IN ALL THE WORLD'S WRITTEN LANGUAGES THE WORD 'EARTH' IS USED TO DEFINE THE WHOLE OF OUR PLANET, NOT JUST TERRA FIRMA, OR LAND. THIS MIGHT BE CONSIDERED CONTRADICTORY: WATER COVERS BY FAR THE GREATEST SURFACE AREA OF THE PLANET, AND THE CONTINENTS AND ISLANDS INHABITED BY MAN, THE ANIMALS, AND THE PLANTS THAT BREATHE AIR ARE KNOWN AS 'LANDS ABOVE SEA LEVEL.' PERHAPS THIS HAS HAPPENED BECAUSE MAN HAS DISCOVERED THE TRUTH ONLY RECENTLY: UNTIL FIVE CENTURIES AGO, AT THE TIME OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, MAN'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE SIZE AND PHYSICAL REALITY OF THE LAND AND SEA WERE VERY APPROXIMATE AND OFTEN INCORRECT....

This is the first of a series of innovative books that will allow the reader to enjoy original pictures in a completely new way.

The subject of this book is the sea in all its colors and aspects: clear, tropical waters; turbulent on a stormy day;immense, as seen from space; magical and cold in the polar regions; and frothy if photographed inside a wave. The pages are presented like windows that open, revealing the secrets of the sea, but also of the coastlines that it washes against: cliffs, rocks, sandy beaches, coral reefs, atolls and volcanic islands. Then there is a discussion of man's eternal relationship with the sea: coastal villages, windswept ports, ships of all types, and fishing boats that go out in all weathers. Another chapter deals with sea creatures: the mysterious inhabitants of the deep, multicolored corals,many-hued fish that dance in the light, fearsome predators and the thousands of strangely shaped shells.

A chapter is dedicated to each of these themes, filled with pictures taken by the world's best photographers and described by expert journalists. A preface provides a logical discussion of the themes in the chapters, taking into account the historical, biological, anthropological and - why not? - also the artistic arguments linked to man's relationship with the sea.

INTRODUCTION

PICTURES FROM SPACE

COASTS AND SHORELINES

PEARLS IN THE BLUE

SEAS OF ICE

TOWNS AND VILLAGES

SEA PEOPLE

THE SENTINELS OF THE SEA

THE FURY OF NATURE

ON THE WINGS OF THE WIND

ON THE CREST OF A WAVE

CREATURES BETWEEN AIR AND WATER

CORAL GARDENS

THE GIANTS OF THE SEA

UNDERWATER HISTORY

WATER AND FIRE

ALL SHADES OF BLUE

LOW TIDE

AT THE END OF THE DAY

BIOGRAPHIES, INDEX, CREDITS