Liz Jobey Livres

A collection of travel writing by some of the genre’s finest authors, from Paul Theroux to Sara Wheeler, voyaging from Mississippi to Malawi and Thailand. The New Granta Book of Travel Writing represents a sea change in writers’ approaches to the craft. The 1980s were the culmination of a golden age, when writers including Bruce Chatwin, James Hamilton-Paterson and James Fenton set out to document life in largely unfamiliar territory, bringing back tales of the beautiful, the extraordinary and the unexpected. By the mid 1990s, travel writing seemed to change, as a younger generation of writers appeared in the magazine, making journeys for more complex and often personal reasons. Decca Aitkenhead reported on sex tourism in Thailand, and Wendell Steavenson moved to Iraq as a foreign correspondent. What all these pieces have in common is a sense of engagement with the places they describe, and a belief that whether we are in Birmingham or Belarus, there is always something new to be discovered.

Retrospective of a legendary photographer who turns 100 in 2012. Accompanying exhibitions at Camerawork, San Francisco and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Eve Arnold's interest in photography started late with a photo-finishing job in New York City in 1946. A member of Magnum Photos, her list of assignments were a mix of politics, social issues, travel, and current events, with a little glamour thrown in. Arnold is perhaps best known for her images of Marilyn Monroe. She has chronicled figures as diverse as migrant potato workers, heads of state, and screen icons. A blend of exacting technique and moral courage would typify her long career which never settled for clichés or stereotypes. Guided in her own words, this volume features Arnold's iconic photographs as well as many never-before published images. ILLUSTRATIONS: 150 duotone and 10 colour photographs