Filled with breathtaking, full-color photographs of sites ranging from outer space to the ocean depths, this remarkable exploration of our world explains how the earth's processes work, how they affect humans, and how life itself shapes and changes the planet. Get a new perspective on the world as you travel to sites as diverse as rainforests and deserts to study their unique features, and understand the water cycle, winds, currents, hurricanes and tornadoes. Find out more about global warming, El Nino, the ice age, and other oft-mentioned phenomena, as well as the Gaia Hypothesis which treats the earth as a single, self-regulating organism. As you examine the power and glory of nature, you will discover that despite their destructive powers, natural forces like volcanoes and floods are as much a part of living on earth as sunshine and rain. 192 pages (150 in color), 8 1/2 x 11.