Afghanistan [Paperback]

Roland Michaud (Author), Sabrina Michaud (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Paperback: 133 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (April 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500273936
• ISBN-13: 978-0500273937
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,107,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Afghanistan: Art that Instructs and Entertains, June 26, 2010

By 

Daniel Murphy "Dan Murphy" (Redmond, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Afghanistan (Paperback)

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it would take more than a thousand words to adequately describe each of the photos in this book. I'm not a photographer, and I don't pretend to be a connoisseur of photography. Instead of the usual book review, I'd like to substitute two stories about it.

First, this book was referred to me by an American that spent decades in the Middle East, and who traveled in Afghanistan in the 70's. He felt it was the best pictorial representation available of the geography and people of Afghanistan.

Second, I gave this book as a gift to an Afghan family that had invited us over for dinner. It, simply put, stole the evening. Initially, the father of the family that I gave it to seemed almost dismissive of the gift, which lasted precisely until he saw the first photo. As he began to turn the pages, exclaiming and explaining with each new image, both his family and a second Afghan family crowded around. The conversations about each photo were animated and prolonged, and for the rest of the evening, the book was being passed from person to person, each frequently interrupting the others with their own reflections and memories.

Whether or not you have the advantage of having native Afghanis explaining what each photo represents (I highly recommend having a native guide!), the photos are captivating on levels ranging from simple beauty to fascination with the human condition. The pleasure of sitting down with a book of this quality is not to be underestimated.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What shall I do with these photos ?, February 16, 2008

By 

Robert S. Newman "Bob Newman" (Marblehead, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Afghanistan (Paperback)

In four years of war in the 1940s, Belarus and Poland were pretty badly shot up. Reconstruction took many years. Burma too suffered great devastation during WW II. Since then few countries have undergone worse trauma and worse destruction than Afghanistan. Twenty-eight years after the Soviet invasion, war still continues in some parts of that unlucky land. It seems to me that things will never return to what they were; life and even the landscape has changed irrevocably. So, it is really fortunate that we have access to the Michauds' beautiful collection of photographs presented in this book. Like Roman Vishniac, they roamed the backlands of a doomed country up to the last minute, and preserved ways of life and scenes that by now must be history. If judged on photography, AFGHANISTAN deserves the highest marks. Beautiful work. The text, though, leaves a lot to be desired. It is patchy, tends to romanticize unblushingly, and glosses over many topics that would give readers a knowledge of place. For example, why have Afghans fought each other so bitterly over the last decades ? There is nothing here to indicate that they would. What political movements existed when these photographs were taken ? How had the society changed ?---all societies do. What was the nature of Nuristani resistance to Islam ? How did they get converted to Islam in the 1890s ? And also, the authors assume a hidden position. How did they manage to get these pictures ? Did they speak any languages of Afghanistan ? Did they have any difficulties ? The text raises far more questions than it answers. It is incomplete. All you get are odd bits and pieces. That's why I've only given three stars, but it's a beautiful book, no doubt.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tranquility before the storm..., December 19, 2008

By 

John P. Jones III (Albuquerque, NM, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Afghanistan (Paperback)

Roland and Sabrina Michaud became fascinated with this unique, and once obscure (to Americans) country. They decided to return again and again, over a period of more than a decade, from the late `60's to the time of the Russian invasion of 1979. At one time the country was on the so-called "hippie route," the overland route to India. They found their "wonder" not at the end of the route, but along the way. They have shared their fascination with us, primarily via the photograph, in this, as well as other books.

Their photographs are simply exquisite; masterpieces of composition and lighting. There is a balance of subjects: certainly the people themselves, as well as their buildings and the haunting landscape of the country. There are also the "activities of daily living", from a barber to a tea break, and even a partridge fight. In terms of portraits my favorites are the camel driver on page 16, and the master blacksmith on page 33. In terms of landscapes, my favorites are the ruins at Shar-i-Gholghola in the Nimruz desert on page 26 and a lake in Band-i-Amir in autumn on page 58.

I agree with most all of the comments made by currently the only other reviewer, Robert S Newman. It would have been wonderful to know much, much more. How did they actually do this? Clearly they had to rough it, obviously in winter also. Hardships, yes, I suspect they had a few, and even some illness. Learning some of the languages seems almost essential also. Almost certainly Sabrina took the pictures of the women; it worked for my wife and I when we photographed people in Islamic countries.

I spent 11 days in Afghanistan in 1971, living quite basically, but enthralled by the views and the people. The "hotel" in Herat cost 25 cents a night! I should have stayed much longer, so, regrets, yes I have a few, but thankfully the Michaud's did stay, and left a remarkable, beautiful photographic account of a world now largely vanished. I do not want to penalize them for what is missing; but for what is there, the book truly deserves the full 5-stars.