Seeing Beyond Sight (Chronicle Books, 978-0-8118-5349-1) was a “leap in the dark” kind of project for photographer and teacher Tony Diefell. “Photography wasn’t the most obvious subject to teach at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh, North Carolina.”

“Obvious” is a great word choice. It comes from Latin, ob- (in the way of) via (way). In the way of the way, or the path. Something that blocks something else. A quick flip though the book, and what you see is obvious: torsos without heads, beds with stuff, floors, walls. What is this? Why is it more than obvious? Diefell explains in the introduction:

“When I first saw the photographs of the sidewalk, I thought they were a mistake. Perhaps LEUWYNDA had intended to capture a classmate of one of the large oak trees scattered across the campus. I was wrong. As soon as LEUWYNDA got her camera, she knew what she wanted to do: photograph the cracks in the sidewalk.

“The pictures were proof of damage, and she sent them, along with a letter, to Superintendent Sheila Breitweiser. ‘Since you are sighted,’ LEUWYNDA wrote, ‘you may not notice these cracks. They are a big problem since my white cane gets stuck.’ LEUWYNDA asked that the cracks be fixed—and they were.”

That’s only the beginning of the revelations, for Diefell, the students, the reader. This is an amazing book, and would make a fantastic social teaching tool for use in middle and high schools. See the website at www.seeingbeyondsight.com.


Birds: The Art of Ornithology by Jonathan Elphick (Rizzoli, 978-0-8478-3134-0) sets off with the history of the art, beginning in the mid-1600s when painters left the still life behind and moved aboard ships bound for the new worlds. Originally published in 2005, this is what publisher Rizzoli calls a “mini edition,” although a foreword by Dr. Robert Prys-Jones, Collection Manager at the British Natural History Museum, is an exclusive. The reproductions in both books are primarily from the Museum’s enormous collection of more than a million books and half a million images on paper.

There’s a decent amount of text in the book, documenting the enormous range in age and personalities that sat for hours to capture in paint or ink or pencil the form of birds. Given the small dimensions of this edition however (5.5 x 6.25), I advise you to enjoy the plates and forget about the words unless you’re equipped with young eyes.

But the illustrations are beautiful, the paper is good, and the binding tough. Once the introductory chapters end, the illustrations are ordered by artist—it’s an amazing breakthrough when Audubon figures out how to realistically show birds swimming, squabbling, or flying. Birds makes a charming gift book for all ages—and looks lovely displayed on a table.