Editor’s Note: The following article is a synopsis written by staff members and volunteers of the Cary Memorial Library in Houlton highlighting one of the suggested reading books, as determined by the staff.
As we suggested last week, the pick-of-the-week is extraordinary and I will be keeping it on my library card for a few more days to enjoy it myself before I share it with you. It is a National Geographic production and does not disappoint.
A big, heavy volume with some of the most beautiful “Rarely Seen Photographs of the Extraordinary” is for the coffee table in plain view. From Jellyfish Lake on a Pacific Island to a flamingo-shaped gathering of flamingos on a Mexico beach, to a snow leopard in India’s mountains, the wonders are on each page.
Included is an interesting picture of the hidden cave temple in remote Thailand begging an answer as to how the builders traveled in such rugged territory with building materials. The 8,000-year-old giraffe? It represents prehistoric art carved into sandstone along with hundreds of other images in Niger.
Even the sea creatures are amazing: the male pufferfish (5 inches long) has created a giant circle about 7 feet across in the ocean near Japan; why? To attract females!
Ever seen the lightning show on Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota? The face of George Washington was illuminated by a giant bolt of lightning, but few of the three million who visit each year have seen what the photographer shows us. Pope Paul in a selfie? Yes! A Bosnian diver leaping to dive into water 79 feet below? Yes! And a vapor trail from the space shuttle Atlantis launch from Cape Canaveral from a passenger plane.
This book has pages of a rare blue lobster’s fearsome face, Painted Hills of Oregon, upside-down trees in Madagascar, and a beautiful sunrise behind Turnip Rock in Michigan. Believe me, if this book doesn’t amaze you, I’ll eat this review! Just a reminder: Cary Library is full of treasures.
The Cary Memorial Library is open Mondays-Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call 532-1302.
