China Obscura

Rating:
Summary: China from the ground up
Review: First, full disclosure: I have known Mark Leong for 10 years and worked with him as a colleague in China. So this may account for my bias, but I believe that his photos of modern-day China are among the best taken during the post-Tiananmen era. During my decade as a correspondent in China, I always wanted to work with Mark because I thought his gritty, in-your-face pictures captured a side of China that often was overlooked. Instead of showing us the by-now stock shots of high-rises and neon lights, he took viewers to the street level, his 28mm lens always getting reeeeaallly close up into people's faces. I loved it and this book brings back in superb detail the China that I knew in the late 20th and early 21st century. I strongly recommend it for anyone interested in China--it's a beautiful, affordable addition to anyone's library.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent pictography on China
Review: Leong's beautiful, yet haunting photographs show us a side of China not covered by the media's focus on China's economic growth story. The compositions are arresting and the content intriguing.

Rating:
Summary: OVER REACHING
Review: Overall this book is a bit pompous and superficial. Drugs on a Chinese money, and boring portraits of old relatives, hackneyed scenes of bicycles with stickers on them.... I hope Mr. Leong's future books are edited a bit more carefully. This current one looks like he went into his closet, took out all his prints, and threw them at his publisher.