I may have to amend my recent claim that I am sparing in the use of the superlative ‘amazing’ if I continue to discover books such as Andrew Zuckerman’s amazing Bird (Chronicle Books), a compendium of 200 color photographs of a variety of over 70 avian species.

As I am not ornithologically inclined, I was quite surprised to be drawn in by these images set against a white background (ala Richard Avedon), which succeeds in intensifying the details of each subject in a dramatic manner.

Zuckerman has also produced a volume entitled Creature using the same approach—reprising it for a second volume as it clearly works.