cover image Reuters: Our World Now 5

Reuters: Our World Now 5

Reuters. Thames & Hudson, $24.95 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-500-28986-0

Reuters photographers come together between two covers in this enthralling, beautiful, and often haunting fifth edition of photojournalism that documents a world in flux. The viewer is transported on a journey across the globe and through memorable current events, from the shootings on Norway’s Utoeya Island to riots in Cairo and on Wall Street. Not all of the shots are of violence; a sweeping flock of birds in Greece, people practicing yoga at a Siberian resort, and a Hungarian moonscape are given equal importance as the collection goes on to capture the beauty, as well as the tragedies of 2011. In one of the most striking images, taken in Wajir, Kenya, a man in a suit uses an iPad to photograph the rotting remains of a cow on dry red earth. In another, a police officer rushes to a man who has set himself on fire in Thessaloniki, Greece. One almost wishes each image came with a longer story to provide greater context (there are capsule descriptions throughout), but in this compelling work the old adage is indeed true: these are pictures worth a thousand words. (June)