Books: OVER: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Video Interview with Alex MacLean(pop-ups must be enabled)Video by Stone Media ProsAlex MacLean’s aerial photographs have captured the evolution of the American landscape and the complex relationship between its natural and constructed environments that contribute to climate change. Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point by Alex S. MacLean, Introduction by Bill McKibben (Abrams; October 2008; 336 pages; U.S, $45.00; CAN $48.95) is an ambitious and visually breathtaking catalog of the extraordinary patterns and profound physical consequences brought about by natural processes and human intervention. “Alex MacLean’s pictures are an irreplaceable document bearing testimony to the precise forces now undermining our only planet. May they help give us the insight to make the changes that we must,” writes Bill McKibben, one of the pioneers of the environmental movement, in the book’s introduction. The book allows readers to visualize climate change and our culture's excessive use of resources and energy, which account for our oversized carbon footprint. It demonstrates the extent to which the human ecosystem, and our economic and social well being, are dependant upon our wise use of land and its resources.Over is divided into sections covering such topics as Atmosphere; Way of Life; Automobile Dependency; Electricity Generation; Deserts; Water Use; Sea-Level Rise; Waste and Recycling; and Urbanism. The spectacular photographs featured include large-scale luxury housing developments and golf courses in Nevada; massive highway interchanges in Arizona; and gasoline refineries in Texas. Readers will also see impressive aerial shots of Hurricane Katrina wreckage and coastal damage in Mississippi and Louisiana; a huge municipal compost facility in Chicago; and New York City’s first green building, the Hearst Tower.MacLean’s powerful photographs and insightful text make it clear that maintenance of the current American lifestyle is incompatible with a planet of diminishing natural resources and a finite atmosphere. Over compels us all to reconsider our basic assumptions about how we live, work, and play; and reveals that, while the challenges we face today are not insurmountable, the future depends on our collective vision, passion, and commitment. Please click here to order a copy. This book is also available in French, German and Italian language editions. Limited edition prints of images from OVER: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point are available. Please contact the studio for more information.
OVER: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point

Harry N. Abrams, Inc.  

Video Interview with Alex MacLean 

(pop-ups must be enabled) 

Video by Stone Media Pros 

Alex MacLean’s aerial photographs have captured the evolution of the American landscape and the complex relationship between its natural and constructed environments that contribute to climate change. Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point by Alex S. MacLean, Introduction by Bill McKibben (Abrams; October 2008; 336 pages; U.S, $45.00; CAN $48.95) is an ambitious and visually breathtaking catalog of the extraordinary patterns and profound physical consequences brought about by natural processes and human intervention.  

“Alex MacLean’s pictures are an irreplaceable document bearing testimony to the precise forces now undermining our only planet. May they help give us the insight to make the changes that we must,” writes Bill McKibben, one of the pioneers of the environmental movement, in the book’s introduction.  

The book allows readers to visualize climate change and our culture's excessive use of resources and energy, which account for our oversized carbon footprint. It demonstrates the extent to which the human ecosystem, and our economic and social well being, are dependant upon our wise use of land and its resources. 

Over is divided into sections covering such topics as Atmosphere; Way of Life; Automobile Dependency; Electricity Generation; Deserts; Water Use; Sea-Level Rise; Waste and Recycling; and Urbanism. The spectacular photographs featured include large-scale luxury housing developments and golf courses in Nevada; massive highway interchanges in Arizona; and gasoline refineries in Texas. Readers will also see impressive aerial shots of Hurricane Katrina wreckage and coastal damage in Mississippi and Louisiana; a huge municipal compost facility in Chicago; and New York City’s first green building, the Hearst Tower. 

MacLean’s powerful photographs and insightful text make it clear that maintenance of the current American lifestyle is incompatible with a planet of diminishing natural resources and a finite atmosphere. Over compels us all to reconsider our basic assumptions about how we live, work, and play; and reveals that, while the challenges we face today are not insurmountable, the future depends on our collective vision, passion, and commitment.  

Please click here to order a copy. This book is also available in French, German and Italian language editions.  

Limited edition prints of images from OVER: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point are available. Please contact the studio for more information.