The Humans of New York: a Beautiful Reminder that Everyone Has a Story

If you’re not familiar with the Facebook page, Humans of New York, by photographer Brandon Stanton, go check it out. I’ll wait. I might be waiting a while because the photographs (and often, even the comments) have so much life and emotion behind them, it’s hard not to get sucked in. That’s okay.

After following Humans of New York (HONY) on Facebook for a few months, I saw that the photographer was putting out a book with a similar setup—beautiful photographs with captions that sometimes included quotes from the subject in the picture.

I pre-ordered two of them (one’s a gift for a friend). It was a no-brainer. Everybody has a story, but we often forget it when we’re interacting with one another in day to day life. This book, Humans of New York (and the Facebook page), serves as a reminder of that, and a reminder that we can connect with each other, just for a minute-or maybe even for a lifelong friendship-in those fleeting moments if we just stop to really look at a person and show some interest.

The book met my expectations, but I have to admit I miss the comments from Facebook! Still, I think it’s a gorgeous gift for someone who loves books, photography, or just learning about people in general-or even just a cool coffee table book for yourself.

The book is surprisingly heavy, and it has 400 full-color photos. You can see through its vellum jacket to hints of the images on the hardback book itself. Each page gives one or several glimpses into the lives of each featured human of New York (and it covers several areas within New York City).

Photo credit: Amazon.com