Uncovering Africa's riches.

Faces of Africa: Thirty Years of Photography by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher National Geographic September 2004 $35., ISBN 0-792-26830-X

Great photography often is revelatory, and such is tire case with Faces of Africa by photographers Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher. Stunningly beautiful--poetic even--the book, their eighth, is a compilation of 30 years worth of photographs of traditional African life and culture in more than 36 countries. During the course of their travels, frequently to remote and largely inaccessible areas, Beckwith and Fisher spent time with more than 150 tribes and cultures, including the Dogon in Mall, the Wodaabe in Niger, the Himba in Namibia, and the Masai in Kenya.

Whereas some may associate Africa with devastation and illness, it's clear right from the start of the book that the continent the photographers have spent the better part of their professional lives exploring is a rich place. Africans' wealth and inheritance emanates from the traditions, rituals and beliefs that honor the past and give structure and meaning to the present

Organized into 14 sections, beginning with "On Becoming" (birth), and ending with "Returning to the Ancestors" (death), Faces of Africa marks all of the passages and themes of African life in 300 majestic photographs. Interspersed are observations, some from the diaries they kept, that put the photographs in context and make it clear that Beckwith and Fisher gained familiarity and insight into the significance of all that they witnessed,

While they don't dwell on the hardships of African life, they do acknowledge it, noting that Africans see adversity as a test of character and the ability to rise above it as a source of pride. In the end, what Faces of Africa celebrates most is the indomitable spirit, resiliency and strength of the African people.

Jeanne Fox-Alston Is the vice president/diversity for the Newspaper Association of America.