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
Cover picture: Oakura, Taranaki.
Jane Dove Juneau Photo ©
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.
Mts Ngauruhoe and Torngariro from Mt Ruapehu.
Jane Dove Juneau Photo ©
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.
Sunrise, Mecury Bay, New Zealand.
Jane Dove Juneau ©
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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