A. D. Coleman is widely considered the dean of North American photography criticism. His writings have been translated into 17 languages and published in 24 countries. This provocative new selection of recent reviews, reportages and commentaries is the first published collection of his essays since the now-classic Light Readings of 1979. Arranged chronologically, like its predecessor, Critical Focus discusses many of the most important photography-related events of the past five years.

Topics include such diverse matters as censorship, international photography festivals, public funding for the arts - and the works of such picture-makers as Sally Mann, Cindy Sherman, Christian Boltanski, Romare Bearden, Robert Mapplethorpe, Barbara Kruger, and Andres Serrano. An informative, pithy and intelligent look at contemporary photography.