Humans of New York, published by St. Martin’s Press (2013), is one of the best books I have read in several years. He and his camera have roamed the five boroughs of New York and dozens of his encounters are in the book. Here is a recent post at his website:

“He’s a counselor, so he’s always putting everyone else’s problems before his own. Including mine.”

 

“I was tired of working retail, so I lied on my resume and said that I had bookkeeper experience. I learned as much as I could from Google before the job interview, and printed out balance sheets to practice on. After I got the job, I read as much as I could every morning on the train. It was nerve wracking at first, but I presented the numbers at the end of the month, and everything checked out. May not have been the best way to get a job, but hey— I’ve got a son to look out for.”

“I’m five!”
“Does it feel any different than four?”
“It feels less smaller.”

“What do you feel most guilty about?”
“That guy I killed two years ago.”
“What happened?”
“He asked to take my picture.”

* * *

To check out my review of Humans of New York, please click here.

“My name is Brandon and I began Humans of New York in the summer of 2010. I thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of New York City’s inhabitants, so I set out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their photos on a map. I worked for several months with this goal in mind, but somewhere along the way, HONY began to take on a much different character. I started collecting quotes and short stories from the people I met, and began including these snippets alongside the photographs. Taken together, these portraits and captions became the subject of a vibrant blog. With over seven million followers on social media, HONY now provides a worldwide audience with daily glimpses into the lives of strangers in New York City. It has also become a #1 NYT bestselling book. It’s been quite a ride so far. Feel free to follow along.”