cover image Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 14

Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 14

. BBC Books, $50 (160pp) ISBN 978-0-563-52180-8

Every year, the National History Museum and the BBC Wildlife Magazine organize a worldwide competition to honor the best in wildlife photography. This coffee-table book showcases 90 winning and commended entries, depicting everything from a shark preying on a school of fish to a zebra posing peacefully in front of a glorious sunset. To give the book some structure, the photographs are divided into different categories, including ""Animal behaviour,"" ""In praise of plants"" and the heart-breaking ""World in our hands,"" which shows the devastation human beings can cause through images of slaughtered coyotes and cruelly caged animals. Most of the photographs, however, are celebrations of nature as it is meant to be-beautiful, vibrant and undisturbed. The editors state that one of the aims of this competition is to make people ""wonder at the splendour, drama and variety of life on Earth,"" and that is exactly what this book accomplishes. Each photograph, whether of a colorful field of wildflowers or a snake devouring tree-frog eggs, can be viewed as a beautiful depiction of life.The volume offers a welcome look at the world through a natural lens. It will be a treasure for photography and wildlife enthusiasts, and an inspiration for anyone who appreciates the beauty of the world around them.