Alaska 24/7

Alaska 24/7: Amazing Photographs of an Extraordinary State
Created by Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen
ISBN: 0756600413
Hardcover
192 pages
Cover price: $24.95

I've passed by the 24/7 state books at the bookstore, but they never appealed to me. The Elementary School cover design, the phrase "24/7", and the disproportionate size to number of pages all put me off. But there aren't many books on Alaska at the Huntsville Public Library, so I decided to give this one a try.

The photographs, especially in the first half, are interesting and fun. The captions are informative and concise. My only complaint is the format. Thumbnails span the top margin of the pages, with large photographs completing the rest of the page. So, on each page I would pull the book closer to my face to try and discern the thumbnails, then pull the book back to see the larger pictures, then pull the book closer again to read the caption for the main photos. That is a lot of movement for a large, hardbound book. On some of the photos, it is great to see them so enlarged as to cover an entire page, or even two pages. But there are so many pictures that are only small thumbnails at the top of the pages. I would have traded in the giant photos for more medium-sized ones.

Overall: Good to check-out from the library, but I wouldn't pay for a copy of my own.