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Check out the Latest Media Coverage of powerHouse Books !!
Updated: January 2002 AFGHANISTAN DIARY Bonus Broadcast Appearances !! More Press Coverage !! "'Afghanistan Diary: 1992-200' begins with celebrations of local heroes for having repelled another colonial power. But the book ends with the country again riven by tribal strife and the Taliban's emergence as the victorious faction. Among the many harsh, punitive decrees they handed down—against the education and employment of women, betting, smoking, drug-taking, western music and kite-flying—was a prohibition on photography of any kind." —The New York Times, Interview with Grazda by Richard B. Woodward "The photographer Edward Grazda has chronicled a country ravaged by war... the back of one man's head, swathed in a black turban, half obscures the face of another, as if about to eclipse it all together. One of the last shots taken of Afghans in their own country, it fills the cover of Grazda's book... the collection of black-and-white photos documents a place racked by civil war between the draconian Taliban regime and the more moderate Mujahideen, while also capturing the beauty and generosity of the people." —Photo District News "Grazda offers a travel diary with brief photo essays documenting three different trips to the country and a short text that synoptically recaps the primary events, political news, and then-current atmosphere, all modestly shaded by his personal relationships within and without Afghanistan's shifting power structures... His final impression—"A history and culture were being erased"—remains a haunting refrain." —Carlo McCormick for Bookforum "Insightful and alarming, this book definitely provides a new perspective on a region that will surely become the focus of much attention for years to come." —Strength "Especially poignant are images taken before and after the Taliban takeover, which serve to underscore the ruinous effects of the oppressive regime." —Soma "...stunning photojournal..." —Publishers Weekly "...Grazda is visible struggling with the limitations of the form, trying to stretch photography to the impossible task of showing us a country, a civilization, a culture, as it disintegrates....Grazda's pictures are kinetically charged, with lots of hip-shot snaps and off-kilter images taken through the window of a car or in the tumult of a crowded street." —The Texas Observer "The ravaged nation is revealed, as is the determination of Afghani exiles to preserve their culture in far-flung outposts like Queens, NY" —The Seattle Times "As a service to readers, Afghanistan Diary 1992-2000 also deserves mention for its documentation of the hardships faced by the general populace there: the hunger of children, the difficult living conditions, and the gritty resolve of the people choosing to remian in their homeland." —City Beat Cover photo illustrated lead story, "Across the Divide: What do the Afghan people think of the Taliban" in The New Yorker, May 15, 2001 "...'Afghanistan Diary: 1992-2000' demonstrates the dangers of looking at this country as a single, unified entity. It may be a single piece on a map or in a columnist's text, but it is anything but that. Divided they are." —Newark Star-Ledger "Grazda's pictures are darkly atmospheric, conveying his fascination with an exotic culture undergoing enormous transformation." —The American Society of Picture Professionals |
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