In the Balkans [Hardcover]

Frank Viviano (Author), Nikos Economopoulos (Author, Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

The modern Balkan Peninsula encompasses ten countries--Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Macedonia. To this incoherent, fragmented environment, Economopoulos brings his extraordinary vision of the Balkan people--haunting, compassionate images that reveal an inextinguishable spirit. 75 duotone photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Like the news from Bosnia, the black-and-white photographs in this book are confusing and grim. Yet Economopoulos has photographed all over the Balkan Peninsula without finding differences demarcated by national borders; "the Balkan people," he writes, "have created their own curious identity, unique across ethnic borders, political divisions, and religious schisms." Nevertheless, they continue to annihilate one another in ethnic warfare. Economopoulos' photographs are long on style--a spontaneous documentary style that owes equal debts to Henri Cartier-Bresson and Gene Richards--and ask more questions than they answer. Economopoulos is not an "event" photographer but rather a "street" photographer, simply alert to what might happen visually, and his pictures never explain anything. They do, however, put a human face on the part of the world that consistently produces the day's worst news--achievement enough for any book. Gretchen Garner

Product Details

• Hardcover: 125 pages
• Publisher: Harry N Abrams; 1ST edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810934698
• ISBN-13: 978-0810934696
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,689,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Virtual unknown, sleeper of a photojournalist, February 6, 2004

By 

Drew (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Balkans (Hardcover)

Poor Nikos. His photography is at least as good (if a little bit different) as that of cohorts like Alex Webb and David Alan Harvey, yet no one knows who he is (his physical geographic location and subject matter have something to do with his obscurity, no doubt). Of photojournalists working at the highest level of art/documentary photography today, he could be one of the single greatest unknowns. He reminds me a LOT of a modern day Josef Koudelka, with just a little less tragedy and a little more wit to his work. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dramatic Image from Balkan Peninsula, March 21, 2003

By 

Duncan Wong (EyesCoffee.com from Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Balkans (Hardcover)

It is Nikos Economopoulos's drama, an excellent b/w scene performed by people from Balkan Peninsula, about their daily life, street, religion, at work, strike, etc.

Within the Balkan Peninsula, the borderline between countries is so blurred, where the mindset of people may be still not separable from their history. We can see uncountable traces of their history, where their struggle continues today.

In the beginning, I was attracted by the cover image, like a monster with children. The strong visuals are so dramatic, across the contenients of countries with no border.