The Ten Best Photography Books of 2017

Not so long ago, almost 200 years ago, photography was always regarded as an essential artistic medium, mainly because of the unique ability to capture and retain the fleeting. This allows us to hold an accomplice between us, a tree caught in a gust of wind or a tear in the eyes of a stoic. Photography gives us the means to immediately take an infinitely small aspect of existence and make it immortal. When we see our lives frozen in photos, we cannot help but think about our small place in a vast and ever-changing world, as well as the legacy we leave behind.

By tackling issues ranging from the Obama civil rights movement to the White House of Obama, from Vietnam to Guantanamo, to the hidden miracles of insects on plastic that pollute our oceans, these ten books force us to face friendly and unpleasant and challenging things. see - sometimes all at once. They invite us not only to view the images on a page, but also for our situation in the blurry worlds that they describe.