Rachel Sussman‘s Oldest Living Things in The World Book is the result of her near decade long efforts, alongside biologists, which took her around the world and into some of the harshest and remotest climates to document living things that have lived continuously for more than 2,000 years.
The book, which is a passionate and insightful melding of art, science, and travelogue, includes 124 photographs, 30 essays, infographics and forewords by Hans-Ulrich Obrist and Carl Zimmer, all centered around her quest to capture and share the scientific knowledge that we have discovered about these temporal giants.
There is also at the end of this post a great Creative Mornings talk that Sussman gave about the project while she was in the middle of it (Nov. 2010).
Spruce Gran Picea #0909 – 11A07 (9,550 years old; Fulufjället, Sweden)
Welwitschia Mirabilis #0707-22411 (2,000 years old; Namib-Naukluft Desert, Namibia)
Jōmon Sugi, Japanese Cedar #0704-002 (2,180-7,000 years old; Yakushima, Japan)
La Llareta (up to 3,000 years old; Atacama Desert, Chile)