A s mind-blowing as tiny things can be, there’s plenty out there to blow the mind at the other end of the scale. Here are some entertaining and informative books, listed alphabetically, about products of nature and culture that inspire awe by their sheer enormousness. For a well-balanced mind, read them in tandem with the books listed in the entry “Tiny Things.”
1.
The Big Book of Sumo: History, Practice, Ritual, Fight
by Mina Hall, 1997 – Being enormous is all part of a day’s work for Japan’s sumo wrestlers. Hall, a dedicated fan of the sport, explains the rules of sumo along with its history and rituals, the wrestlers’ highly regimented daily lives, and more. Photos and, in true Japanese fashion, cute cartoons enliven the text. ONLINE DETAILS2.
Blue Whales
by John Calambokidis and Gretchen Steiger, 1997 – Learn all about the biggest animals on earth. How did these air-breathing mammals end up living underwater? What do they eat to grow so much? How do they communicate? The book gives answers to all these questions and provides magnificent photographs as well. ONLINE DETAILS3.
Dinosaurus: The Complete Guide to Dinosaurs
by Steve Parker, 2003 – It may seem hard to believe that such formidable creatures ever existed, but the illustrations in this book will help you imagine them and their world with full-color vividness. The great predators, the duckbills, the giants, and many other categories of dinosaurs come to life in these pictures, and the author captures the grand adventure of paleontology. ONLINE DETAILS4.
An Elephant’s Life: An Intimate Portrait from Africa
by Caitlin O’Connell, 2011 – For nearly twenty years, O’Connell has studied elephants in their natural habitat in Namibia’s Etosha National Park. Her close observations of the magnificent creatures inform every page of this entrancing tome that is lavishly illustrated with photos by O’Connell and Timothy Rodwell. The lives of these wonderful and endangered animals unfold in unforgettable pages that encompass every aspect of elephant life from reproduction to family life to competition among the males.ONLINE DETAILS
5.
Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling
by Ross King, 2003 – Michelangelo Buonarroti lovedto sculpt, not to paint. But, genius that he was, when he was conscripted to decorate the Sistine Chapel, he rose to the challenge. His soaring frescoes are now among the immortal masterpieces of art. This book recounts the political wrangling behind the accomplishment. ONLINE DETAILS
EXCERPT: MICHELANGELO AND THE POPE’S CEILING:
A few months after the David was finished, early in 1505, Michelangelo received from Pope Julius II an abrupt that interrupted his work in Florence. So impressed was the pope with the Pietà, which he had seen in a chapel of St. Peter’s, that he wanted the young sculptor to carve his tomb as well. At the end of February the papal treasurer, Cardinal Francesco Alidosi, paid Michelangelo an advance of one hundred gold florins, the equivalent of a full year’s salary for a craftsman. The sculptor then returned to Rome and entered the service of the pope. So began what he would later call “the tragedy of the tomb.”
Papal tombs were usually grand affairs. That of Sixtus IV, who died in 1484, was a beautiful bronze sarcophagus that had been nine years in the making. But Julius, a stranger to all modesty, had envisioned for himself something on an entirely new scale. He had begun making plans for his sepulchre soon after his election to the papacy in 1503, ultimately conceiving of a memorial that was to be the largest since the mausoleums built for Roman emperors such as Hadrian and Augustus.
6.
Remarkable Trees of the World
by Thomas Pakenham, 2002 – Not all the trees described and pictured in this book are large — you’ll find bonsai as well as massive baobabs. But there is a whole chapter devoted to “Giants,” and another to “Methuselahs.” The photographs of arboreal wonders all over the world are extraordinary. ONLINE DETAILS7.
Skyscrapers: A History of the World’s Most Extraordinary Buildings
by Judith Dupré, 1996 – Ogle some of mankind’s most astonishing feats of architecture and engineering, from the Eiffel Tower to the Empire State Building to the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. To do justice to the amazing black-and-white photographs of its subject matter, this volume is an unusual rectangular shape, a foot and a half high. (Produced before the destruction of the World Trade Center, it includes the twin towers among its marvels.) You won’t want to neglect the text, which is also eye-opening. ONLINE DETAILS8.
The Stars of Heaven
by Clifford Pickover, 2001 – All the life on our planet depends on the most familiar star — the sun — for the light and heat it generates. This book uses some amusing science fiction to help us make sense of the real-world — er, real-universe — phenomena which are even more amazing than science fiction, from our old dependable sun to black holes and supergiants. ONLINE DETAILS9.
The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island
by Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo, 2011 – The great stone heads of Easter Island in the South Pacific have intrigued the world for centuries. The European expedition that first spotted the place in the eighteenth century found a barren, sparsely populated island. The theory has long held that in building the monoliths, the islanders wrought war and environmental devastation on themselves.Archaeologists Hunt and Lipo expected to validate that theory during a 2001 expedition. Instead,
as they report in this captivating book, they uncovered evidence that the islanders were staunch environmentalists and that the creation of the giant statues was part of their effort to achieve sustainability. ONLINE DETAILS