Asia Grace (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Co-founder of the digital culture magazine Wired, Kevin Kelly leads a double life: cyber-culture editor and independent photographer. For the past thirty years, and completely independently of his work on Wired, he has been traveling the far reaches of Asia photographing the ins and outs of daily life. Kelly has the unique perspective of someone who lives in the digital fast lane and yet craves to experience and understand cultures far different from his own. In approximately 600 stunning, richly-colored images, with no text whatsoever, Kelly shares his vision of Asia from East to West, from Afghanistan to Japan. The scope of this book is so vast, flipping through the pages is like a journey, more akin to an epic film than a book. In Kelly's words: "My book is a wordless experience in remote Asia. The idea is that you open the book and fall into it. You become immersed in Asia."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822816191
• ISBN-13: 978-3822816196
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #932,290 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Genre, November 16, 2002

By	Paul Hawken (Sausalito, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book but frustrating, August 1, 2007

By	M. Floyd "traveler_mdf" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Asia Grace is Amazing, November 15, 2002

By	"mscgreene" (Danville, CA) - See all my reviews

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.