Fear This

Rating:
Summary: Photojournalism In Progress - An Astounding Book
Review: Anthony Suau is a brave photographer who has won not only the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the famine in Ethiopia but also a prize for his coverage of the war in Chechnya. Thus is it with credentials such as these that we are forced to pay close attention to this startling folio of black and white photographs of the response of Americans to the war in Iraq. It is work such as this that may bring the country to seriously ponder the situation in Iraq that daily appears to darken into yet another war of error not unlike the Vietnam experience.


The power of Suau's visual statement lies in the apparent simplicity of his extemporaneous views of the Americans' responses to the preemptive invasion of Iraq, its effects on the families of soldiers killed, the political outbursts of citizens in opposition to the war, the photographs transmitted from Iraq as seen in context of US newspapers and postings, the response to the capture of Saddam Hussein, etc. The photographs are as dark as is the cloud that hangs over this country in the wake of the war that should have never happened.

This is photojournalism of the highest order. FEAR THIS, succinctly stated, translates to "fear our stance", and without preaching or pamphleteering, Suau calls for an awakening of response to call an end to this war. This is a very powerful book that hopefully will find wide audiences. We all need to see this documentation. Grady Harp

Rating:
Summary: Black and white photos capture anti-war demonstrations
Review: What did America look like on its way to war in Iraq? Anthony Suau's Fear This could have easily been presented in our Art section for its photographically astute and involving artistic creations but is featured here for its equal strength in hard-hitting political pictures. Black and white photos capture anti-war demonstrations, soldiers leaving home, and reflections on war alike in a series of revealing social commentaries.