In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits

Christian Century, Dec 14, 2004

In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits.

Edited by Leah Bendavid-Val. National Geographic Books, 504 pp., $30.00.

Some might judge this collection of 280 portraits from the 100-year plus history of the National Geographic to be voyeuristic. The photos probably say as much about the editors, photographers--and subscribers--of the magazine as about the subjects themselves. Still, to stare into the eyes of the people in these portraits feels like looking into their souls. And though we know they are strangers, we feel connected to them--all part of the same human family.