Customer Reviews

Iraq: The Space Between

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In a book with next to no words, this collection by Christoph Bangert quite possibly says more about Iraq than many books available today. At great risk of harm to himself, Bangert traveled Iraq with anyone who would let him follow along. The result is one of the most candid looks at what has happened in the country over the past several years.

The images are in a word, stunning. While it's possible to flip through the book quickly and not let the pictures sink in, doing so robs the book of its true value. Someone stumbling across this book in a store while shopping will most likely give the book only a cursory glance, but sitting down and really giving this book the time it deserves means getting lost in a single picture for 10 minutes or more. It took me over two hours to finish a book with no words. That's impressive. Some of the images are quite disturbing and graphic, so please prepare yourself for a sometimes shocking experience.

Anyone with more than a passing interest in Iraq should find "reading" this book a highly rewarding experience, as well as anyone who loves beautiful photography.

This photography book is absolutely amazing! It features a very interesting and eloquent foreword by Jon Lee Anderson, who just had an article on Iraq in the New Yorker (Nov. 19), thus being not only a great writer, but also an insider on the siutation in Iraq. The photographs by Christoph Bangert are captivating, beautiful, and shocking all at once. You can't help but turn to the next page, even though many of the subjects are hard to take in. Bangert shows us a different view of the conflict in Iraq, addressing the Iraqi victims as much as the situation of the American soldiers. I found this book to be informative without trying to be lecturing or preaching, just quiet photographs leaving me as the viewer with my own thoughts and contemplations. The images are powerful, the quality of the photographs and the layout is convincing. PowerHouse managed to publish this photography book for an amazing value on top of it being a book you will pick up over and over again, the images just won't leave me alone.

I bought this as a gift for a photographer friend and he liked it very much. I had chatted with the author I met on my travel website, [...]. Mostly photos, not too much text. I recommend this book.