This is one of those examples of pictures being worth more than words. How can words do justice to a photojournalist who has worked in more than 75 countries and covered every presidential election since 1976, the Summer Olympics since 1984, the Vietnam War, Bob Marley, the aftermath of Katrina and, most famously, the Iranian Revolution of 1979?
In the winter of 1979, David Burnett found himself in a unique position. He was one of the few Western journalists to remain in Iran during the throes of revolution — to witness and report live the historic overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's corrupt monarchy, and its replacement with the modern world's first Islamic republic, under the rule of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Over the course of those 44 consecutive days that shocked the world, Burnett photographed the initial uprisings that culminated in mass demonstrations, violence and mourning. He also captured the celebrations of revolutionary Shiites upon the fall of a monarch. At the time, Burnett's photographs were featured extensively in Time magazine. And now, 30 years after the event, many of the photos can be found in one place: the new book 44 Days: Iran and the Remaking of the World, published by National Geographic.
The photographs have an eerie resonance in light of Iran's recent demonstrations. They also have a certain eloquence that can't be translated in copy — although Christiane Amanpour's foreward, John Kifner's introduction and Burnett's narration certainly help. View more of Burnett's work on his Web site.
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