Faces of Africa

This striking coffee table study offers rare visages of Africa--that vast continent most often examined only through news reports of insurrection, plague and famine. Rather than view African cultures as an indistinguishable whole, seasoned photographers Beckwith and Fisher carefully focus on the varied life journeys and rituals of the peoples they have encountered over three decades of travel in 36 countries. From Ethiopia to Senegal to Namibia, they crisscross the continent to capture traditional rites of passage, starting with a Kassena woman who ritually awakens her newborn with his first cold bath in Ghana. They record a young Masai boy's circumcision in Kenya, attend a Wodaabe charm dance in Niger and witness a Dogon funeral dance in Mali. Although the authors provide detailed captions, text is otherwise spare; instead, these arresting portraits rely almost entirely on the pair's illuminating photography.