Photographer's Paradise - by Jean-Pierre Laffont (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Jean-Pierre Laffont is the ultimate expression of American freedom--freedom in his unimpeded documentation of society's ills and the impassioned descent of an American people exercising freedom of their own. In no other country could Laffont have accessed such a wide range of controversial subject matters. For a photojournalist, America was, and continues to be, a Photographer's Paradise. Laffont traveled all fifty of the United States to document America's broad diversity. Laffont brings a perspective both foreign and familiar to the incredible freedoms Americans enjoy and may take for granted. Jean-Pierre currently resides in New York City with his wife Eliane. Featuring an insightful foreword by Sir Harold Matthew Evans is the British-born journalist and bestselling author who was editor of The Sunday Times from 1967 to 1981. Since 1984 he has lived in the United States, where, in 1986 he founded Conde Nast Traveler and was later appointed president and publisher of Random House Publishing trade group (1990 to 1997) and editorial director and vice chairman of US News and World Report, the New York Daily News, and The Atlantic Monthly (1997 to January 2000), from which he resigned to concentrate on his notable book writing efforts. Evans's best-known book, The American Century, won critical acclaim when it was published in 1998. He was knighted for services to journalism in 2004, and in 2011 was appointed editor-at-large of the Reuters news agency. Sir Harold became an American citizen in 1993, and lives in New York with his wife Tina Brown and their two children.

Review Quotes

Among the most anticipated is this year's video presentation of the new book Photographer's Paradise: Turbulent America 1960-1990, by award winning veteran photojournalist Jean Pierre Laffont.--August 29, 2014

It was unlike anywhere else he had photographed.--James Estrin "The New York Times, September 2, 2014 "

Jean-Pierre Laffont, completely unobtrusive behind his camera, belongs to the race of true masters of the image. He is pleased that the Maison européenne de la photographie, along with the republication of an already cult book, Le Paradis d'un Photographe, Tumulteuse Amérique, finally puts a spotlight on the rich production of a photographer who had remained for far too long in the shadow of thousands of his images. Full of modesty and humility, Jean-Pierre Laffont is a colossus among the great, persistent figures in a brotherhood of 'long-distance reporters.--Alain Mingam "L'Oeil de la Photographie, October 8, 2015 "

Jean-Pierre Laffont's extensive photo archive seems almost mythological: How could one photographer cover so many seminal events with such a unique vision?--David Rosenberg "Slate, December 19, 2014 "

Lovingly designed and meticulously edited, [these books] are a rare treat.--Time Magazine, September 8, 2014

Man Ray once said, 'A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective'" which is what photojournalist Pierre Laffont's pictures are all about...--Yvette de las Nueces "Cause + Yvette "

Paging through Photographer's Paradise is like watching a nation grow and crumble under its own weight. His images record the vast diversity of communities, societies, and often people on the fringes of those groups. Laffont's photojournalism becomes a historical record of the times.--Christopher Harrity "The Advocate, November 7, 2014 "

Photographer's Paradise: Turbulent America 1960-1990 is a big heavy book whose weight is metaphorically reflected in the images it contains. It is a gift to view this collection of what one photographer bore witness to during a period of immense change in the US, narrated through images, captions, and extended vignettes.--Margaret Mitchell "Shutter Hub, November 3, 2015 "

Sixties America was far from a paradise but, says Laffont, it was a dream place to be a photographer.--Horatia Harrod "Telegraph, September 11, 2014 "

Some of Laffont's best work is now showcased in a new book titled Photographer's Paradise: Turbulent America 1960-1990 published by Glitterati Incorporated.--Daily Mail (UK), September 14, 2014

The first book by photojournalist Jean-Pierre Laffont, this collection of images serves as a powerful and provocative estimation of the American Dream.--Photo District News

These photo books, lovingly designed and meticulously edited, are a rare treat in a time when photography is all-too-often relegated to selfies and snapshots, and offer an opportunity to truly indulge in the unfettered beauty of a well-made book.--Time Magazine, September 8, 2014

This collection of images serves as a powerful and provocative examination of the American Dream. Laffont traveled to all 50 states to document a broad swath of the country's fabric, capturing America through some of its most turbulent eras.--Photo District News

Through Laffont's lens we see the emergence of a brave new world, one that allows the youth to follow their dreams, for better or for worse. The result is a remarkable monograph that is a work of significant art history, revealing an astonishing breadth, detail, and scope as profound and compelling as the man who took the photographs himself.--Miss Rosen "Crave Online, June 4, 2015 "

Viewed through the prism of history, these rediscovered gems offer new perspectives on the visual narrative.--Shawn O'Sullivan "Black and White Magazine, December 2014 "

You can see in this book Laffont's particular taste for a kind of photo that is very much of the moment today: a field of edge-to-edge pattern, with a small device that repeats throughout the frame.--Christopher Bonanos "New York Magazine, September 4, 2014 "