This is the compact edition of the definitive volume on how iconic images by Magnum photographers are made. Getting to handle and see amazing work up close and personal as well as being given the opportunity to look through the viewfinder after he composed a shot. The entries are organised into seven chronological sections, starting with 1930–49 and ending with 2000–10. Presumably, when a photographer releases the shutter, it is because he believes the image worthwhile.

He took several pictures of me down, then he and a black guy took me to a nearby square … I have often thought about that photographer’s reflex and asked myself what I would have done. Despite other comments to the contrary, my copy arrived in perfect condition and it's only protection was a small amount of brown paper around the sides and top. Addressing key questions of photographic practice – was the final image a set-up, or a serendipitous encounter; did the photographer work diligently to extract the potential from a situation, or was the fabled ‘decisive moment’ at play? I also think that there is a clear distinction between photojournalism (which the majority of the examples in this book are) and personal images.I’ve found the process of scanning my negatives and checking the full roll over a lightbox has massively improved my photographic knowledge.

Each entry also contains a short note written by the photographer (or in case of photographers who are deceased, by an expert) about the photograph. The presentation and chosen scale allows for an experience close to viewing actual size contact sheets allowing the reader to view individual frames easily. To give you an example, one section, 1976, is a photo entitled "The Teds" by Chris Steele-Perkins showing a Teddy Boy about to comb his hair. I also remember that I didn’t want to intrude too much, but at the same time I felt this obligation to shoot, to document. And at the end, I add my own less organised musings, somewhat mimicking my more random, lucky-dip style of interacting with the book.For those worried about the new edition lacking some of the content of the first book - have no fear. I have been exploring this book regularly over the past month and find that the biographical details and illuminating notes on the individual photographers work featured to be consistently rewarding. Given that each photo is accompanied by a narrative about how it came about, in some cases I would have preferred to see other, and in my opinion better, photos by the same photographers. Presenting a remarkable selection of contact sheets and related material by 67 Magnum photographers, Magnum Contact Sheets lays bare the creative methods, strategies and editing processes behind some of the world’s most iconic images — was the final image a set-up, or a serendipitous encounter; did the photographer work to extract the potential from a situation, or was it the fabled ‘decisive moment’?

I've personally had no trouble with it (though it seemed generally stiff at first) - it does appear to open a little better with more-use, like most books. Mikhael Subotzky The entire Mallies family survive off Michelle's sex work and her father's disability grant. Its value there may yet prove even greater than its original workaday function; an enduringly accessible record of what and how photographers saw for nearly a century. High above Paris, Marc Riboud’s Eiffel Tower Painter (1953) dances with his paintbrush – hat tilted at a jaunty angle, a cigarette dangling from his lips. While these systems [digital] may be highly functional for the short-term trafficking of images, it remains to be seen how enduring they will be.You know your process from reviewing what you shoot, and then to see it from what other people have shot helps you understand the process is different for all of us, but, yet, the visual path of other photographers is readable.

By presenting the unpublished contact sheets behind the world's most iconic photos - including the D-Day landings, the Blitz, Malcolm X and Che Guevara - every compelling page gives us an intimate and exciting sense of walking alongside the photographer. The yellow tabs are photographers I want to go back and explore further and the blue tabs are quotes or thoughts that I wanted to share.

You'll flip the pages and read the details and you will "get it" and be happy you digested this brick of a book.