Mindful Moment,The

Tim Page's harrowing photographs of the Vietnam War brought its horrific reality before the eyes of the world. Since then his images of conflict in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos have been published, broadcast and exhibited to universal acclaim. In the years following the war, Page has returned to Indochina some thirty times, always open to chance encounters and with an ever-increasing awareness of the true concerns and beliefs of those who live there. No other Western photographer knows the region as intimately as he does, and no other photographer can capture the hopes and fears of its people as acutely or as memorably. Now, in this special new book, Page has carefully selected and arranged the finest photographs from his journeys across this ancient and intensely spiritual land. Presented in three parts, "Road," "Quest" and "Passage," Page's stunning photography and moving accounts of his visits back to Indochina provide a unique portrait of a deeply religious society whose age-old Buddhist principles have endured to this day, still guiding every aspect of life despite the devastating interruption of modern warfare. Page's mordant humor, Buddhistic serenity and emotional honesty shine out through this retrospective of more than thirty-five years' work. The Mindful Moment also represents a personal passage for Page himself, the drawing of a line beneath the loss of many friends and colleagues in the war, and his coming to terms with the fact of death. In this exceptional work, some of the great themes of photography resonate -- the dilemmas of war photography and war itself, as well as faith in the spiritual dimensions of the human condition.