The span of his short life, 1943-1992, was enough for Italian photographer Luigi Ghirri to develop and express an exquisite sensibility in both his visual work and his writings. The influence of his vision and innovation lives on in a generation of photographers, including Olivo Barbieri, Martin Parr, and William Eggleston. H collaborated with Italian architect Aldo Rossi; and he completed a series of still lifes in the studio of painter Georgio Morandi--but only through the efforts of his widow, Paolo Ghirri has his international reputation taken root. Of the 25 monographs published of his work, this is the first in English, and it should not be missed by anyone involved with photography or art. The 95 color images (and 30 illustrations) are accompanied by a preface by William Eggleston, an essay by curator and writer Germano Celant, and an intimate essay by Paolo Ghirri, as well as a selection of the artist's writings, a biographical chronology, and listings of exhibitions and holdings. The book is distributed in North America by Distributed Arts Publishers. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)