If the area of your study or/and interest involves Art,Photography,History of Asia and Near East this is a must have book. Sevruguin went to Iran and stayed there for almost all of his life. This book is a collection of the first photographs from Iran (that of course he took). Through Sevruguin's eyes the reader/viewer is able to discover a new world. Not only this world is new to you if you are a western viewer, but also these photographs reveal yet another angle for a native viewer, such as myself, since many of these photographs have never displayed back in Iran. I think, in a broader sense, as long as one keeps in mind that these are representations of one culture through the eyes of an outsider, this book is useful and interesting.