One of The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2025
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2025
“Burgess has made an old and arcane subject new and thrilling…Her astounding, frequently funny narrative highlights how people have always gone to outrageous lengths to get the perfect shot.”
— THE TIMES LONDON
“A scintillating history that’ll have you looking at photography in a new light.”
— kirkus, starred revieW
“In this lively history, Burgess…traces the dawn of early photography, a period of restless ingenuity.”
– THE NEW YORKER
“A captivating whirlwind tour of photography’s early years.”
– publishers weekly
“Beautifully written, like a great work of fiction. Except, incredibly, it’s all true.”
– Phillip Prodger, former Head of Photographs, National Portrait Gallery, London
“An elegantly written history that speaks to an immutable human desire “to pursue knowledge, to create something beautiful, to record a moment in time.” It’s also a lot of fun.”
— WASHINGTON POST
“An entertaining romp through the whirlwind years of early photography…Flashes of Brilliance reminds readers what a marvel photography is.”
— WALL STREET JOURNAL
“A love letter to the power of the photographic image. This beautifully written book, by writer and photo editor Anika Burgess, is a thoughtful, personal and witty meditation on how imagery does much more than just document a scene.”
— NATURE
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