From Publishers Weekly
The Shock and Awe campaign may be over, but images from the war in Iraq still burn in many people's minds. The red-and-yellow-tinged smoke rising from the nightline of the burning capital, the toppling of the giant statue of Saddam Hussein, the triumph of coalition soldiers lounging in the dictator's palace-Saba's collection of war photographs contains pictures of all these events. Dozens of photographers from various news services (AP, Corbis, Reuters, etc.) contributed works to the volume, which focuses on the invasion and liberation of Baghdad. Most of the photos were taken with digital cameras, and sometimes this shows-in loss of detail, in pixilated edges-but they are powerful nonetheless. Giles Penfold captures a long line of sunburned backs as British troops bathe under an improvised shower. The black machine guns of the guerilla group Fedayeen Saddam contrast with the white death shrouds of its members. Francesco Zizola provides one of the most affecting pictures: a wounded Iraqi girl, her eyebrows furrowed in a confused expression of sorrow and pain, stares helplessly into the camera as two nurses attend to her wounds. (It's a shame that the book's design interferes a little with one's appreciation of these images; though the book is large-format, most of the photographs are laid out over two pages, so the middle crease cuts through the center of the composition.) The book's few pages of text-which alternate between diary-like entries by photojournalist Seamus Conlan and news-filled web postings by U.S. serviceman LT Smash-give another perspective on the battle, making this a valuable and timely contribution to coverage of the war.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Witness Iraq: A War Journal, February April 2003 presents compelling, provocative images of the war, as seen through the eyes of world-renowned independent and embedded photojournalists belonging to the most well-known and respected photo agencies. The books begins with the assassination attempt of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and continues through the massive roll out of tanks and troops in the desert, and on to the fight of the Kurds in the North, and finally culminating in the fall of Baghdad. Witness the desperation of Iraqi soldiers as they attempt to surrender. Witness an unpublished and more telling view of the jubilation in Baghdad when the famed huge statue of Saddam Hussein is toppled. Feel the empathy of a US soldier as he cradles an injured Iraqi child. Although this has become history’s most photographed military conflict, most photographs in this book have not been seen before. These images take you inside the war and show the courage, tragedy, humor, and compassion, portraying the chaos of conflict as well as the respect and empathy for human life. Through these images, you will witness not only the horrors of war but also the triumph of the human spirit.
