What an amazing book Eyes over Africa is. The funny thing is, I first spotted the book at Exclusive Books on Friday evening. All the photos in the book are A3 size, and truly stunning. At the back of the book, every photo has a small write up on the photo as well as where the photos were taken. It is one of those coffee table books that every home should have, and at 406 pages, it really is amazing.

This not only would make for a great coffee table book, but is a brilliant birthday, Christmas or even wedding gift.

In 2006, to fulfill a long-held dream, widely acclaimed photographer Michael Poliza and friend Stefan Breuer undertook a helicopter journey across Africa. Skimming close to the ground, they flew over 19 countries. Poliza’s alluring–and often surprising–photographs share this exceptional journey with the world. With a bird’s-eye view, we witness the astounding beauty, scale and diversity of this imposing continent. The accompanying texts give a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the photographs, and brief background to some of the most fascinating subject matters.

Anyway, for those of you that want a copy, hold your breath. At Exclusive Books, it retails for R1200! So I did some digging and found it at Amazon for $79 which is around R513! Add shipping and import duties and you are getting at least R500 off the retail price here in South Africa. Our local “Amazon”, Kalahari.net, doesn’t even sell the book, but they do sell one of Michael Poliza’s other books, The Essential Africa, for R290. I haven’t seen his other books, so I can’t comment on them, but I am almost certain they are just as good.

There are also 2000 limited edition Eyes over Africa books, that are signed by Michael Poliza. The first 300 are specially packaged in a handcrafted wooden box upholstered in ultra-suede, as well as each one is individually numbered. But these are slightly more expensive. ;-)