The artificial construct of the "Day in the Life" series might irritate: for exactly 24 hours on one specific day , multitudes of international photographers follow the principle of serendipity and photograph one country to their heart's content. These very popular and quite wonderful books transcend their origins, however. Everyone will find their own Italy here: piercing shafts of sunlight in a dusky St. Peter's , a multigenerational family around a lusciously appointed table , students in the burnished library of Europe's oldest university in Bologna. There are some less familiar and perhaps more startling images, too: a trio of Milanese transvestites , a mosaic worker in leather and an Elvis-inspired haircut. Over and over again, though, the images that are most compelling have to do with food and light. Essential for continuing the series and a joy for all collections.
- GraceAnne A. DeCandido, New York