Books & exhibitions

The latest and best books and exhibitions from the world of photography

Glad Tidings of Benevolence by Moises Saman

£65, GOST, hardback, 384 pages, ISBN 9781910401774

Published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, this book brings together documentary photographer and Magnum member Moises Saman’s images taken during this period and the following years, and also includes documents and texts relating to the war.

The culmination of 20 years of work across Iraq, it explores the competing narratives about the war, through images and language.

He says, ‘My photographs are not intended to represent an objective account of the Iraq war against which to compare the texts. Rather, the book grapples with my own role and power as a narrator – particularly one with access to foreign publications – and the biases and limitations inevitably embedded in my work.’

Wild: The Life of Peter Beard – Photographer, Adventurer, Lover by Graham Boynton

£27.99, St Martin’s Press, hardback, 352 pages, ISBN: 9781250274991

After the iconic photographer Peter Beard’s death in 2020 – which came after he mysteriously disappeared from his Montauk home – he remained somewhat of an enigma, even to those who knew him best.

This book, unauthorised by Beard’s estate, but written by journalist Graham Boyton – a friend of Beard’s for over 30 years – gives an insight into what he was really like. Hundreds of interviews with Beard’s closest friends, former lovers, and fellow artists were carried out by Boynton in order to put this work together. It’s a shame not to see work by Beard featured in the book – due to it being unauthorised – but it’s otherwise an extremely interesting read that has received high praise from numerous publications including The New York Times.