The Ten Best Photography Books
London's "The Independent" lists the top ten photography books.
by John Buckle
1. The Americans by Robert Frank
An all-time classic, The Americans is a seminal body of work and still one of our bestsellers. This 50th-anniversary edition has an introduction by Jack Kerouac - perfect since it looks like a pictorial Fifties road trip.
2. The Devil's Playground by Nan Goldin
A pioneer of the confessional style of photography, Nan Goldin's work is very personal. This is a compilation of her work, recording her friends, family and life over several decades, the ups as well as the downs.
3. Beneath the Roses by Gregory Crewdson
Crewdson is one of the key people working in staged photography. His shots are amazing, and look like movie stills. Beautifully composed, the scenes seem normal at first, but with a strange, unsettling element.
4. Photo Art by Thomas Seelig and Uta Grosenick
A good primer on a lot of recently established or up-and-coming photographers. Primarily art photographers, or those at the artier end of news photography, it's a comprehensive guide to the current scene.
5. Magnum Magnum by Brigitte Lardinois
To mark the 60th anniversary of the photo agency, every member of Magnum has picked a work by another member and written an essay on them. It's a limited edition, but a coffee-table version is out in September.
6. The Art of the American Snapshot 1888-1978
This history of vernacular photography in the States taps into the growing interest in amateur photography. The images are not always technically accomplished or beautifully composed, but they're real.
7. Phantom Shanghai by Greg Girard
There are countless photography books on contemporary China in general, but this one focuses on the rapidly changing nature of Shanghai, juxtaposing traditional buildings with the skyscrapers that are shooting up.
8. The Vice Photo Book by Vice Magazine
Sexy, fun and in-your-face, the images in Vice magazine give a good idea of what's happening in fashion and street photography. Photographers featured here include Juergen Teller and Terry Richardson.
9. Africa by Sebastiao Salgado
Africa is a compilation of Salgado's black-and-white photography of the continent, covering early work with refugees and his most recent project, "Genesis", looking at the people and animals who still live out in the wild.
10. A Shimmer of Possibility by Paul Graham
Graham is a highly rated British photographer, and this is an art piece: a box of 12 hardbacks, each on a different theme. They're all narratives about smalltown America, based on the short stories of Chekhov.
