Wender´s photographs portray a world almost devoid of humans, a natural or man-made world viewed from a distance. They shed light on the many guises the surface of the earth dons and attest to Wenders´ contemplative and amazed gaze. His gaze, of course, didn´t stop at September 11 and producing haunting photos of Ground Zero taken shortly after the attack. They are included in this new expanded edition of Pictures from the Surface of the Earth. The book, presenting panorama shots of landscapes and cities, architecture and nature, is thus both a portrait of the world as encountered by the photographer and a portrait of the photographer as reflected in his vision of the world.