The Book

In this gorgeous full-color photo collection, artist Friedman (Images and Ideas) pays tribute to the book as a physical object. After a short foreword by author Pico Iyer and an equally brief introduction by librarian and bibliographer Jill Gage, Friedman leaps into a series of startling images. Friedman's images are surprising perhaps because readers tend to value books for the images they create in our minds, not as a moldable physical material. Friedman's photographs, however, turn that logic on its head by transforming books beyond recognition. He captures pages rippling like ocean waves, books folded into bird shapes that appear to fly, and decaying books that crumble, melt, and collapse into one another. In this detailed exploration of ancient and historical books, Friedman's only real flaw is that he provides little information or context for individual images; bibliophiles would have appreciated knowing about the history behind some of these literary treasures. Color photos. (Apr.)