The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss

The images in this book are very good. If you buy this for book solely for that purpose it is worth it.

However if you actually want to READ it, buyer be warned! The incessant need for the author and contributors to continue to make the same statements... "mankind is killing the planet" gets very tiresome.

Do these people not realize that the writing of this book uses paper(even if recycled it is still a limited resource that could be used elsewhere). Do they not see that the delivery of this book to the various stores throughout the US and the world contributes to greenhouse gasses? How much CO2 was spewed out by the UPS delivery truck delivering this from the store? They also fail in realizing that the money spent buying this book could be better spent for more "greener" purposes.

In other words, the very existence of this book and the 100's of millions of other books that claim "mankind is destroying the planet" do in fact contribute to destroying the planet; very much so in my opinion.

It isn't that I have a problem with the message, but there are MUCH "greener" ways to get the message across is there not?

That said, if you DO care about the planet do us all a favor and DON'T buy this book but bike on over to your local library instead and read it there.

Growing up I had tropical (fresh-water) fishtanks. When I got older, I graduated to marine (salt water) tanks. I was, and am, facinated by the creatures that live there, especially "reef" tanks that house the stranger life forms like invertebrates and corals. I eventually took up diving, mostly because it was the only way I could be "inside" my tanks.

"The Deep" is an astonishingly GORGEOUS compilation of the most incredible, other-worldly creatures that inhabit the oceans. THIS is what thrilled me, and still does, about underwater life: it is the closest you will ever get to being on an entirely different planet!

I just love this book! The photos are spectacular, and the paper stock is very high quality, doing the material justice. Not only has the book started a conversation every time I have people over, it's also sparked a 6 year old's imagination. Now we watch anything we can about the ocean on Discovery/NatGeo, and she wants to be a marine biologist. I can't recommend this book enough if you are an avid 'learner' and curious about our last, undiscovered inner space.

The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss is an amazing book. The images are exquisite, some are nearly unbelievable. The writing is crisp, not the lead weight or gushing prose of nature books. The book reveals the wonders of the sea floor. My favorite character in the book is Grimpoteuthis aka Dumbo Octopus. Once you start the book you will not be able to put it down. Nouvian and University of Chicago Press deserves our thanks for producing a brilliantly designed graphic book.

Stunning in conception and execution, this book literally takes one's breath away.... Having spent a lot of time myself working in this murky, high pressure world, I can fully appreciate the scope of Claire Nouvian's accomplishment. Bravo!! -- Erich Hoyt (author of Creatures of the Deep and other books)

A truly amazing look at life in the watery depths of our magnificent planet. The strange creatures that inhabit the dark underworld of our seas and oceans offer an almost alien-like encounter, yet they are undeniably part of earth's evolutionary process. Words cannot do justice to the visual delights of Nouvian's photographs, so I suggest anyone with a remote interest in art or science should check this book out!

I read this book from cover to cover and was completely enraptured by the images and descriptions of the various species. What incredible beauty lies in our ocean depths! I became fascinated with this stuff after watching one of the Blue Planet episodes. I also bought a copy and sent it to my brother. What an awesome book!

I dont usually write reviews but I am so in love and frustrated with this book at the same time, I will. Ninety nine percent of it is truly amazing. The strangest, most beautiful and alien creatures on earth, photographed exquisitely and reproduced in large format, fill the 250 pages of this lovely book. But then to my shock and horror... some of the images are computer generated. AND... they are not noted as such. They are presented with captions exactly like the images of real creatures.

I work in the video game industry and feel like I have a pretty good eye for spotting computer generated imagery, and these ones are even that good! The could have at least tried a little harder to convince!

But the rest of the images (which I think are real) are truly fantastic.

The book was in perfect condition.
Every page is a like a jewel, a photo of deep sea fish and other creatures with looks from the bizarre to the dream-like surreal. The book is an amazing find, something that should be in everybody's collection who is interested in science and newly explored parts of our world.

This book is simply stunning. The creatures inhabiting the nether reaches of our deep water are eerie and beautiful. They set the imagination flying, (swimming?) and the accompanying text is an interesting, easy read. I recommend it to nature enthusiasts and artists, poets and scifi writers. It is a gem.

We purchased this book for the pictures and it is well worth it. The pictures are magnificent and the book is well done. My 8 year-old girl has paged through it multiple times and the heavy pages and binding have held up!

I am an avid the store customer, but I waited well over 7 weeks for this book to ship from the store and it still did not ship. It is a great book, but I strongly urge you to buy it from somewhere else if you want it within this century.

I thought that the pictures were very sharp-focused, and the information was very startling. I especially liked the "Vampire Squid from Hell."

I want to be a Marine Biologist when I grow up, so It was a good book to learn from.

But, the reason I gave it four stars is because some of the pictures weren't real. They were made either with computer graphics or clay.

This book is amazing! The photos are of deep sea creatures that are so bizzare it is hard to believe they are real. The photos are large, most are full page so you really get a great view. This is now my favorite "under the sea" photo book. There are tons of pictures in it. It also has a nice feature that lets you quickly see at what depth each animal is found. I will 100% recommend this book. You should buy it.

As promised, these pictures are amazing. This is a great coffee table book. The creatures of the abyss are so foreign looking. My book arrived with the corners banged up, but the store offered a discount so I was ok with it. I recommend this book as a unique coffe table book (it's not really for reading as it is mostly pictures).