Book Review: Listen To The Heartbeat Of The Earth

Book Review: Listen To The Heartbeat Of The Earth

By Jane Dove Juneau

Published by South Pacific Light Press
Distributed by Bookreps
$35 at booksellers throughout New Zealand

Reviewed by Jackie Llewellyn

Anyone looking for a "coffee table" book that is more than just a pretty face this Christmas could do no better than to reach for Jane Dove Juneau's latest book, Listen To The Heartbeat Of The Earth.

A collection of 120 colour images from around the globe, Juneau's book is designed to provoke thought as much as appreciation for the power and beauty of nature.

The freelance photographer and writer, who has spent over 30 years capturing images for news outlets throughout the world, is anxious that it contribute to the debate on climate change in New Zealand.

Prefaced with a no nonsense essay on the facts of global warming, Listen To The Heartbeat Of the Earth is also full of spiritual messages to accompany the stunning photographs.

Juneau urges us to consider that despite the brevity of the individual human's tenure on earth, we can each have an irrevocable legacy on the environment.

"Our footprint combined with all the steps taken by mankind has a huge influence on the environment and we need to take time to consider our personal future and the lifestyle choices we make in the short time we are on the earth, as they are crucial to the future of the earth," she says.

The photographs themselves are a joyous celebration of all that is worth celebrating and preserving in the natural world, from the pristine snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains of California to the myriad greens of native New Zealand forest.

Apart from landscapes, Juneau has captured some wonderful wildlife scenarios, my personal favourite being the oddly elegant sight of Water Buffalo bathing in the Sri Lankan twilight.

Selling at $35 at booksellers throughout the country, Listen To The Heartbeat Of The Earth, is a combination of beauty, spirituality and cold hard facts about the consequences of human action in the world we inhabit so briefly.

A veritable feast for the senses with a seasonal serving of food for thought, the book should top any "novelty" book on this year's Christmas list.

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