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Geert van Kesteren: Why Mister, Why? Iraq 2003-2004

Publisher: Amsterdam: Artimo, 2004
Edition: 1st Edition
Binding: Soft cover
ISBN: 9085460093
Condition: Fine / No dust jacket as issued
Item #: 112809

$225.00

Specifics

First edition, first printing. Soft cover. Photographically illustrated laminated wrappers; no dust jacket as issued. Photographs and text (in English and Arabic) by Geert van Kesteren. Foreword (in English and Arabic) by Jan Gruiters. Text (in English and Arabic) by Michael Hirsch. Design by Mevis & Van Deursen, with Marijke Cobbenhagen. Unpaginated (544 pp.), with approximately 250 four-color plates printed full-bleed on perforated-edge newsprint stock by Veenman drukkers, Rotterdam. 8-1/2 x 6-11/16 inches. [Cited in Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, The Photobook: A History, Volume II. (London and New York: Phaidon, 2006).]

Condition

Fine.

Description

From the publisher: "Why Mister, Why? is a compelling account from photojournalist Geert van Kesteren. For the most part of 2003 and into 2004, van Kesteren made these images in a struggling Iraq, intertwining them with his personal experience of the situation in diary-like notes. In that way, this body of work resonates with an honesty found only when the narrator and photographer of a story are one and the same. The situation in Iraq, following the declaration of 'mission accomplished,' represented a culture clash of rare proportions, and van Kesteren was witness to what went wrong. He saw clouds of sadness coming from the mass graves created by the Saddam regime, while Shi'ites enjoyed their awakening freedom. Embedded within the ranks of US troops, he witnessed disgraceful raids on Iraqi citizens. And these accounts are presented here for the reader to see, feel, and try to understand. In a clear photojournalistic way, van Kesteren outlines why it will take a long time before the Iraqi people can enjoy the semblance of peace. Accompanying the images is an introduction by Newsweek senior editor Michael Hirsh, with whom Van Kesteren shared several tense moments in Iraq."



Related Themes: War