Kurdistan was erased from world maps after World War I, when the victorious powers carved up the Middle East, leaving the Kurds without a homeland. Today the Kurds, who live on land that straddles the borders of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, are by far the largest ethnic group in the world without a state.Renowned photographer Susan Meiselas entered northern Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War to record the effects of Saddam Hussein's campaigns against Iraq's Kurdish population. She joined Human Rights Watch in documenting the destruction of Kurdish villages (some of which Hussein had attacked with chemical weapons in 1988) and the uncovering of mass graves. Moved by her experiences there, Meiselas began work on a visual history of the Kurds. The result, Kurdistan, gives form to the collective memory of the Kurds and creates from scattered fragments a vital national archive.In addition to Meiselas' own photographs, Kurdistan presents images and accounts by colonial administrators, anthropologists, missionaries, soldiers, journalists, and others who have traveled to Kurdistan over the last century, and, not to forget, by Kurds themselves. In its layering of narratives - both textual and photographic - Kurdistan breaks new ground, expanding our understanding of how images can be used as a medium for historical and cultural representation.A crucial repository of memory for the Kurdish community both in exile and at home, this new edition appears at a time when the world's attention has once again been drawn to the lands of this little-understood but historically consequential people.
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"The family album of a forsaken people, the archive of a nation that has not been permitted to exist." - Karl E. Meyer, New York Times Book Review "Susan Meiselas has, with infinite labor and tenderness, composed a collage, framed a composition, designed a frame, confected a design and, by means of a deft balance between text and camera, brought off a thing of beauty as well as instruction.... This book is everything that scholarship and journalism and humanism ought to aspire to be." - Christopher Hitchens, Los Angeles Times Book Review"
About the Author
Susan Meiselas is an award-winning photographer and a member of the Magnum Photos agency. She was awarded the Robert Capa Gold Medal and was named a MacArthur Fellow. Martin van Bruinessen is an anthropologist who has been involved with the Kurds for over three decades. He is currently a professor at the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World and at Utrecht University.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is a must for everybody interested in the ancient people named Kurds and the land they have lived on for thousands of years; Kurdistan.
It has tried to gather as much photographic evidence as possible and the author deserves to be congratulated for her hard work. Well done.
It has tried to gather as much photographic evidence as possible and the author deserves to be congratulated for her hard work. Well done.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5.0 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An indispensable resource!
30 April 2010
By A. Leo
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was a bit surprised when I the package containing this book was delivered to me. The box was about twice the size I was expecting, and weighed a ton. Make no mistake: this book comprises an invaluable archive of Kurdish resources, firsthand letters, and a wealth of photographs. This is indispensable for scholars interested in the ethnography, history, and international status of one of the most overlooked groups in the world. Whether you are of Kurdish descent, involved in Middle East studies, or the role that photography and art can play in communicating identity, get this book!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended
26 Jan 2012
By Sal
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I highly recommend this book. It is rich with rare photo about kurds and kurdistan. This helps learning more about this great and izolated nation.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book
4 Dec 2012
By kam
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Excellent photos and description that I haven't seen before in one book. The book illustrated long and painful history of Kurds with few short periodical victory and betrayal by their opponents . This book will satisfy anyone interested in middle eastern bloody history and conflicts.
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