The entire text and all the images are available for free download from the publisher’s web site.
DeGruyter (2020): FULL TEXT – ALL PHOTOS – FREE PDFs
From the book jacket: The analysis of UNESCO’s audio-visual archives for their digitization has brought to light a forgotten album of 38 contact sheets and accompanying texts by the photographer of Magnum Photos, David “Chim” Seymour – a reportage made in 1950 for UNESCOs fight against illiiteracy in Italy’s southern region of Calabria. A number of his photographs appears in the March 1952 issue of UNESCO Courier in an article written by Carlo Levi, who gained worldwide fame with his novel Christ Stopped at Eboli (1945).
Review on Amazon by Ben Shneiderman, January 2020;
Remarkable photos, momentous discovery, vivid commentaries, well-crafted book
The rediscovery of David Seymour’s (Chim) 1950 photo album documenting UNESCO’s campaign against illiteracy launched an intense historical study, which led to this well-crafted book of photos and essays. Seymour’s photos record the intense poverty and high illiteracy in southern Italy, in ways that produced worldwide interest. This book tells the story, shows 30 full-page photos, presents all 38 contact sheets with captions, offers five Chim letters, shows contemporary media coverage, and then provides four new essays about this project.
Carole Naggar’s vivid commentary captures the story’s power: “His photographs are not merely anthropological: they have a sense of depth and radiate poetry. They are deeply personal and imbued with empathy and emotion. All in all, Chim created a lyrical portrait of a fragile society on the brink of change.” Karin Priem underlines the impact of the photos: “He acted as a sensitive and respectful observer … giving us wonderful pictures of people and everyday life and landscapes in Calabria, … education and learning activities, the role of women, the lack of infrastructure, and the peasants’ fight against povery.”
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/They-Did-Not-Stop-Eboli/dp/3110651637
UNESCO: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000372167.locale=en
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47933567-they-did-not-stop-at-eboli