Pieter Hugo book out in US.

As previously mentioned in my best books list, I wished I could look at one of the new Pieter Hugo books as one of my favorites. I had not see one until now. Prestel has just released The Hyena and Other Men in the US. Hugo's text accompanying this portfolio on his website addresses his relationship with the handlers and the reaction from viewing community, often of fascination and repulsion. Both Hugo's text on his website and that of journalist Adetokunbo Abiola in the book state that the animal rights is what initially concerns most viewers (morals aside, the handlers are licensed by the government in most regions). Both authors question such an economy that would force individuals to choose such a profession for money without suggesting that this was the motivation for the project. Hugo's use of subdued colors allow the viewer not to be overwhelmed, but to explore what Hugo has included in the frame, what he calls "the paradoxical relationship that the handlers have with their animals - sometimes doting and affectionate, sometimes brutal and cruel."