Customer Reviews

Africa

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

 

 

This is a beautiful book in spite of its limitations, and it does have one great big plus, which I'll come to. Meanwhile, there is nothing cheap about the way these great photos are printed and presented. The format is large, the design excellent (elegantly "ethnic") and the pictures cover the entire page--a few of them are striking panoramic views on 4-page fold-outs.

The words rural, tribal and cultural would describe the subject matter. If your main interest is people, particularly in those settings, this is it. But do not expect this book to cover Africa, per se, as the editorial blurb might lead you to believe. It mainly covers Mali and surrounds in the west and Namibia in the south. Plus some Chad, central, and some northern Ethiopia in the east. No South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, for example, and no northern Africa. Nor does the book acknowledge the great urban centers. It sticks to the old. And that's fine, but the editorial blurbs should be more accurate.

Most annoying is the lack of any text or captions with the pictures. You won't have a clue, unless you turn to the section in the back of the book that contains thumbnails of all the photos and a brief description of each. Personally, I call this lazy publishing. You have to keep one hand in the back of the book and keep flopping the thing over (nearly 8 lbs.) to find the thumbnail of the picture you're looking at, to read its caption.

Making it even harder, none of the pages are numbered in the main body of the book. You can't go to the thumbnails and look for the one you want numerically--although the thumbnails are page numbered.

Frankly, Alassane Ndaw's ten-page introduction seemed like pompous verbiage to me--repetitious high praise of Follmi as photographer and lots of erudite observations about the great continent of Africa, I think. Why not just say it simply?

Now for the good part. Follmi's own 13-page account at the end of the book, of his trek through these parts of Africa, is succinct and engaging. He's a great writer! His descriptions of the land itself, the animals and his encounters with the people easily mitigate whatever shortcomings the book otherwise has. It wasn't until this narrative that I felt really enthusiastic about this book. Anyone who has ever traveled to third-world countries will especially appreciate and identify with this wonderfully written account. It belongs in the front of the book not only because it's good, but because it provides some context for the captionless pictures that follow. (Put Ndaw in the back, or drop him entirely.)

This still isn't my favorite large-format book on Africa (who can top Beckwith & Fisher's prolific works? Or the two great works on the Omo Valley region of tribal Ethiopia--Giansanti's or Silvester's?), but it's a good one, and the big 50% discount makes it a good value. My copy arrived with a different dust jacket than the one pictured on Amazon, with a stunningly beautiful photograph on the front.

Later note: Wow, now only $11.00.

Still later note: But not for long... now it's back up to nearly 4 times that price. Never mind!

I am pleased with the book thanks it was a very large book and hard to carry around it I needed too ,however I am pleased with the book and very excellant pictures my home Africa! Muhammad Aliyu!

I bought this book for a friend and they loved it. Incredible breathtaking photos, crisp and clear and as large as life. Also this particular edition has many more photos than a previous printing. I thuroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.