Sleeping by the Mississippi

This little book is one of those special benchmarks in contemporary photography. The photographs are beautiful, moving, and full of subtle commentary that reveals itself on closer and more frequent viewing. It is book to to return to over and over again. I watched an interview with Alec Soth in which he said he felt these pictures were about separation. Maybe he meant separation between him and his subjects or between his subjects and the rest of the world. But for us, the viewers, these photos are all about connection. Saving up to buy his other volumes.

Nothing to say, really. A contemporary photography masterpiece.

I'm having a hard time seeing the greatness purported by other reviewers. What I see here is a number of straightforward environmental portraits of everyday common folk who happen to live in the vicinity of the Mississippi River. Soth includes short texts with the photos but the text doesn't really offer much insight.The whole project seems a bit confused. Were the photos meant to illustrate the stories told by the subjects or were the stories meant to illuminate the photos? I can't tell since neither text nor photos are very strong and the pairings further weaken the whole.Technically, the photos are lovely. The reproductions are good and, as befits large format photographs, the print quality is superb with abundant details. But the portraits are superficial and cold like Facebook friending.

A compelling and beautifully presented photographic project, much broader and weirder than I had anticipated. Book arrived in perfect condition from second-hand vendor, whoever it was.... I ordered it as a gift for my photo buddy; wish I could have kept it for myself.

One of the greatest contemporary photo books, an amazing narrative of an internal journey.

An amazing body of work from one of the best American photographers. Must read!

No bad surprise

amazing book with pictures that helped Alec to really take off.

Pictures of staggering power, simplicity and beauty.

If you like photos and Southern USa, you will loe the book

A worthy addition to any collection , some beautiful photos .

I have spent a few hours already going through the book since receiving it. The anecdotes at the end really bring it all together and give reference to some of the photographs, not that they need it. In fact, there is a beauty when going through the first time (having not seen them), looking at the prints without context, and enjoying them simply as they stand alone. I highly recommend this book and feel I gain something new each time I pick it up.

the book was well packaged but there were some dents on the edges of the cover from its original lot tying material.Apart from this the book is an excellent work of a great photographer and nobody cares about the cover after two weeks.Books supposed to be read and get worn !