11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Visually Stunning, Emotionally Bracing, Informative Book, March 22, 2005
This review is from: Afterwar: Veterans from a World in Conflict (Hardcover)
AFTERWAR: VETERANS FROM A WORLD IN CONFLICT represents fifteen intensive years of photographing and interviewing veterans/survivors of the many wars of the past century. These images and quotations and quiet thoughts and outrages are not limited to the 'unpopular wars', but to all of the major conflicts, many of them undeservedly unknown to many readers: Sri Lanka, Liberia, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Israel-Palestine, El Salvador, Cambodia, Eritrea-Ethiopia, Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Falkland Islands, Vietnam, The Middle East, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Algeria, Indochina, Korea, China, World War II, Spain, World War I. Staggering list: terrifying history of repetition and devastation of human lives and lands.
Lori Grinker is a sensitive observer and interviewer. She has created some images of people of all walks of life, social strata, sex, and backgrounds that are not only superbly executed professional photographs, they are incredibly engaging. She has elected to design this book in a way that follows a timeline - from the present through the painful pages of the past. In doing so she has succinctly outlined each of the conflicts she is addressing and in doing so brings to our attention many facts about wars that have escaped our attention.
She also has taken artistic license by creating images, such as the cover photograph, which at first glance seems to be a relaxing, floating, peaceful swimmer - or is this a patient in a treatment bath after losing the lower parts of his legs? It is that kind of mental inquiry that sharpens her lessons of speaking about the effects of war. She does not preach, she does not prejudice us: Lori Grinker simply reports.
The book's opening essay is a sensitive evaluation of Grinker's contribution, personalized just enough to make it extremely readable and poignant. The essay opens the door to this volume of experiences that hopefully, through visualization and spoken word of those who survived, will help in the cosmic need to end wars once and for all. All this is written as the war in Iraq beats on. Buy, and read, this book. Highly Recommended on every level. Grady Harp, March 05.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the reality of war, August 13, 2007
This review is from: Afterwar: Veterans from a World in Conflict (Hardcover)
I served in the Korean War and at age 20-22 learned what war really is. This book dramaticlly and factually presents the reader with that horrible reality. It's not about winning and losing - it's about the unforgettable experiences of individuals on both sides. You will learn a great deal from Lori Grinker's book and you'll never forget the images she has captured.
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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling and Engaging Document, November 17, 2004
This review is from: Afterwar: Veterans from a World in Conflict (Hardcover)
I just got home from listening to Lori Grinker lecture on her new book, After War. I am overwhelmed.
Grinker's photographs combined with the firsthand accounts of the human toll of war compel and engage on every page. Grinker poignantly expresses this tragic topic leaving each and every subject their every dignity and respect.
The quote at the beginning of the book tells the story for me "You must be the change you want to see in the world", Mahatma Gandhi. Lori with your 15 year dedication to this subject you have done your part.
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