The Earth From the Air

Since its original publication in 1999, Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s The Earth from the Air has been a touchstone for the environmental movement throughout the world. The result of a five-year journey across five continents and sixty countries, this spectacular portrait of our planet, produced with the sponsorship of UNESCO, is also an iconic reminder of its fragility.

In this special anniversary edition, Arthus-Bertrand and a dozen experts on current environmental issues evaluate the past decade’s progress. With over 100 striking new images and nine new essays, including frank discussions of climate change and the growing energy crisis throughout the world, Arthus-Bertrand juxtaposes earth’s raw beauty with the evidence of humanity’s negative impact upon our home.

Under the patronage of UNESCO in 1994, Yann Arthus-Bertrand embarked upon his most ambitious project: creating a holistic view of Earth, seen from the air, to serve as a record of the global environment for present and future generations. The incredible results of these travels were published as The Earth from the Air. The book was translated into 24 languages, with more than 3 million copies distributed around the world.

The photographs also tour around the world in an open-air exhibition, free to the public.
To date, the exhibition has been shown in more than 100 cities and attracted over 100 million visitors.

The subject of Arthus-Bertrand’s work is our world and its inhabitants, captured with humility and curiosity in a portrait that resonates deeply with audiences everywhere. In his pictures, meaning prevails over formal beauty: a good photograph has the power to challenge, instruct and move.

In inviting individuals to take responsibility for the planet’s welfare, The Earth from the Air remains resolutely optimistic.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand first discovered the beauty of the world seen from the air in a hot-air balloon in Kenya, where he wrote about lions with his wife, Anne. In 1991 he founded the Altitude agency, a unique bank of aerial images that brings together photographers from all corners of the planet. A world-renowned aerial photographer, he has published approximately seventy books and produced one film.