Haiti [Hardcover]

Bruce Gilden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002

From voodoo to violence in Gilden's chilling portrait of Haiti.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The corpse of a young man lies in the street, his eyes half open, his face covered with insects. The uncaptioned image is like a jolt of electricity; no words could improve upon it. Ian Thomson's introduction confirms that life has little value in Haiti (cheap for humans, worthless for animals), a once proud nation that has declined into a police state where brutal poverty is the order of the day. Bruce Gilden's largely shocking black-and-white pictures reveal that decline as perhaps never before in a shoot-from-the-hip style of photojournalism. While some of the shots stand alone, others beg for explanation. Despite the silence, the images are anything but quiet; if you listen carefully, you can almost hear them scream.

About the Author

Born 1946, Bruce Gilden is a MAGNUM photographer and native New Yorker. His work has been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries all over the world. He is represented in many collection. Haiti was winner of the 1996 European Publishers Award for Photography.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Dewi Lewis Publishing; First Edition edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1899235558
• ISBN-13: 978-1899235551
• Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 10.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,723,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Travel > Caribbean > Haiti

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dark, Despairing Look At Haiti, November 7, 2001

By 

John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Haiti (Hardcover)

Bruce Gilden's "Haiti" is a stark, dismal landscape of poverty which easily conjurs up bleak images of the Congo in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Yet it is as riveting as any photographs I've seen from the likes of Salgado and Cartier-Bresson. However, unlike Salgado and Cartier-Bresson, Gilden is content to use his Leica to show viewers the truth, without seeking to portray his poor subjects in a noble, dignified light. All his familiar trademarks from "Facing New York" are here, with his extensive use of flash and odd composition, now brought to bear to show a very dark, grim view of Haitian poverty.

4.0 out of 5 stars The despair of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere expressed in photos, July 3, 2007

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Haiti (Hardcover)

There is a great deal of wealth in the Western Hemisphere; even some of the poorer countries have recently made significant economic progress. However, there are still pockets of abject poverty, and there is no region more destitute than almost the entire nation of Haiti. This book is a photographic essay that illustrates just how desperate conditions are in that nation.
The culture is primarily transplanted African, a combination of Christianity and ancient tribal rites. Together, they make up the unique Haitian brand of voodoo, which is in many ways an attempt to escape their unfortunate reality. From these photos, you can see glimpses of that culture, and most of it is not pleasant. Despite many well-intentioned attempts by wealthier nations to improve the conditions in Haiti, they have all more or less failed. There are few smiles on the faces of the people, they seem to be enduring life rather than living it.
The humanitarian good nature in all of us pushes you towards wanting to do something to help these people. However, the fundamental reality of the country is that there is really very little that can be done to truly improve the lives of these people. Their poverty is so ingrained in their culture that it is difficult to determine a course of action that would actually work.