FAZAL SHEIKH: THE VICTOR WEEPS: AFGHANISTAN

Zurich, Switzerland: Scalo Publishers, 1998. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. Zurich, Switzerland: Scalo Publishers, 1998. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 244 pages. Collection of photographs. One of the most important photography books of the last decade of the 20th century. The first and only edition. Published in a small and limited print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. A brilliant production by Fazal Sheikh and Hans Werner Holzwarth: Oversize-volume format. Ribbed maroon cloth boards with white titles on spine, as issued. Photographs and text by Fazal Sheikh. Quotations from great Afghan poets interspersed with the photographs. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper in Zurich, Switzerland to the highest standards. In pictorial DJ with black titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents Fazal Sheikh's "The Victor Weeps: Afghanistan". The photographer's stupendous images of the country's refugees in the Pakistan/Afghan border, a continuing tragedy that has haunted the world as a quiet indictment of imperial hubris and injustice. Fazal Sheikh's now-classic book represents an advance both as photojournalism and art over his breakthrough debut collection, "A Sense of Common Ground". His connection to Afghanistan long precedes the current interest in the devastated country's tragic past and uncertain future. His father was born there, he was born in the United States and named after his grandfather (Sheikh Fazal Ilahi), and has vivid memories of the place as a child visiting with his family. Some of the most haunting, memorably moving, and disturbingly beautiful images in the book are photographs of photographs: A series of images of mothers holding for Fazal Sheikh's camera a photograph-memento of their dead sons, killed by the long insurgency against the Soviet invasion of the country. The title refers to the fact that despite the ultimate victory of the people of Afghanistan over the Soviets, the price has been at such an immense cost, the proverbial Pyrrhic victory. Sheikh's singular contribution to contemporary photojournalism is his insistence that each individual be seen and treated as a particular human being's case of both indescribable suffering as well as the person's indomitable pride and dignity in spite of it. An absolute "must-have" title for Fazal Sheikh collectors. This title is a contemporary photography classic. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce copy thus. Winner of the MacArthur Genius Grant in 2005. One of the most brilliant photographers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER FAZAL SHEIKH TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 3931141950.