Customer Reviews

Asia Grace

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

 

 

In recent years, photography books, whether travel or cultural, have become so designed, edited and digitally retouched that the images actually place you further from reality. You don't trust what is shown; you sense that you will never see what's on the page. Kevin Kelly has produced a very different book. The photographs could appear in any magazine in the world from National Geographic to Der Spiegel, but the book wasn't put together by an art director. There is no story, no copywriter. There are no white spaces. Every image bleeds to the margins. It is dense and rich like its subjects. The photographs pull you into a part of the world that is misunderstood, maligned and distorted every day in our press. The person behind the lens loved the places and people he encountered. From Afghanistan to Japan we journey.

Rarely do text and images work together. Asia Grace releases the images to the imagination. There are no words, no captions, no explanations. It works. It is all photographs, cover to cover. Some of the images are stunning, some are idyllic, some are inexplicable. Without sentiment, Asia Grace places you into a world that we don't understand, don't want to leave, and will never see the same again.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book but I found it quite frustrating. I have it on my coffee table and love to look through it but am confused by why the publisher did not include a single description of where the pictures are taken. I travel a lot and many of the images appear to be of places that are 'trip-worthy'...however, there is no way to know where they are.

If you just love beautiful photos of exotic places and people, get this book. If you want to get a book to decide where to travel in Asia, look elsewhere.

The photos in this book are beautiful (print quality wise, one must take into account that many were taken 30 years ago). The story of how they came about and what Kevin Kelly experienced while creating it are even more important/impressive. It's worth searching the Internet for "Asia Grace" and reading through the website.

Asia Grace is art in book form. Amazing images of Asian culture, lands, and people. A treasured gift, an intriguing waiting room addition, an artful display piece to enrich your home.

My mother taught me to love Asia, although neither one of us has been there. This book makes me feel as though I've walked the streets, met the people, dipped into the rich colors and been immersed in lands and cultures so foreign to my own that they might as well be on another planet. So I'm going to have to buy another copy of this out-of-print adventure for my mother, so she can experience it too.

If you love photographs this is a must have. Also visit his wesbite. Its really fun!

I finally received my order after many weeks more than usual yesterday and am completely disappointed. The book arrived in a very sorry state and I am extremely shocked and angry. This book is a very expensive book and I had been waiting and looking forward to receiving it. However, it arrived simply inside a soft bubble-wrap postal pack with no protective covering around the book. This is a heavy hard cover book. It should have been boxed at the very least! The paper cover of the book is totally ruined and the book itself has been completely ripped from its hardcover and the corners of the book are all bent. I had intended to keep this book as a display coffee table book but it is no state for that use. The distributor has offered me a 20% refund - on a book of this cost and the condition it is in, this is ridiculous. I will think twice about ordering a valuable book like this online next time.