CHINA: Portrait of a People [Paperback]

The People's Republic of China is the oldest continuous major world civilization. There are just over 1.3 billion Chinese living in China today, and over 1 million Chinese Canadians living in Canada. For anyone who has ever had the desire to visit this intriguing country, I strongly urge you to begin your journey with Tom Carter's CHINA: Portrait of a People.

American photojournalist Tom Carter set out for the People's Republic of China in February 2004 with only the bare essentials in his backpack, a 4-megapixel point-and-shoot camera, and a hungry curiosity for a land unknown to him. In 2 years, he traveled 56,000 kilometers through some of the least-accessible parts of China capturing in candidly vivid photography a rare collection of China's fascinating people.

Covering all 33 provinces and 5 autonomous regions, the book begins in North China in the capital city of Beijing, which Carter fittingly subtitles the "Pulse of the People," and wanders down through the provinces of East China, then the South, making its way back up again through Central China and the West and ending in Tibet, the "Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere."

CPOP is a reflection of one photographer's dedication to preserving moments in time of a people from 56 cultural backgrounds. This book is an extensive work of art telling a story of poignant beauty in every photograph; it leaves the reader to wonder how the lives of those photographed came to be and what will happen in their future.

CHINA: Portrait of a People is gaining international recognition for being the most substantive book of its genre. It is a must-have for anyone interested in Asian culture, specifically the People's Republic of China.

There are lots of books on China out there, including myriad photography books. Carter's book stands out because instead of focusing on landscape, architecture, or food, he shows the beauty and diversity of Chinese people. Those who have not traveled or lived in China, may not realize the amount of variety among the people--with this book you be able to fully understand and appreciate how unique each ethnicity is. Chinese people are not just simply Chinese.

In each province one can find many different ethnicities, each varied in appearance and fashion, traditions and attitude. Carter captures these differences beautifully in his book "China: Portrait of a People." He also managed to travel to every corner of China, illustrating everyone from Han to Tibetans to Uyghurs. If you have been to China or have any interest in the country, you will enjoy this book that gives such a wonderful insight into its people.

Rarely does a book of richly colored photographic images of a country and the people that inhabit that country on every page reveal so much of a culture that the book becomes an instant resource for fascinated travelers (real and armchair), students, teachers, and readers who care about the planet we call Earth. CHINA: PORTRAIT OF A PEOPLE is indeed what the title suggests: within the covers of this book are more faces sampling the 1.3 billion people who inhabit the 33 provinces and the 56 cultures of the vast country of China, faces that range from the new born to the elderly, the healthy to the suffering, the traditional culture bound with the new Westernized modern look, all placed within the context of the land and the life differences in one fascinatingly diverse country.

Tom Carter almost unintentionally created this brilliant book. His goal was to spend two years traveling across China, lingering long enough in each of the varied provinces to learn the customs, the people's way of life, the history that varies so greatly among the provinces (both ancient and recent - meaning within the last century), and capture the land and the people who dwell there with his camera. A young politician by training, Carter had already made a similar journey through Mexico, Central America and Cuba: this idea of earnest sociological, journalistic and humanitarian investigations was in place. In 2004 he traveled to the People's Republic of China as an English language teacher in Central China and in two year's time he resolved to learn more about the people who inhabit this divers and historically rich land: in 2006 he began his trek by every possible means of transportation traveling through every province, staying is many cities, soaking up the realities of life there that too often are obscured from tourists, committed to learning all he could, incorporating the splendors of the vistas from the Gobi Desert to the highest mountains of Tibet to the lush mountains and rivers and the seas and oceans that brush China's borders - and capturing it all on film!

Few of us realize how disparate are the various provinces of this great country. Carter shows us these variations of religions (Buddhism, Muslim, and variations within these, and more), farming, apparel, ritual, celebrations, animals, connections to the earth, the influence of the mass changes of Westernization on the beauty of the historically significant architecture, the lay of the land in the way it supports (and in certain cases dooms) its people, the forms of sport and entertainment, compassion and revolt, and the response of the people to the presence of an 'outsider'. Carter's photographic images were taken with Olympus Camedia C400 camera: more color saturation could not be possible than in the images we see here.

Another major aspect of this book is the presence on most pages of a few words by the author that so simply define the meaning behind each of the provinces and the people he has captured on film. Each section on each of the 33 provinces begins with a succinct description about the historical significance and the unique aspects of that province. At times there are bits of poetic moments shared, and at time the words of someone he met are shared. In all, then, this as complex a diary of a country as any book presented about he vast country that is China, an ancient and yet also very modern neighbor. Reading and absorbing this book will provide the reader with a true sense of the cultural riches of China: more important, the reader will feel an affinity for these people with whom we share life on the planet. Highly recommended to all readers. Grady Harp, August 10