Material World: A Global Family Portrait (Sierra Club Books Publication) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

It may seem trivial, but these are the questions that Peter Menzel and the creators of "Material World" have tried to answer. And the answers they found are more profound than you might think. 30 very different countries, and 16 excellent photographers, trying to show through images, statistics and interviews how the world's average families live. The differences are astonishing: the financially average Abdullah family in Kuwait is both literally and figuratively a world removed from the Cakonis in Albania.

In this book, created to celebrate the United Nations International Year Of The Family, sumptuous photographs, show each family with their material possessions spread around them outside their homes: while one family's material wealth seems to consist almost entirely of carpets, another's is made up of animals and cooking pots. One family has four cars, another a single and ragged looking donkey. More photographs show each family in the course of the average day, and coupled with data based on interviews, they answer questions such as: do the children go to school? Where does their food come from? What does their house look like? And most tellingly, what is their most treasured possession? More light hearted sections, which explore average televisions, toilets and meals across the world, show at once how alike and different we are.

The creators of "Material World" have sought, and achieved a fine balance. They contrast not only those countries which we know to be rich or poor, but also look at how other factors, such as war and technology, affect families. The information is implicit rather than explicit, conveyed only through the images and words of each family; while the photographers' impressions are expressed in small "photographer's notes" sections, their main function is simply to show us the real lives of their subjects. No judgements are passed, nor opinions given. The reader is left to examine the evidence for themselves.

"Material World" works on many levels. The quality of photography and the compilation of each section make it beautiful to look at - a smart and very PC coffee table book. The statistical information and photographs together provide a wealth of material for use in schools. Flipping backwards and forwards to explore the differences yourself is as much fun as "Where's Waldo", and the writing is so good that "Material World" is a great book to snuggle up with and read. I can only pick one fault with this book: the more trivial statistical data is not always consistent. For example, data on percentages of income spent on food is only available for some families, making comparison impossible. However, this is a small fault. "Material World" is a fantastic book, original, interesting and well put together. Highly recommended to anyone with even a slight interest in the subject.