Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A vision of the contemporary world since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, by the photographers of Magnum. The volume includes work from a range of photographers from Cartier-Bresson to the organization's newest recruits. The images are presented in a sequence of photo essays introduced by the photographers themselves. Many of the images were shot especially for the book.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Founded in 1947 by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, and other eminent photographers, Magnum is an agency of elected photojournalists who independently photograph what they choose rather than what they are assigned. Arguably the best of their profession, their images can have a lasting impact on viewers, often combining a moment in history with carefully honed artistic detail. Compiled in conjunction with a worldwide tour, this hefty exhibition catalog contains over 600 color and black-and-white photographs by 69 Magnum photographers, including original contributions from Cartier-Bresson. Throughout, these images attempt to make sense of today's complex globalization while graphically portraying the suffering, devastation, and revolutions of the last decade, beginning with the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. More universal experiences are represented as well. Brief comments by the photographers summarize their perceptions, and historian Michael Ignatieff's introduction nicely frames the clear images--though the tiny orange print may annoy some readers. Recommended for general collections.--Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Magnum is a society of photographers formed by the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, and Chim Seymour. This book is in part a product of the fiftieth-anniversary celebration of the agency's work. Most of the photographs are from the 1990s, a decade that presented photographers with an unprecedented period of undeclared wars, ethnic cleansings, and other horrible conflicts in such obscure places as the Balkans, Chechnya, and Somalia. Normal life may seem impossible in such regions, but the photographers continually capture attempts at normalcy. For instance, in one photograph a young woman in white lies bleeding in the street, her dog dead beside her--both victims of random shelling in downtown Sarajevo. Another photograph shows a black youth enjoying a trampoline in Soweto, while in the next one a boy lies dead after an "anti-violence" demonstration--also in Soweto. Not since the Family of Man exhibition of the 1950s has there been such a chance to examine the world through the lenses of the great photographers of this century. --Marlene Chamberlain