Customer Reviews

Africa

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

its a sensual and magical collection of photos. they are beautifully shot, creatively composed, and wonderfully printed. no, it does not tell the whole story of a vast continent--but don't require it to! this isn't photojournalism, and isn't trying to be.
it is a powerful view of a particular landscape (kenya) and certain individuals of the maasai. you've never seen nakedness look so natural on someone--a wonderful reflection on being human, rather than any comment on race or tribe. lighten up, and let yourself enjoy it!

Read the reviews trashing this book and you will see they are not based on how well this book accomplishes what it purports to do, but on a distaste for stereotyping all of Africa with the tribal images presented. But unless this book claims to depict all of Africa--which it doesn't--that complaint is entirely another subject. I suppose a title of, say, "Tribal Africa" might be more descriptive than just "Africa," but surely we are all smarter than that. The book is obviously about the one slice of Africa it depicts.

Those who for some reason are embarrassed by tribal Africa (apparently it's the nudity) don't seem to want anybody else to see any pictures of it, no matter how well done the presentation. It is as if they feel some kind of personal shame. But why?

Even one of the editorial reviews takes a jab, in an otherwise glowing review, saying: "...despite the fact that it is a wildly ahistorical album that revives troubling old National Geographic stereotypes." In other words, presumably, even though it depicts nudity. But how is that "wildly ahistorical"? What is "troubling" about the old N.G. photos? In spite of modernity's fast encroachment, vast areas of tribal life do still exist in Africa (I go there, I see it); so one has to ask those who get so embarrassed, is it okay to photograph with style anything else in the world, or any other people in the world, except Africans?

Beautiful books exist on American Indian culture today, and there are "glamorous" books on cowboys of the past; but no one would suggest these stereotype all Americans as Indians or cowboys. So why do people do it with books on Africa, even to the point of saying they are a lie? It's crazy!

As a photographer and a collector of coffee-table books on Africa, I value--not denigrate--this book by the late, great Herb Ritts for the very fact that it is different. And it is the best I've seen in the style Ritts chose. The pictures are not only extra large, but in high resolution with great clarity--some are just plain breathtaking. Personally, I'd have preferred the book to stick with either people or animals (people!), but the land is shared by both, and maybe that was a point Ritts intended to make. I'm shorting the book one star because I thought the composition and subject matter of the animal pictures didn't always match the high quality and wonderful composition of the people pictures (one of which now hangs on my wall after I purchased a second copy of the book for that purpose). No doubt the animal subjects were more difficult to manage!

I've been to East and southern Africa many times and love the wildlife and admire the people, both of whom I photograph a lot. I have purchased many books of photography of Africa, but none as stunning as this one. The black and white adds a new dimension and the juxtaposition of people and animals is smashing and intriguing. This is the only book of African photography that I actually felt compelled to pay full price for in a regular bookstore- -- and did!!! That is my most enthusiastic endorsement!!

The reviews trashing this book are completely misplaced. Is this a history book? No. Is this book an attempt to show the peoples and cultures of all of Africa's (over 50, depending on source) countries? NO.
What this book IS is a view of one of the most gorgeous locations on earth through the eyes of a man with a camera. Yes, there are tribes in Africa (as well as many other parts of the world). So what? Who said there's anything wrong with that? Other reviews have lamented the inclusion of animals in the book. Why? Is it not a fact that Africa contains a [now] rare and precious abundance of biodiversity? Please! This book is not political, all the haters should stop trying to make it such.

The images are fantastic, each one exudes a clear and simple beauty. Get it!

Oh, what a stinker of a book! Luckily, I got it as a present and didn't squander my valuable cash. This is a classic example of the worst stereotypes of Africa. Africa is a desert. Africa is full of Animals. Africa is deadly. Africans run around naked. Heck, Ritts' presentation of Africans is EXACTLY THE SAME as his presentation of animals. Whether accidental or intentional, it is insulting all the same. SHAME SHAME SHAME.

Strangly, I have found this to be a USEFUL book. I use it as an example during my lecture on "Stereotypical Images of Africa" in my African History Class. Without this redeeming feature, I would probably use it as a backstop on the rifle range.

If you want to buy somone somthing they would want, but would not normaly buy for them selves this is it. Makes a beautiful gift.

I cannot begin to put into words just how much a book (hardcover & glossy et al- lovely for voyeuristic display) of this nature distresses me. Hasn't this wonderful continent and its peoples had enough of being made into the latest fairground attraction? So-called ethnographers did it at the beginning of this century, Dianne Arbus did it, even local billionaire Sol Kerzner's cashed in on the outside world's idea of "Africa". Needless to say, as a photographer, I have little time for those bent on making money at the expense of innocent others. We are not a zoo- a nicely organised and pretty arrangement of ethnic curiosities.