America from the Air: A Guide to the Landscape Along Your Route | 
|  | | | Title: | America from the Air: A Guide to the Landscape Along Your Route | | Author: | Daniel Mathews
James S. Jackson | | Publisher: | Houghton Mifflin | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 14 December, 2007 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0618706038 / 9780618706037 | | List Price: | $19.95 | | You Save: | $6.38 | | Amazon Price: | $13.57 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
An illustrated guide, in both book and CD-ROM, of landscapes seen from commercial airplane windows across the United States.
This is a guide to what an airline passenger sees from his seat while flying over the United States. Through its ingenious construction and a map of preferred flight paths, it's easy to find those pages that correspond to whatever flight a passenger happens to be on, and then to identify features that can be seen from the air. The book marries geology, natural history, and human history for a glorious portrait of the continent, from the Atlantic City Boardwalk to Mount St. Helens.
Each two-page spread features an aerial photo with captions identifying features passengers will see and an essay interpreting the features. Each chapter is a Flight Corridor, with pages sequenced to follow a trip from takeoff to landing. Because many flight paths overlap, the fifteen corridors cover the forty most heavily traveled flight segments in the continental United States, plus many others. In many regions of the country, readers will have a new page to read about every twenty minutes. The entire book is also on the included CD-ROM, which can easily be used on a laptop in the air.
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Customer Reviews:
• Disappointed 24 December, 2007
The review I read on this book was that it was a Coffee Table book. I define a Coffee Table book as an oversize book with lots of excellent pictures and a little bit of writing. This book fails on all 3. It is half the size (no problem). The pictures are small and lack sharpness, and there are way more pages filled with writinig than pictures. It may be an interesting read, but that's not what I purchased it for.
There is a CD that comes woth it. I have not seen it, but it may be it's redeming grace.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3PU0P8Z7J09ST
• Window Seat, Please! 02 January, 2008
I'm so surprised by the poor reviews. First, this book is definitely not meant for the coffee table. It is a travel guide of the very finest sort. It is designed to be used in-the-field (or, rather, above it) to orient air travelers to the views outside their window and it does so with aplomb. But it does so much more than that. The authors skilfully synthesize a history of earth's natural features with human history and demographic data. In addition to locating rivers and valleys and mountains and seas, it points out the contrast in urbanization and crop colors on the US/Mexico border, identifies Fermilab, windfarms, and the Atlantic City boardwalk. It also interprets the impact of forest fires and forest pests, and describes things like center pivot irrigation. It is well researched, well referenced, and well written and does an excellent job illustrating the remarkable relationship between humans and geography. I can't wait for my next flight.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3MBGYZPWAZ6N3
• Such Unrealized Potential 18 January, 2008
The idea is excellent - what, exactly, am I flying over right now? Selecting the most traveled air routes in the country is a great way to constrain the scope to a manageable effort. Unfortunately, this is a great idea that is very poorly executed.
For starters, the routes are very confusing to follow as they often have alternate paths. Just show me what LA to New York looks like, don't divert my attention by diverting me to Las Vegas or Phoenix or whatever.
Second, the pictures aren't very good. It is safe to say that very few of the pictures were taken from the window of a commercial jet. As a result, the view is not even close to what you would see from your window seat (unless you regularly fly in a satellite).
Again, a great idea. And kudos for making it a low-cost paperback. But the execution is poor.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3DBA7CI283PY0
• Interesting Gift, Needs More Pictures 10 February, 2008
I bought this book as a gift after a review in Wired. It has major routes, and large area pictures of main land features and discussion of the routes. I wish it had more pictures, more analysis, and and more blowups of the land features. Perhaps looking at the images by computer on the CD (which comes with the book, and which is a copy of the book) would allow zooming in on features in more detail (which I haven't tried). I was a little disappointed in the book expecting even more discussion and analysis of 'what one sees from air'. Most of what was pointed out I already knew. However, my spouse has taken the CD on several trips and hasn't complained.
The pictures are still great.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3BNEAYDD0I6RT
• Great For Pilots And Dads Alike! 14 February, 2008
Got this for my father-in-law and grandfather for Christmas - both of whom are former pilots. They especially enjoyed reading about things they had flown over but never known about. The entire family enjoyed the great photography, descriptions, and the CD-ROM in the back cover. We are all now taking turns looking at the CD-ROM - it's a great little perk!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A24UWJU90XAZ1W
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