Sebastião Salgado traveled the Brazilian Amazon region and photographed the incomparable beauty of this unique region : the rainforest, the rivers, the mountains and the people who live there – an irreplaceable treasure of humanity .

In his foreword, Salgado writes: “For me, this is the very last frontier, a mysterious universe of its own in which the immense power of nature like nowhere else on earth. This forest stretches to infinity and is home to a tenth of all living plant and animal species – the largest natural laboratory in the world." This connection to nature can also be found in Renzo Piano's design of the book stand again, which he says is “the easiest way to read the book You don't see the book stand , you only see the book, held firmly in the air. The open pages are reminiscent of a flying albatross .” The desk was Designed exclusively for the Amazônia project , it is made of structural steel, powder-coated and equipped with central threaded rods and adjustable rubber feet.

Salgado visited a dozen indigenous peoples living in tiny communities across the largest tropical rainforest in the world live scattered. He documented the daily lives of the Yanomami, the Asháninka, the Yawanawá, the Suruwahá, the Zo'é, the Kuikuro, the Waurá, the Kamayurá, the Korubo, the Marubo, the Awá, and the Macuxi—their warm family ties, their hunting and fishing, the way they prepare and share meals, their skill in painting faces and bodies, the importance of their shamans, their dances, and rituals.

Sebastião Salgado has dedicated this book to the indigenous peoples of the Brazilian Amazon. "I sincerely hope that in 50 years this book will not be seen as an inventory of a lost world. Amazonia must continue.”

INSTITUTO TERRA
Founded in 1998 in Aimorés in the state of Minas Gerais, Instituto Terra is the result of Lélia Wanick Salgados and Sebastião Salgado 's lifelong struggle for the preservation of nature and biodiversity. Through the systematic planting of new seedlings, the organization has brought about a miraculous reforestation of the once barren valley, furthering the Salgados' goal of curbing the effects of global warming on our planet. TASCHEN is proud to have achieved carbon-neutral status through our contribution to this mission.

This Collector's Edition in SUMO format (No. 401–2,400) was designed and edited by Lélia Wanick Salgado, is numbered and signed by Sebastião Salgado Each book is presented with a cloth-bound companion volume explaining each of the breathtaking photographs, as well as a book stand designed by Renzo Piano.