Africa [Hardcover]

Sebastiao Salgado (Primary Contributor), Lelia Wanick Salgado (Editor), Mia Couto (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2007

Eye on Africa: Thirty years of Africa images, selected by Salgado himself Sebasti?o Salgado is one the most respected photojournalists working today, his reputation forged by decades of dedication and powerful black and white images of dispossessed and distressed people taken in places where most wouldn?t dare to go. Although he has photographed throughout South America and around the globe, his work most heavily concentrates on Africa, where he has shot more than 40 reportage works over a period of 30 years. From the Dinka tribes in Sudan and the Himba in Namibia to gorillas and volcanoes in the lakes region to displaced peoples throughout the continent, Salgado shows us all facets of African life today. Whether he's documenting refugees or vast landscapes, Salgado knows exactly how to grab the essence of a moment so that when one sees his images one is involuntarily drawn into them. His images artfully teach us the disastrous effects of war, poverty, disease, and hostile climatic conditions. This book brings together Salgado's photos of Africa in three parts. The first concentrates on the southern part of the continent (Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia), the second on the Great Lakes region (Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya), and the third on the Sub-Saharan region (Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Mauritania, Senegal, Ethiopia). Texts are provided by renowned Mozambique novelist Mia Couto, who describes how today's Africa reflects the effects of colonization as well as the consequences of economic, social, and environmental crises. This stunning book is not only a sweeping document of Africa but an homage to the continent's history, people, and natural phenomena.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Sebastião Salgado was born in Aimorés, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A former economist, Salgado began his career in Paris as a professional photographer in 1973 and subsequently worked with the photo agencies Sygma, Gamma, and Magnum Photos. In 1994, Lélia Wanick Salgado and Sebastião Salgado created Amazonas images, an agency that handles exclusively his work. Salgado travels throughout the world for his photographic projects which have been featured in numerous international periodicals as well as books, including Other Americas (1986), Sahel: l'homme en détresse (1986), Workers (1993), Terra (1997), Migrations (2000), and The Children (2000). Exhibitions of these bodies of work tour internationally. Salgado has been awarded numerous major photographic prizes in recognition of his accomplishments and is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Together Lélia and Sebastião have been working since 1991 on the restoration of a small part of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, in the Rio Doce Valley, where they created Instituto Terra, a natural reserve and environmental educational center. Salgado's current photographic project is Genesis, a series of black-and-white photographs of landscapes, wildlife, and human communities around the globe that represents a search for nature in its original state.

From the Author

Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado, born in Vitoria, Brazil, studied Architecture and Urban Planning in Paris. Her interest in photography started in the early 1970s and she moved on to conceiving and designing photography books and organizing exhibitions, among which were numerous books and exhibitions by Sebastião Salgado. In 1994, Lélia Wanick Salgado and Sebastião Salgado created Amazonas Images, a press agency in Paris handling only Salgado's work. Lélia is the director of the agency.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 335 pages
• Publisher: Taschen; Mul edition (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English, French, German
• ISBN-10: 3822856215
• ISBN-13: 978-3822856215
• Product Dimensions: 14.6 x 10.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > Dutch
  • #94 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Travel

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some outstanding photos and some very good ones!, November 11, 2008

By 

Bulent Celasun - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Africa (Hardcover)

My first book of Salgado photographs after reading about him and seeing some of his work. The physical quality of the book from its paper & binding to the character set & the reproduction of the photographs is good to excellent. The accompanying text is informative and it sheds some light on the content. Absolutely none of the photographs is mediocre. There are widely published ones and it is good to see them large and well printed. Salgado is regarded by some as the best living photographer in his genre und I can see here why he may well deserve that title. I do not agree with some misguided criticisms about his work claiming that he exploits the problems he records and shows. I believe he shows a sincere approach and does his job perfectly.
I give 4 stars instead of 5 only because of the relatively narrow scope (in terms of timeline and geography) of this work; I believe he had enough material to cover more of Africa; however, he has focused on only a part of her. If you just care about "photography", the book certainly deserves a full score.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books of this set photographer, September 10, 2008

By 

Márcio Janousek (SP- Brasil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Africa (Hardcover)

The book comprises 250 photos in black and white, with very good qualit of printed . Most unusual , and full page.
If you want to know about Sebastião Salgado , this is a excellent book. Highly recommended. One of the best books of the photographer .Africa

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars what a great book, November 23, 2009

By 

A. Francolini (Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Africa (Hardcover)

If I had the space at home I would cut out every page, frame and hang the pictures on my wall.
This is the best photographic book in B&W ever. Salgado is a magician with B&W film and has always been a photographer I followed even before I became a photographer myself.