“Tom Carter is an extraordinary photographer whose powerful work captures the heart and soul of the Chinese people.” – Anchee Min, author of “Red Azalea”.
Most tourists travel by jet or bus and spend nights in four-or-five star hotels sleeping on plush beds. They eat at only the best restaurants. A rare few visit countries like Sir Richard Francis Burton, the famous nineteenth century explorer and adventurer. Tom Carter is one of the rare few. Imagine backpacking for two years and walking 35,000 miles to capture the heart and soul of a nation. That’s what Tom Carter did to create China: Portrait of a People.
The consensus among ‘backpackers’ is that China is probably the single most challenging country in the world to visit on foot. That by itself says a lot.
There are more than 1.3 billion people in China. Besides the majority Han Chinese, the population includes fifty-six ethnic groups numbering over one hundred million. Carter saw it all from the teenage girl living in Chengdu dressed like an American punk rocker to the soot covered coal miner in Southern Shanxi. Carter’s camera lens captured the complexity and diversity of China.
Tom Carter is a guerrilla hit-and-run photojournalist with a camera instead of a grenade launcher. To take the up-close-and-personal pictures in ‘Portrait of a People’, Carter risked jail; almost froze on his way to Tibet; faced exhaustion and hunger; was beaten by drunks; plagued by viral infections, and risked being shot by North Korean border guards. The hundreds of photos in ‘Portrait’ are priceless. I doubt if there will ever be another book about China like this one. From Inner Mongolian nomads to newlyweds in Hong Kong, Carter captured it all with his photography.
There is an old saying that a picture is equal to a thousand words. Great pictures tell stories.
In ‘China: Portrait of a People’, each picture is worth ten thousand words or maybe more. Carter’s photojournalist study of China stands alone in its genre as it focuses expressly on the Chinese people. Carter backpacked to remote areas to visit China’s minorities like the thousand year old Phoenix Village perched over the Tuo Jiang River or the seventy-five year old Pai Yao minority farmer in his red turban.
To reach some locations, Carter had to travel on foot into some seriously rugged terrain. To get an idea what I’m talking about, consider that China, almost the size of the United States, has only sixteen percent of its land for growing crops. The rest is either mountains or deserts.
Between the covers of ‘Portrait’, you will see what happens when a modern day Sir Richard Francis Burton spends two years backpacking through China’s thirty-three provinces and autonomous regions, not once but twice. During his odyssey, Carter discovered that the Chinese are a friendly, open hearted people.
If you plan to visit China, buy this book before you go. On the other hand, if you are an armchair tourist that never strays far from home, Carter’s Rembrandt ‘Portrait’ of China will not disappoint. You will chuckle when you see the young, twin boys walking out of the river after a swim or watch the eight-year-old acrobat student at Wuqiao bending herself like a folded sheet of paper.
Between the covers of ‘Portrait’, you will start a vicarious journey visiting China like few have done even among the Chinese. You will travel on this 35,000 mile journey without leaving your house, bus or jet seat.
- The Christian Science Monitor said, Tom Carter shows us that there are actually dozens of Chinas. The American photojournalist spent two years traveling 35,000 miles through every province of China by bus, boat, train, mule, motorcycle, and on foot. – August 27, 2010
- The San Francisco Chronicle said, Getting a full picture of China – a vast country with an enormous population, a place that is experiencing sweeping cultural and economic changes – is, of course, impossible. But Tom Carter comes close. … It’s a remarkable book, compact yet bursting with images that display the diversity of a nation of 56 ethnic groups. – September 26, 2010
As you might see, there is no way this review does justice for ’China: Portrait of a People’. To try might require a million words—seeing is believing. What are you waiting for?
_______________
Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the lusty love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.
Finalist in Fiction & Literature – Historical Fiction
The National “Best Books 2010” Awards
Honorable Mentions in General Fiction
2012 San Francisco Book Festival
2012 New York Book Festival
2012 London Book Festival
2009 Los Angeles Book Festival
2009 Hollywood Book Festival
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[…] Tom Carter traveled 35,000 miles in two years to capture a portrait of China’s people […]
Thank you for the kind review, Lloyd. And thanks to Nicki Chen for sharing on Reddit, where it has ignited a hostile debate about the “rubbish” level of my photography. One particularly idiotic user there by the name of “pomegranate2012” also seems to think *I* am posing as Nicki to spam Reddit with this review of my book.
I, however, wouldn’t suggest to Lloyd or Nicki getting involved in that Reddit debate because there’s no reasoning with a hater – some people simply have nothing else to do with their empty lives, so they live to tear down those of us whom have chosen to create.
I think pomegranate2012, whatever it is—she, he or it—voted a 1-star ‘Rate This’ for the post on my Blog. Having personal experiences with Trolls and flame wars, I suspect that pomegrante2012 is a Troll, and it is best not to engage in any way. Trolls are not open to civil debate. A Troll’s goal is to hurt and injure as much as possible because they are mentally ill and hurting others while hiding behind an anonymous name gives them what studies have revealed is a mental orgasm from the false sense of power they get. It doesn’t take long for a Troll to become addicted to these mental orgasms and then they start craving more, simliar to a crack addict, and that is why they are called Trolls, because they troll the Internet looking for more victims and the next rush.
In addition, I want to point out what Anchee Min said about your book—the same pull quote that opened my post: “Tom Carter is an extraordinary photographer whose powerful work captures the heart and soul of the Chinese people.” – Anchee Min, author of “Red Azalea”.
Who is Anchee Min?
http://www.ancheemin.com/
Anchee’s Min’s first book, “Red Azalea”, in 1992, became a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and won the Carl Sandburg Award. Her “The Empress Orchid” was a finalist for the British Book Awards. Her work has been translated into more than 30 languages and has sold more than 1 million copies in English alone.
Anchee also graduated from the Chicago Art Institute with a masters in film. I don’t know who pomegranate2012 is but I do know this, it isn’t Anchee Min. I think Anchee’s opinion of your work counts a lot more than one (or more because they sometimes work in flocks) anonymous internet Troll.
In addition, Anchee Min isn’t the only fan of Tom Carter’s book. What do Amazon customer reviews have to say?
“China: Portrait of a People” has 117 customer reviews for an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars.
“If you have an interest in China, photography books, or just capturing the world – Tom Carter has done it and it is amazing.” International Todd|69reviewers made a similar statement
I hope more people will read this book.
Z. Gorman|35reviewers made a similar statement
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested or planing on visiting China.
D.Gomez|18reviewers made a similar statement
Getting a full picture of China – a vast country with an enormous population, a place that is experiencing sweeping cultural and economic changes – is, of course, impossible. But Tom Carter comes close. … It’s a remarkable book, compact yet bursting with images that display the diversity of a nation of 56 ethnic groups. –San Francisco Chronicle, September 26, 2010
In China: Portrait of a People, Tom Carter shows us that there are actually dozens of Chinas. The American photojournalist spent two years traveling 35,000 miles through every province of China by bus, boat, train, mule, motorcycle, and on foot. –Christian Science Monitor, August 27, 2010
I have the book, and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. Carter’s pictures are wonderful. Most of us will never see the places he photographs.
Have you seen his work from India?
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