overflowing with extraordinary photographs, Wolfe (Endangered People, LJ 10/15/93) remarks on being influenced by Dutch artist M.C. Escher. The consequences are evident in many of his shots, which range from overhead views of elephants, flamingos, and snow geese to an eye-to-eye view of ladybird beetles. To get the varied perspectives in his shots, Wolfe has flown, floated, canoed, waded, and snorkeled on four continents, photographing mammals, birds, and insects. Each set of four to six photos is followed by a few paragraphs of brief but informative text, prepared by science writer Sleeper and often including intriguing facts or camparisons. The title is a bit misleading; don't buy this book expecting a text on animal migrations. Buy it instead for its splendid photos. Recommended for public libraries and for all general nature and photography collections.
Nancy Moeckel, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.