The Cultures of Southeast Asia Come Alive In a Striking Collection of New Photographs.

"Taken with a patient eye, McCurry's pictures burn with quiet intensity; they took time to get and they take time to look at."
- Time magazine

More that 2 decades ago Steve McCurry took the picture heard round the world, that of the mysterious and striking Afghan girl whose direct gaze captivated the west and become, for many, a humanizing image of a world they knew little about. Since the publication of that photograph in National Geographic, McCurry has returned to Southeast Asia more than 25 times. Traversing the lands as an inconspicuous candid cameraman, McCurry is able to infiltrate the human condition with his lens, capturing life stories in single, powerful, telling portraits.

LOOKING EAST: PORTRAITS BY STEVE McCURRY is a striking collection of the new and very best of Steve McCurry's gorgeous portraits from Southeast Asia, most of which have never been published before. McCurry takes photographs all over the world, for publications like National Geographic, Newsweek and Vanity Fair, but it is the people, places, colors and forms of Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma) that have inspired his most sublime images - images which transcend their original editorial purpose to become classics of photography.

Steve McCurry has made a home and career out of the road less traveled. A constant outsider, he continues to return to Southeast Asia for the people and, ultimately, the common thread of humanity that he finds there: "I think it's just a sense of adventure and discovery and exploration, exploring new places I haven't been to - trying new food, seeing how Tibetans live, how they practice religion. To me it's fascinating to learn about these differences in how we all are basically the same," he said in a recent interview.

The 75 large format color portraits in the book posses a visual literacy - communicating ideas and stories that evoke feelings of what it is like to be in each of these places. Flipping through the glossy pages readers will find themselves on a search for the `Afghan Girl' of today; looking into the enchanting youthful eyes of a girl from Shigatse (2002), or the tired glare of a coal miner from Afghanistan (2002) or the wise eyes and weathered face of a Monk from Lhasa (2002), the stories behind each portrait seem endless. LOOKING EAST is a gorgeous and captivating collection from one of the word's most admired photojournalists working today. This book is the ideal gift for photographers, travelers and students as well as the perfect addition to any photography library or coffee table....

Tibet suffered extreme political turmoil during the latter 20th century. Occupied in 1950, Red Guards destroyed thousands of official buildings and holy places during the Cultural Revolution and religious freedom and traditional education is still severely under threat. Due to the strength of the Tibetan's faith in Buddha and the Dalai Lama and against the odds many buildings have been reconstructed and their devotion and belief have remained extraordinarily strong. Buddhism permeates every part of a Tibetan's life, whether they are the Tibetans living in Tibet or the hundreds of thousands that live away from their homeland, in Nepal, India or the United States. This text is divided into five parts, with two main chapters devoted to the religious and lay Buddhists on their pilgrimages to holy sites. We see the monks in animated discussion, meditation and prayer and follow the devout believers on their arduous journeys to prayer. These two main chapters are interspersed with sections of portraits of this proud and dignified people who have their own innate sense of style and fashion demonstrated in the way they dress and adorn themselves. Known for his beautiful and uplifting imagery and soulful, but intimate, portraits, Steve McCurry's book offers an intimate insight into a unique and dignified culture....