Here the photographers of Magnum, 50 years after the legendary group began its documentary mission, address the world following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989; a period which has seen the triumph of US capitalism at one extreme & the resurgence of ancient blood feuds at the other. The book is built around photo-essays selected & introduced by the photographers, many shot especially for the book. From Henri Cartier-Bresson to Magnum`s newest recruits, each photographer navigates the issues of history in their own way
- some tackling the dramatic changes in the world head-on in the traditional manner of the ”concerned photographer”, others choosing subjects & aesthetic viewpoints which are entirely personal. The result is an album of contemporary photography about the world today. ” Magnum” is introduced by historian, broadcaster & cultural commentator Michael Ignatieff, linking the substance & pace of change in the post-Cold-war world with the historic role of the Magnum witness & image-maker. This is a book about history & humanity, journalism & art, & revealing the photographers of Magnum entering a new era.