André Kertész (1894-1985), considered by many to be the progenitor of the photo essay, is one of the seminal figures of photojournalism. Many of his photographs such as "The Fork," Swimmer," and the "Park Bench" are among the most famous photographs ever taken. His book "On Reading," first published in 1971 quickly became a classic and is now regarded as one of Kertész's signature works.

Thirty-four years after it first publication, the book has been reissued with a selection of sixty-six  well-printed duotone photographs taken between 1915 and 1970, capturing people absorbed in the act of reading, all over the world. Three raggedly-dressed young boys sit huddled on a street corner, sharing a book. In one photograph, a cow gazes quizzically over a man's shoulder, apparently reading his newspaper. In others we see people reading on their rooftops, in bed, waiting in the wings to go on stage, in public parks and even in crowded streets.

Kertész's images celebrate the power and pleasure of this solitary activity and capture the deeply personal, yet universal moment of reading. This poetic book that has long been out of print is even more compelling today in a world where "print" increasingly resembles an endangered species.

On Reading, André Kertész with a new introduction by Robert Gurbo (W.W. Norton & Company)