THE BEST BOOKS OF 2021

Renegades: Born in the USA BY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND BARACK OBAMA

Expanding on their excellent Higher Ground podcast, Springsteen and Obama discuss life, music, and their continued belief in the enduring power of the American experience.

Rap Is Risen: New York Photographs 1998-2008 BY SUE KWON

A visual love letter to NYC hip-hop from award-winning photographer Kwon, featuring candid images of Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, and many others.

Metallica: The Black Album in Black & White BY ROSS HALFIN

For the 30th anniversary of the Black Album, Metallica and photographer Halfin offer a fascinating look at the creation of a hard-rock classic.

Depeche Mode BY ANTON CORBIJN

Artist Corbijn’s aesthetic has been a key element of Depeche Mode’s synth-goth image since the 1980s, and this pocket-size book chronicles that rich collaboration.

Apocalypse Now:

The Lost Photo Archive BY CHAS GERRETSEN

In 1976, combat photographer Gerretsen was hired by Francis Ford Coppola as the still photographer for his classic Vietnam film Apocalypse Now, and this is the fascinating record of that experience.

American Protest: Photos 2020-2021 BY MEL D. COLE

New York nightlife photographer Cole turned his lens on the city’s streets during the Covid-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests of 2020 and 2021, creating what he calls a visual “collective memory” of those tumultuous moments.

I Can’t Stand to See You Cry BY RAHIM FORTUNE

Photographer Fortune traveled back to his native Texas to help care for his dying father. He ended up staying to chronicle his family’s healing process, as well as to document the lives of the people and the landscapes of the South he grew up in.