The California Field Atlas - Kaufmann, Obi Review & Synopsis

 Synopsis

"[A] gorgeously illustrated compendium."-Sunset

This lavishly illustrated atlas takes readers off the beaten path and outside normal conceptions of California, revealing its myriad ecologies, topographies, and histories in exquisite maps and trail paintings. Based on decades of exploring the backcountry of the Golden State, artist-adventurer Obi Kaufmann blends science and art to illuminate the multifaceted array of living, connected systems like no book has done before. Kaufmann depicts layer after layer of the natural world, delighting in the grand scale and details alike. The effect is staggeringly beautiful: presented alongside California divvied into its fifty-eight counties, for example, we consider California made up of dancing tectonic plates, of watersheds, of wildflower gardens. Maps are enhanced by spirited illustrations of wildlife, keys that explain natural phenomena, and a clear-sighted but reverential text. Full of character and color, a bit larger than life, The California Field Atlas is the ultimate road trip companion and love letter to a place.

Review

This lavishly illustrated atlas takes readers off the beaten path and outside normal conceptions of California, revealing its myriad ecologies, topographies, and histories in exquisite maps and trail paintings. Based on decades of exploring the backcountry of the Golden State, artist-adventurer Obi Kaufmann blends science and art to illuminate the multifaceted array of living, connected systems like no book has done before. Kaufmann depicts layer after layer of the natural world, delighting in the grand scale and details alike. The effect is staggeringly beautiful: presented alongside California divvied into its fifty-eight counties, for example, we consider California made up of dancing tectonic plates, of watersheds, of wildflower gardens. Maps are enhanced by spirited illustrations of wildlife, keys that explain natural phenomena, and a clear-sighted but reverential text. Full of character and color, a bit larger than life, The California Field Atlas is the ultimate road trip companion and love letter to a place.Growing up in the East Bay as the son of an astrophysicist and a psychologist, Obi Kaufmann spent most of high school practicing calculus and breaking away on weekends to scramble around Mount Diablo and map its creeks, oak forests, and sage mazes. Into adulthood, he would regularly journey into the mountains, spending more summer nights without a roof than with one. For Kaufmann, the epic narrative of the California backcountry holds enough art, science, mythology, and language for a hundred field atlases to come. When he is not backpacking, you can find the painter-poet at his desk in Oakland, posting @coyotethunder #trailpaintings on social media.

The California Field Atlas: Collector's Edition

A new classic gets the deluxe treatment Following the success of Obi Kaufmann's bestselling The California Field Atlas, this Collector's Edition features a larger format showcasing Kaufmann's sumptuous watercolors and lettering. In addition to its larger size, the Collector's Edition has lush, illustrated endpapers, a ribbon bookmark, gilt edges on premium paper, and gold embossing on a luxurious leather-like cover. This is a must-have for any book lover, or for fans of nature guides, atlases, and works that fuse science and art. Plus, with a limited print run and deluxe materials, this edition makes for a stunning gift. A winner of multiple awards, including the 2018 California Book Award (Notable Contribution to Publishing) and the NCIBA Book of the Year Award (Regional Interest), and a #1 San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, The California Field Atlas is unlike any other book. Artist-adventurer Obi Kaufmann takes readers beyond normal conceptions of California, blending science and art to illuminate the state's multifaceted array of living, connected systems. Kaufmann unveils layer after layer of the natural world, depicting its myriad ecologies, topographies, and histories in exquisite maps and trail paintings. The effect is staggeringly beautiful: a California made up of dancing tectonic plates, watersheds, and wildflower gardens. In addition to maps, this atlas offers spirited illustrations of wildlife, keys that explain natural phenomena, and a clear-sighted but reverential text. Full of character and in a class all its own, The California Field Atlas is the ultimate love letter to a place.

Full of character and color, a bit larger than life, The California Field Atlas is the ultimate road trip companion and love letter to a place"--Publisher's website"

The Forests of California

"From the author of The California Field Atlas comes a major work that not only guides readers through the Golden State's forested lands, but also presents a profoundly original vision of nature in the twenty-first century. The Forests of California features an abundance of Obi Kaufmann's signature watercolor maps and trail paintings, weaving them into an expansive and accessible exploration of the biodiversity that defines California in the global imagination. Expanding on the style of the Field Atlas, Kaufmann tells an epic story that spans millions of years, nearly one hundred species of trees, and an astonishing richness of ecosystems. Kaufmann seeks to create nothing less than a new understanding of the more-than-human world, and the lessons in this book extend well beyond California's borders"--

Kaufmann seeks to create nothing less than a new understanding of the more-than-human world, and the lessons in this book extend well beyond California's borders"--"

The Deserts of California

"An exploration of California's deserts and their biodiversity, including hundreds of watercolor maps and trail paintings"--

"An exploration of California's deserts and their biodiversity, including hundreds of watercolor maps and trail paintings"--"

The Coasts of California

An epic, gloriously illustrated journey up and down California's shoreline California's coastline is world famous, an endless source of fascination and fantasy, but there is no book about it like this one. Obi Kaufmann, author-illustrator of The California Field Atlas and The Forests of California, now turns his attention to the 1,200 miles of the Golden State where the land meets the ocean. Bursting with color, The Coasts of California is in Kaufmann's signature style, fusing science with art and pure poetic reverie. And much more than a survey of tourist spots, Coasts is a full immersion into the astonishingly varied natural worlds that hug California's shoreline. With hundreds of gorgeous watercolor maps and illustrations, Kaufmann explores the rhythms of the tides, the lives of sea creatures, the shifting of rocks and sand, and the special habitats found on California's islands. At the book's core is an expansive, detailed walk down the California Coastal Trail, including maps of parks along the way--a wealth of knowledge for any coast-lover. The Coasts of California is a geographic epic, an odyssey in nature, a grand and glorious book for a grand and glorious part of the world.

"An exploration of California's coastline and the biodiversity it contains. Features Obi Kaufmann's signature watercolor maps and trail paintings"--"

The State of Water

Obi Kaufmann, author of the best-selling California Field Atlas, turns his artful yet analytical attention to the Golden State's single most complex and controversial resource: water. In this new book, full-color maps unravel the braided knot of California's water infrastructure and ecosystems, exposing a history of unlimited growth in spite of finite natural resources--a history that has led to its current precarious circumstances. Yet this built world depends upon the biosphere, and in The State of Water Kaufmann argues that environmental conservation and restoration efforts are necessary not only for ethical reasons but also as a matter of human survival. Offering nine perspectives to illustrate the most pressing challenges facing California's water infrastructure, from dams to species revitalization, Kaufmann reveals pragmatic yet inspiring solutions to how water in the West can continue to support agriculture, municipalities, and the environment. Interspersed throughout with trail paintings of animals that might yet survive under a caring and careful water ethic, Kaufmann shows how California can usher in a new era of responsible water conservation, and--perhaps most importantly--how we may do so together.

In this book, Kaufmann's signature full-color maps unravel the braided knot of California's water infrastructure and ecosystems, exposing a history of unlimited growth in spite of finite natural resources--a history that has led to its ..."

Thinking with Maps

Thinking with Maps takes readers on a journey through both traditional and modern mapping in order to learn how to conceive of mapping as fundamental to cognition and, thus, to what it means to be human. Each chapter considers an aspect of how we use maps. Examples from around the world show how learning can be made more relevant.

 CALIFORNIA , AN ALTERNATIVE ATLAS The California Field Atlas presents California's diverse ecology, topography, and history through maps and trail paintings. Obi Kaufmann goes beyond conventional conceptions of California and of road ..."

The Art of Shralpinism

Includes stories, lists, and prescriptive guidance based on Jones’s experiences as well as those of other wellknown adventurers Anecdotal and experiential approach for creating a resilient mountain life Features original art by the author 1% of all sales of this book benefit Protect Our Winters Not a technical guide on snowboarding but, rather, a very personal approach to how to think about mountains, snow, and adventure, The Art of Shralpinism reflects the remarkable journey of snowboarding superstar Jeremy Jones. Drawing on the hundreds of journals he has kept over the years, Jones offers intriguing snapshots of time and place that include his own on-the-slope stories and white-out moments, as well as those of other prominent adventurers such as Jimmy Chin, Zahan Billimoria, and Christina Lusti. Shralpinism is a compendium of lessons hard won: quick tips, sound advice, and impactful stories. Learn which aspects of avalanche training are most crucial to absorb, ways to anticipate slope behavior or recognize clean lines, how to cut a cornice or develop safety protocols, how to build a fitness routine, the art of the turn, and keys to developing terrain and skills progression. Jones discusses the importance of mentors, the necessity and intensity of practice, the nature of risk, and the shape of failure. But at its heart, The Art of Shralpinism revels in the power of experience, the impact of stoke, and the beauty that underscores all outdoor adventure.

Books All We Can Save, by Ayana Elizabeth Johnston and Katharine K. Wilkinson The California Field Atlas , by Obi Kaufmann The Chuting Gallery, by Andrew McLean Classic Krakauer, by Jon Krakauer The Daily Stoic, by Ryan Holiday Endurance ..."

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications

1775 .... , on : Nomination of Sandra Day O 'Connor : hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary , United States Senate , Ninety - seventh Congress , first session , on the nomination of Judge Sandra Day O 'Connor , of Arizona ..."