Our Fantastic Planet

Written by the well-known adventurer, entrepreneur and publisher of TAustralian Geographic' and the TAustralian Encyclopedia', this large-format book recounts the author's circumnavigation of the world via both poles, the first time this feat has ever been achieved. Beautifully illustrated with over 360 photographs, it includes maps, and appendices of the log of the expedition and the aircraft used.

When the last surviving human beings are taken from the Earth to another planet by a race of giants, they become lowly servants. Little by little, led by a young man, they regain their thirst for freedom and rise up against their oppressors.

Whether you judge by box office receipts, industry awards, or critical accolades, science fiction films are the most popular movies now being produced and distributed around the world. Nor is this phenomenon new. Sci-fi filmmakers and audiences have been exploring fantastic planets, forbidden zones, and lost continents ever since George Méliès’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. In this highly entertaining and knowledgeable book, film historian and pop culture expert Douglas Brode picks the one hundred greatest sci-fi films of all time. Brode’s list ranges from today’s blockbusters to forgotten gems, with surprises for even the most informed fans and scholars. He presents the movies in chronological order, which effectively makes this book a concise history of the sci-fi film genre. A striking (and in many cases rare) photograph accompanies each entry, for which Brode provides a numerical rating, key credits and cast members, brief plot summary, background on the film’s creation, elements of the moviemaking process, analysis of the major theme(s), and trivia. He also includes fun outtakes, including his top ten lists of Fifties sci-fi movies, cult sci-fi, least necessary movie remakes, and “so bad they’re great” classics—as well as the ten worst sci-fi movies (“those highly ambitious films that promised much and delivered nil”). So climb aboard spaceship Brode and journey to strange new worlds from Metropolis (1927) to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

A fascinating journey through the world’s musical cultures. Every culture on Earth has music. Every culture that’s ever existed has had it, but we don’t exactly know why. Music is not like food, shelter, or having opposable thumbs. We don’t need it to live, and yet we can’t seem to live without it. Glenn Dixon travels the globe exploring how and why people make music. From a tour of Bob Marley’s house to sitar lessons in India, he experiences music around the world and infuses the stories with the latest in brain research, genetics, and evolutionary psychology. Why does music give us chills down the backs of our necks? What exactly are the whales singing about and why does some music stick in our minds like chewing gum? Through his adventures, Dixon uncovers the real reasons why music has such a powerful hold on us – and the answers just might surprise you.

Bestselling author Steve McDonald uses his unique photo-based illustration style to celebrate the fantastic places, flora, and fauna of the natural world around us. Here are inspiring, fun-to-color images of lush jungles, teeming reefs, desert landscapes, fruitful orchards, sun-dappled forests, spectacular waterfalls, majestic trees, tulip fields, animal migrations, and much more. A selection of imaginative natural mandala illustrations rounds out this gorgeous, high-quality adult coloring book, the latest in the bestselling Fantastic series.

2020 IBPA Awards Winner! “Louie Schwartzberg’s lightly informative, delightfully kooky documentary, “Fantastic Fungi,” offers nothing less than a model for planetary survival.” –Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times “Gorgeous photography! Time-lapse sequences of mushrooms blossoming forth could pass for studies of exotic flowers growing on another planet.” –Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal The Life-Affirming, Mind-Bending Companion Book to the Smash Hit Documentary FANTASTIC FUNGI Viewed in over 100 countries and selling hundreds of thousands of tickets on the way to finishing 2019 with a rare 100% Tomato meter rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Schwartzberg’s documentary Fantastic Fungi has brought the mycological revolution to the world stage. This is the film’s official companion book, that expands on the documentary’s message: that mushrooms and fungi will change your life– and save the planet. Paul Stamets, the world’s preeminent mushroom and fungi expert is joined by leading ecologists, doctors, and explorers such as Michael Pollan, Dr. Andrew Weil, Eugenia Bone, Fantastic Fungi director Louie Schwartzberg, and many more. Together these luminaries show how fungi and mushrooms can restore the planet’s ecosystems, repair our physical health, and renew humanity’s symbiotic relationship with nature. Join the Movement: Learn about the groundbreaking research that shows why mushrooms stand to provide a solution to environmental challenges, a viable alternative to traditional medicine, and a chance to radically shift consciousness. Most Comprehensive Fungi book in the world: Admire the astounding, underappreciated beauty with over 400 gloriously-shot photographs of the mycelial world’s most rare and beautiful species in their natural environment. World’s Leading Fungi Experts: Edited by preeminent mycologist Paul Stamets, who contributes original pieces, Fungi includes original contributions by bestselling author and activist Michael Pollan, alternative medicine expert Dr. Andrew Weil, award-winning nature and food writer Eugenia Bone, Fantastic Fungi director Louie Schwartzberg, and so many more. The book’s roster of experts make this the most comprehensive survey of the diverse benefits and extraordinary potential of these amazing organisms.

An account of a forced landing on a planet that could not be seen by a three-man crew of the Survey and Preliminary Study Service.