Ken Schles: The Geometry Of Innocence
This is the second book by American photographer Schles, also  known for his commercial work in magazines such as The New  Yorker, Spin, and Esquire. Schles is not afraid of the dark,  actual or figurative; since his first intimate documentation of  New York (Invisible City, 1988. o.p.), his critical eye has  brought him to the extreme (e.g., police helicopters, operating  rooms, death row) as well as the everyday (e.g., birthday  parties, weddings, construction sites). From each, he extracts  strangely humanizing views to address his apprehension with the  ragged, noisy isolation of the modern urban experience. The  gritty and beautiful images, in color and black and white, are  presented in a narrative fashion without much text, paired and  combined by sometimes ironic intent or common subject or feel.  The result is a calamitous and visceral journey through a  kinetic, disturbing, vibrant America. This is a potentially  nullifying presentation, but Schles's individual images stand  up; each is explained in a closing image list. Recommended as a  good initial purchase to large and academic photographic  collections. Debora Miller, MinneapolisCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.