Synopses & Reviews
Mario Tama's moving body of award-winning pictures documents Hurricane Katrina's shocking disaster and the resilience of recovery, hope, and change. It won the 2011 Nautilus Silver Award and was a finalist for Pictures of the Year Best PhotoBook Award.
As a news photographer for Getty Images, Tama's powerful imagery of events like September 11th, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the funeral of Pope John Paul II, and the earthquake in Haiti have appeared in major magazines and newspapers internationally. His numerous honors include the prestigious Cliff Edom's New America Award at the NPPA Best of Photojournalism Awards, POY Year International, White House News Photographers Association, NPPA's Best of Photojournalism, UNICEF Photo of the Year, and Care International Award for Humanitarian Reportage. In 2008 Tama was nominated for an Emmy Award for his Coney Island series, and his work on Baghdad's orphans was exhibited at Visa Pour L'Image in Perpignan.
Features an introduction by Anderson Cooper, who joined CNN in 2001 and has anchored Anderson Cooper 360 since 2003. Previously a correspondent for ABC News and Channel One News, his many awards include four Emmys for his comprehensive and impassioned coverage of world events.
Review
"The message that comes through the images isn't a linear communication of the progression of gradual renewed stability and restoration of the character of the city and its people. Instead, what is conveyed is a subtle thread of a people so spirited and unique that even Americaand#8217;s most destructive modern natural disaster could not break them." and#151;
The Epoch Times"Mr. Tama believed he had a duty to tell their stories, so he returned 15 times to photograph the slow recovery. These images [are] beautifully composed, human and soulful, with an occasional flash of offbeat humor..." and#151;New York Times Lens
Tamaand#8217;s imagery from New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina stood out among the vast media coverage and earned him numerous accolades and recognition. Remarkably, when the catastrophe waned and other press went away, Tama stayed...and continued to document the process of recovery (and some of its terrible failures)." and#151;The Huffington Post
"But turn the page and youand#8217;ll find images of joy. A big, bold, laugh that seems to echo from the side-shot of Angela Perkins. A jubilant grin as girls jump rope using a phone cable. A mid-air flip by a street performer. And itand#8217;s easy to see that, despite indescribable loss, the people of New Orleans have found reasons for renewal." and#151;The Southern Literary Review
Synopsis
Mario Tama creates a moving and honest portrait of a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
About the Author
Douglas Brinkley: Dr. Douglas Brinkley previously served as director of the Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Civilization and Professor of History at Tulane University. In July 2007, he joined RICE University and the James Baker Institute for public Policy. Four of Dr. Brinkleys biographies have been selected as New York Times "Notable Books of the Year": Dean Acheson: The Cold War Years (1992), Driven Patriot: The Life and Times of James Forrestal, with Townsend Hoopes (1992), The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carters Journey Beyond the White House (1998), and Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company and a Century of Progress (2003). And three more recent publications have become New York Times best-sellers: The Boys of Pointe du Hoc; Ronald Reagan, D-Day and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion (2005), Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War (2004) and Parish Priest: Father McGivney and American Catholicism (2006). His most recent publications include a two-volume edition of Ronald Reagans unpublished White House diaries and The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America. Dr. Brinkley is contributing editor for Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times Book Review, and American Heritage. A frequent contributor to the New York Times, Boston Globe, Rolling Stone, and The Atlantic Monthly. He lives in Austin Texas with his wife Anne and two children Benton and Johnny.
Mario Tama: Mario Tama has covered global events for major magazines and newspapers in Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia, including September 11, the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, the funeral of Pope John Paul II. His unforgettable photographs from Hurricane Katrina were featured worldwide, in National Geographic, Newsweek, newspapers, and in other media. In 2008 he was nominated for an Emmy for his documentary work on Coney Island and won Cliff Edom's New America Award for his work in New Orleans. He has received multiple honors and awards from: Pictures of the Year International, White House News Photographers Association, NPPA's Best of Photojournalism, UNICEF Photo of the Year, Care International Award for Humanitarian Reportage, China International Press Photo Contest, and Days Japan International Photojournalism Awards. His work on Baghdad's orphans was exhibited in a one-man show at Visa Pour L'Image in Perpignan.He studied photography at Rochester Institute of Technology and freelanced in Washington, DC for the Washington Post and Agence France-Presse before joining Getty Images in 2001.