A new text book
After reviewing this book, and giving it as a gift. It will now be used as a supplement reading for a college course.
Photos that make you think
I really have only glanced through the pictures so can't give an accurate review at this time.
Great Photos
A picture tells a story better than a thousand words. The author presents socially conscious photographs. i.e.
o 5 cent rental rooms in 1889
o a 1968 Saigon street execution
o inside an ice cave up North
o the dwindling Penguin population
o glacial changes in Athabasca and Pasterze
o windmill farms
Each photo is presented in breath-taking color. The volume is worth the price of admission.
The Globally-Aware Citizen: A Primer
The stories in this book could serve as a primer for being a globally-aware citizen in an evolving world. Despite the grim nature of some of these photos, the book's message is not one of despair, but of hope, as evidenced by the thorough "What You Can Do" section in the back.
Some of the most interesting work in the book is from photographers under most people's radar. Shehzad Noorani's Children of the Black Dust and Stephen Voss's Economic Miracle, Environmental Disaster both examine underreported issues with excellent photos and strong writing. The book's impact comes not just from the photographs, but the excellent writing that accompanies them. I highly recommend What Matters as a hard-hittng and opinionated book that is both journalistically-sound and passionate.
The Still Image Still Matters
This book is a testament to a simple truth: the still photograph still matters. The stories here are carefully chosen to give the reader an intimate and truthful look at the most pressing issues of our time. The accompanying writing both complements and extends the story-telling ability of these images and the essays are excellent across the board, from Pulitzer-Prize winning author Samantha Power's passionate and vivid description of the genocide in Darfur to Jeffrey Sachs' story about a village in Malawi that accompanies James Nachtwey's images of poverty.
From a technical standpoint, the photographs are brilliantly reproduced and sequenced well, in a way that most poignantly and directly tells the story. This book is highly recommended both as a great read and a visual document of our times.
