- While I was interning at Yossi Milo Gallery, the second edition (instead of the numbered first edition that sat next to it on the shelf and I drooled over) of Alec Soth's Sleeping By The Mississippi was the book I most often borrowed out of Yossi's extensive photo book library. From the moment I first saw them I was hooked on the images of Alec's many trips down the Mississippi river. Alec is my favorite photographer and he keeps impressing me with each body of work he produces, but Sleeping By The Mississippi is still my favorite of his projects. I never thought I would own a copy of the book because of its value continuing to rise. Luckily Steidel just released the third edition of this classic monograph and while I was in the city dropping off some film today I stopped by Strand and picked myself up a copy. This third edition of the book looks absolutely amazing. The prints are bigger and the colors even more breathtaking. The new cover is linen bound with a tipped-on image which I think lends itself much more to the work inside then the cover of the second edition. Overall I am more than pleased with the book, I like the feel of it better than the last edition and am just thrilled to finally own a copy of my own before another edition sells out.
"Alec Soth has a wonderful and terrifying eye. We’ve all seen gritty documentary photography, but no one has ever seen anything like his work! It’s gritty for sure, but it’s beautiful–really beautiful. With most documentary photography, you look at it, sigh, and pass on, but Soth’s work keeps pulling you back to look again because he composes with the skill of the greatest of photographic artists." - John Wood, Editor, 21st: The Journal of Contemporary Photography
Here is a great interview done with Alec by Aaron Schuman for Seesaw Magazine around the original release of the book.
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