American Gott I'm tired of everything, Tim tired of waking up and remembering things I know I oughta forget, and of smelln? food too rich for my cupboard ‘or those plates on my table, | aunt erying about nothin. ‘That's just how things are. Pm alive and movin’ around and my toe nails keep growin’ So weepin’s a waste of time. Tjnst hope time ainte growin’ tied of hanging around here with me. testers were slammed against brick walls by the water from high-pressure hoses. As to the cruel imagery, that which was born in darkness, Ihave a curious question: What sorts of feelings grasped the photographers’ hearts as they recorded the horrible scenes? The options, ranging from pangs of sorrow to shocking numbness to awe to despair to anger, are plentiful. Perhaps their reactions depended upon where their own lives had been or where their lives were going. How did they do it? For the execution of any of these photographs, a finger and an instinct joined forces for a split second. The ‘combat photographer's life, clothed in danger and uncertainty, might vanish in any ‘moment. How did they do it? Larry Burrows, Robert Capa and all the many others who have perished in war zones could speak with authority on this question, but they chose stead to speak to us with their cameras, telling us how certain men have murderedFlavio From stony heights I first save him climbing beneath cloudless clouds floating the mountain's hot ait. His face, shrunken by furious hunger, ‘was colored with amber and honey. His neck, akin to a leaning tower, ‘was drowning in rivers of sweat. Lime had screwed his broomstick legs into his bony disgruntled feet ‘There, with death hiding inside him at the mid-point of blistering day, he smiled a smile Il never forget. Then, on a monintainside of silence Flavio da Silva became my friend. other men over a bucket of dirty drinking water. Ifyou were to ask me to explain my own absence from some of these places, [would say, “Maybe I should have been there, but im glad I was not there. loathe photographing death.” But we are fortunate that others were there forthe terrible moments as well as the good, because as we look at their pietures an indisputably important fact emerges ‘These images helped push us toward a change, You might say the world stil suffers gunfire and terrorist bloodletting, that there is still smoke everywhere. But take another glance at these photographs. The cameras have observed our lives in order to get us to tomorrow. The cameras have observed our lives in search of hope. Photography, as it appears in this memorable collection, nourishes hope. Without hope, contentment is impossible in our world