“Thanks to photographer David Liittschwager, we now have a visual inkling of what exactly lives high in the cloud forest canopy, below our feet in the parks, in the sediments of rivers and on coral reefs. . . . What was found even in fairly nondescript places was wondrous.”

Observer (UK)

 “These images are frank, revealing and unassumingly poetic. . . . Lots of people photograph plants and animals. But no one does it more painstakingly, or with greater compassion, than Liittschwager. His gift is instantly apparent. Though dozens of the creatures documented in A World in One Cubic Foot are totally foreign to our experience, Liittschwager creates an intimacy that you feel in your gut.”

Smithsonian

“Photographer David Liittschwager started with a question: How much life lies within a cubic foot? To get the answer, he brought a metal frame that size to Central Park, Costa Rica, a coral reef, and three other places around the world. Then he photographed what he found inside it. In the water beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, there were roughly 9,000 creatures. The 12-inch-by-12-inch A World in One Cubic Foot feels like an art book in the way it presents the plants and animals, one to a page in most cases, as objects of exquisite beauty.”

Boston Globe

“A thrillingly beautiful, unique, wondrous evocation of life on earth—rich, abundant, largely unknown, but making our lives possible through the life activities of tens of millions of other organisms.  This book is for everyone, from the youngest children on up, who would like to begin to understand the complexity and beauty of familiar places.”

Peter H. Raven, President Emeritus, Missouri Botanical Garden

“That this is a beautiful book is immediately obvious. But it’s also remarkably smart—a conceptual device that will change the way you see the world around you. I was absorbed in every page.”

Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

"Here is a world of small wonders—an entire universe of biodiversity captured in the confines of a cubic foot. David Liittschwager is a magician of the lens who works at the intersection of art and science."

Chris Johns, Editor in Chief, National Geographic Magazine

“In a series of masterful, intimate portraits, David Liittschwager turns animals and plants found in a single cubic foot of natural environment into objects of art, each more intricate and beautiful than the other. The richness of life documented here will astound you; the diversity of forms will leave you speechless.”

Piotr Naskrecki, author of Relics: Travels in Nature’s Time Machine

"A World in One Cubic Foot is confectionery for the eyes, each species a tasty morsel."

Audubon