Brandon Stanton's vignettes of New Yorkers on Facebook are captured in this book, 425 glorious pages in all color, complete with their stories. Chances are if you're reading this review you've already liked the Facebook page and follow his portraits regularly. Brandon Stanton went from a college grad working on Wall Street to a photojournalist. His quest to capture people of New York in their daily lives has led to more than 15 million followers, and their heartfelt appreciation for the work he does every day.
In his short and poignant stories, combined with beautiful portraits, Brandon captures moments of people's lives, and sometimes an entire life story is captured in a couple of sentences. Many make us cry, some make us laugh, but all of them invariably show us how much we have in common. These posts are read by people across our planet, in every country. And it's heartwarming to see there are people in every country who identify with these stories, as they capture emotions we all have felt some time in our lives. At the very least, we empathize, as these stories give us a window into the subjects' lives.
Like most people, I had already read most of the stories in this book on HONY Facebook page already, it's my daily source of inspiration and hope, joy and sadness, and a feeling of connection with others as we all read his stories and then the comments. Sometimes, people share their own stories in the comments that are equally evocative but more often, they are words of encouragement for the person in the portrait. Sometimes, I think the world is becoming increasingly cynical until I read these comments and then I realize all across the world we our connected by our capacity to feel love, and to empathize. That each one of us is just looking for appreciation, a little love, and a little joy, a bond with their family, and above all peace within. It's a powerful realization, that often brings forth tears. My daughter once commented, "On the grayest days of my life, HONY saves me." And she's right. It does.
The moment this book came out I had to buy it, as it is a precious collection of these stories, this time not just pictures but the stories that accompany the pictures. But it is even greater joy to not have to surf through all the previous posts on HONY but to hold them in your hand (or possess them in digital format) at one time. I rarely ever buy a hardcover physical book any more, but this one I knew I had to get, and I may still buy the Kindle version.
As I read each story all over again, I remember how I felt when I first read it, some are so familiar as I've looked at them again and again as friends reposted them, some are less familiar, but together they all document the human condition, that captures not just the people of New York but all of us, across the globe. Someone once commented HONY should be called HOPE. Not just Humans of New York but Humans of Planet Earth. And they were right.
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Reviews with images
On 2017/April I bought the same book in China with Chinese translated version.
The photos in the books makes me read the book too slow, it is really appreciate enjoy to read every single word under the impressed photographs, what I can tell that Chinese version has higher level translated when I had the English version in States to compared with both, again, this is one of enjoyable books in my last 10 years!
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Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2015
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2015
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Top reviews from other countries
Elliot Bartholomew
Loved the book. Great pictures, real life stories.
Reviewed in Australia on February 5, 2022