"W. Eugene Smith revolutionized the photographic-essay form with the works he published in Life magazine between 1948 and 1956. This monograph reproduces images from six classic essays: Country Doctor , which portrays the selfless and sometimes frustrating work of a doctor in rural America; Spanish Village , the most powerful photographic study of 1950s Spain; Nurse Midwife , which examines the life of a black woman in the American south; A Man of Mercy , which documents Dr. Albert Schweitzer's humanitarian work in Africa; Pittsburgh , Smith's first freelance assignment, previously unpublished; and Minamata , a photo-essay recording the effects caused by a mercury spill in a region inhabited by Japanese fishermen. Also included are previously unpublished writings by Smith that elucidate his field techniques and guiding principles, as well as the memoir A Walk to a Paradise Garden, which tells the tale of his most acclaimed photograph."
