Rapture - by Mateusz Wrazidlo (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Rapture reveals the author's lifelong obsession with this mysterious cradle of South American biodiversity and its natural treasures.

Nestled within the dark heart of the South American interior is a place which evades all forms of human comprehension. A raw, primordial world still thriving in stubborn isolation despite centuries of humankind's daring exploits. The Guiana Shield - a gateway to some of the oldest geological formations on our planet, nearly two billion years in the making, filled with ancient landscapes and relic life forms straight out of a fantasy novel. When in 1912 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published his famous story about a group of explorers visiting a mysterious plateau, it was given a new name - "The Lost World".

In Rapture, photographer and naturalist Mateusz Wrazidlo presents his lifelong obsession with this mysterious cradle of South American biodiversity. It is a sumptuous letter of appreciation dedicated to a realm where fantasy and reality intertwine. With expedition photographs, personal reflections and quotes from historical accounts of explorers, Rapture takes us on a journey through an incredible diversity of environments and landscapes, ranging from the stifling humidity and heat of the Amazon selva, through sun-scorched grassy highlands, the cold, misty cloud forests, to the mystical, dark and eerily silent summits of the tepui plateaus.

About the Author

Mateusz Wrazidlo is a Silesian engineer, photographer, author and, above all, an avid naturalist. Born in 1993 in Rydultowy in Upper Silesia, Poland, he has co-organised and participated in numerous expeditions to Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil and Svalbard, among many others. The Guiana Shield remains his primary field of focus for research and photography. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club.