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Steve McCurry. Afghanistan
War and Grace
Magnum photographer Steve McCurry's Afghanistan retrospective
Afghanistan is a country overwhelmed by tribal rivalries, colonial wars, and geo-political conflict. The Afghans have always called their mountains "the land of rebellion."
Yet born of such chaos, such entrenched conflict are these most breathtaking and beautiful of images. The distinguished American photographer Steve McCurry has traveled to Afghanistan regularly for more than 40 years: he is arguably the most accomplished photographer to work in the region.
His famous 1984 portrait Afghan Girl--sad and haunting, but at the same time evoking remarkable grace and dignity--published on the covers of magazines around the world is perhaps his single most striking portrait. In common with so much of McCurry's work, it has a timeless, painterly quality--entirely at odds with the battle-torn backdrop of the region in which it was taken.
Steve McCurry has always been subjected to the same dangers that are an inevitable part of life "on the road" for photographers. He has often ventured behind the lines, usually at great risk; his first assignment in Afghanistan in 1979 involved him dressing in Afghan robes in order to be smuggled across the border from Pakistan.
That journey, into the treacherous, unpredictable landscape--territory controlled at various times by the Mujahideen, the Russians, and the Taliban--was one that McCurry would make many times. Many other photographers would follow in his footsteps. But none would return with such a flawless body of work.
Magnum photographer Steve McCurry's Afghanistan retrospective
Afghanistan is a country overwhelmed by tribal rivalries, colonial wars, and geo-political conflict. The Afghans have always called their mountains "the land of rebellion."
Yet born of such chaos, such entrenched conflict are these most breathtaking and beautiful of images. The distinguished American photographer Steve McCurry has traveled to Afghanistan regularly for more than 40 years: he is arguably the most accomplished photographer to work in the region.
His famous 1984 portrait Afghan Girl--sad and haunting, but at the same time evoking remarkable grace and dignity--published on the covers of magazines around the world is perhaps his single most striking portrait. In common with so much of McCurry's work, it has a timeless, painterly quality--entirely at odds with the battle-torn backdrop of the region in which it was taken.
Steve McCurry has always been subjected to the same dangers that are an inevitable part of life "on the road" for photographers. He has often ventured behind the lines, usually at great risk; his first assignment in Afghanistan in 1979 involved him dressing in Afghan robes in order to be smuggled across the border from Pakistan.
That journey, into the treacherous, unpredictable landscape--territory controlled at various times by the Mujahideen, the Russians, and the Taliban--was one that McCurry would make many times. Many other photographers would follow in his footsteps. But none would return with such a flawless body of work.
255 pages, Hardcover
Published July 14, 2017
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About the author
William Dalrymple
70 books3,678 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
William Dalrymple was born in Scotland and brought up on the shores of the Firth of Forth. He wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller In Xanadu when he was twenty-two. The book won the 1990 Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award and a Scottish Arts Council Spring Book Award; it was also shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize.
In 1989 Dalrymple moved to Delhi where he lived for six years researching his second book, City of Djinns, which won the 1994 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award. From the Holy Mountain, his acclaimed study of the demise of Christianity in its Middle Eastern homeland, was awarded the Scottish Arts Council Autumn Book Award for 1997; it was also shortlisted for the 1998 Thomas Cook Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the Duff Cooper Prize. A collection of his writings about India, The Age of Kali, won the French Prix D’Astrolabe in 2005.
White Mughals was published in 2003, the book won the Wolfson Prize for History 2003, the Scottish Book of the Year Prize, and was shortlisted for the PEN History Award, the Kiryama Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
William Dalrymple is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Asiatic Society, and is the founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival.
In 2002 he was awarded the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for his ‘outstanding contribution to travel literature’. He wrote and presented the television series Stones of the Raj and Indian Journeys, which won the Grierson Award for Best Documentary Series at BAFTA in 2002. His Radio 4 series on the history of British spirituality and mysticism, The Long Search, won the 2002 Sandford St Martin Prize for Religious Broadcasting and was described by the judges as ‘thrilling in its brilliance... near perfect radio’. In December 2005 his article on the madrasas of Pakistan was awarded the prize for Best Print Article of the Year at the 2005 FPA Media Awards. In June 2006 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of St Andrews “for his services to literature and international relations, to broadcasting and understanding”. In 2007, The Last Moghal won the prestigous Duff Cooper Prize for History and Biography. In November 2007, William received an Honourary Doctorate of Letters, honoris causa, from the University of Lucknow University “for his outstanding contribution in literature and history”, and in March 2008 won the James Todd Memorial Prize from the Maharana of Udaipur.
William is married to the artist Olivia Fraser, and they have three children. They now live on a farm outside Delhi.
William Dalrymple was born in Scotland and brought up on the shores of the Firth of Forth. He wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller In Xanadu when he was twenty-two. The book won the 1990 Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award and a Scottish Arts Council Spring Book Award; it was also shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize.
In 1989 Dalrymple moved to Delhi where he lived for six years researching his second book, City of Djinns, which won the 1994 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award. From the Holy Mountain, his acclaimed study of the demise of Christianity in its Middle Eastern homeland, was awarded the Scottish Arts Council Autumn Book Award for 1997; it was also shortlisted for the 1998 Thomas Cook Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the Duff Cooper Prize. A collection of his writings about India, The Age of Kali, won the French Prix D’Astrolabe in 2005.
White Mughals was published in 2003, the book won the Wolfson Prize for History 2003, the Scottish Book of the Year Prize, and was shortlisted for the PEN History Award, the Kiryama Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
William Dalrymple is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Asiatic Society, and is the founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival.
In 2002 he was awarded the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for his ‘outstanding contribution to travel literature’. He wrote and presented the television series Stones of the Raj and Indian Journeys, which won the Grierson Award for Best Documentary Series at BAFTA in 2002. His Radio 4 series on the history of British spirituality and mysticism, The Long Search, won the 2002 Sandford St Martin Prize for Religious Broadcasting and was described by the judges as ‘thrilling in its brilliance... near perfect radio’. In December 2005 his article on the madrasas of Pakistan was awarded the prize for Best Print Article of the Year at the 2005 FPA Media Awards. In June 2006 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of St Andrews “for his services to literature and international relations, to broadcasting and understanding”. In 2007, The Last Moghal won the prestigous Duff Cooper Prize for History and Biography. In November 2007, William received an Honourary Doctorate of Letters, honoris causa, from the University of Lucknow University “for his outstanding contribution in literature and history”, and in March 2008 won the James Todd Memorial Prize from the Maharana of Udaipur.
William is married to the artist Olivia Fraser, and they have three children. They now live on a farm outside Delhi.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 1, 2019
Een heel mooi fotoboek over Afghanistan. Van oorlog en ruïnes tot prachtige portretten van de bevolking (en wat hebben ze vaak een geweldige oogkleur die de fotograaf nog mooier maakt) tot het gewone leven in de steden of dorpen. Op punten had ik graag wat meer moois gezien en minder geweld, geweren (en kinderen met geweren), maar tja, dat hoort natuurlijk ook bij Afghanistan dus ik kan me voorstellen dat de fotograaf alle facetten van het land wil laten zien. De goede, en de mindere goede. Zeker een aanrader!
January 25, 2020
An excellent compilation of photos from Steve McCurry's various trips to Afghanistan, from 1979 to 2016.
The book is massive and helps convey the scale of McCurry's landscape work. The portraits are also captivating, with large images and high detail.
Street photography, portraits, landscapes, this book has everything apart from... context. The captions (if you can even call them that - just dates and places, no stories) are relegated to the end, so you'll end up leafing back and forth and wanting for more.
The book is massive and helps convey the scale of McCurry's landscape work. The portraits are also captivating, with large images and high detail.
Street photography, portraits, landscapes, this book has everything apart from... context. The captions (if you can even call them that - just dates and places, no stories) are relegated to the end, so you'll end up leafing back and forth and wanting for more.
July 30, 2021
Stunning collection of photography covering several decades of travel to Afghanistan. The printing is gorgeous, and the large format is fantastic. No text till an epilogue at the end; the photo key includes place and date, but not context. Realized I also have the Phaidon printing “In the Shadow of Mountains,” a smaller book that includes many of the same photographs but with a key at the end that provides some context for each. For the visuals themselves, you can’t go wrong either way.
November 27, 2017
Fantastic selection of Steve's work in Afghanistan spanning decades. Large format with very high print quality. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a part of the world which seems to receive attention due to conflict. Within these pages you can see snippets of daily life and observe the humanity of the people who call Afghanistan home.
July 16, 2018
An excellent range of fantastic photographs in a lavish book. The large size more than does justice to these splendid images. His portraits are very telling. I'd have liked some more information on the images other than location and date. The photographs are so good that I want to know more about them (who the people were and the context in which they were taken).
December 25, 2022
könnte jedes Bild stundenlang anschaun und mir meine eigene Geschichte dazu ausdenken. Liebe seine Fotos.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews