Paolo Pellegrin

Fotografieren heißt mit Licht schreiben.

In wenigen Bildbänden habe ich dies so perfekt erlebt, wobei die Umsetzung dieser Bildern im Dämmer-, Abend- und Nachtlicht wohl auch per digitaler Bildbearbeitung unterstützt wurde. Aber das tut wenig zur Sache, ist das Ergebnis doch eine Parforceritt durch eine Stadt, die niemals schläft, eine Stadt die gleichzeitig eine Landschaft ist, unermesslich weitgefasst und voller Geschichten, die Personen im Umfeld einer unwirklichen Umwelt zeigen, Momente, die emotioanl verzaubern und negativ beeindrucken gleichzeitig.

Dem Moloch New York so viele schöne Ansichten zu entlocken, künstlerisch überhöht, und doch tief in die Seele der Stadt greifend, ein wunderschöner Genuss, tatsächliche Kunst, die gem. Schumann Licht in Seelen zaubert. Es hat in mir die Lust geweckt, endlich mal wieder die Stadt zu sehen, in der ich gearbeitet habe in den 80er und 90ern, ihre verwundete Seele zu spüren in der Zeit nach Bush und jene Dinge zu ahnen, die kommen werden mit diesem Architekten, dessen Gebäude ich bewundere: Breaking ground. Entwürfe meines Lebens
, 4. Dezember 2011… (meer)

The information presented in this book points out the complexities of life in a number of the Arab countries in the Middle East, however, I found the audiobook format of the book less than ideal. The author, Scott Anderson, has a wealth of experience and information, but in audiobook format, it became difficult for me to follow. That's because Anderson ​weaves his story through the lives of six individuals from six different Middle East countries as parallel stories, rather than telling them one at a time. Rather than telling each of the six stories from start to finish, sequentially, he started talking about one person, then the next, and then the next, and would loop continually again and again telling a small part of each story before coming back to that person again. Being somewhat unfamiliar with Middle Eastern names and places, many sounded very similar to me, and without benefit of actually seeing the words in print, the stories became somewhat muddled to me. I'd suggest picking this book up in print format vs. audio for most readers, or paying much closer attention to the spoken word than I was able to do.

​What I did get out of the book that each of the six individuals included has gone through a series of horrific changes over the past ten or fifteen years​. The countries included were ​Egypt, Libya, Syria, ​Iraq, and the ​Iraq's ​Kurdish region​, each of which has seen huge upheavals in recent years. Anderson shows how individuals in each of those countries are affected by sharing the stories of ​six individuals, one ​a student, an air force cadet, a physician, an activist, a day-laborer, and a family matriarch. Each were affected in different ways, the only commonality is the hardship each endured. We've heard a lot about ​the compatant soldiers​ in these countries, but little about how the lives of individuals living in these countries in turmoil are affected. Anderson gives us a look behind the scenes and shows what life is like for ​these individuals, and how they're coping with the situation on the ground. ​
​… (meer)