VISIONS OF OTHER WORLDS
At its most exciting, science opens up worlds utterly different from our own and then gives us the tools to visualize them. The photographs and illustrations in three of this year’s best books offer the chance to get a good, close look at distant times, far-off places, and exotic modes of life.
Dinosaur Art edited by Steve White
Ten paleoartists revive the prehistoric past in these lushly imaginative—and, as far as paleontologists can verify, scientifically accurate—illustrations. Dinosaurs butt heads, thrash their tails, and spread their stunning plumage, while ancient mammals and marine organisms make colorful cameos.
Planetfall by Michael Benson