Ira Nowinski's San Francisco: Poets, Politics, and Divas

Ira Nowinski is one of only a handful of contemporary master photographers (Sebastiao Salgado being the best-known) who dedicate themselves to the difficult challenge of creating photographs that are both important historical documents, and highly aesthetically accomplished. This book, his ninth, is like a triptych - a portrait of San Francisco through three complementary portfolios. They chronicle respectively the beat poets (Ginsberg, Kerouac, etc) of North Beach, the successful struggle of lower-income seniors to avoid being left homeless by the redevelopment of the city's downtown, and the international superstars involved with the SF Opera. In all cases, Nowinski's ability to participate in the lives of his subjects, and his superb eye and technique, result in pictures that are intimate and elegant, informative and beautiful. The reproductions are superb, and the book design highlights Nowinski's process, his images, and the stories they tell. This book satisfies at first read, then keeps on giving.