Exhibition of 503 B&W family photographs from 68 countries

Maybe this is the book that taught me the skills of thumbing through, skipping from one interesting part to another, and coming back later to reread and review. ( )

I believe I was a teenager when I first obtained this book, the record of a 1950s photographic collection showing how people around the world are part of a Family of Man (Human), that they have so much in common in their diversity. The text and the quotes, as well as the poignant pictures, spoke to me. The goal, in the face of possible world annihilation, to argue our commonality, touched me. In retrospect, perhaps it seems naive. There is more than a hint of colonialism in the selection. In retrospect, these outstanding photographs may suffer from the reproduction of so much black and white photography in a mass market edition as well. To some extent, these photographs are time capsule of a vanished time, the early 20th century.

But to me, these photographs still have the power to stir powerful emotions. ( )

Incredible, beautiful imagery. I just wish I had a larger edition, or could see the exhibition itself. Some of the photos are quite small, and the print quality is not great. (It's good for a mass book but it's real bad for a photography book, but fine given the price.)

What a shock to see my aunt photographed in here. That alone gets a five-star rating for the collection. ( )