By Steve McCurry

In "Portraits" I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person's face. When I find the right person or subject, I may come back once or twice, or half a dozen times, always waiting for that right moment. Unlike the writer, once I pack my bags, there is no chance for another draft -- either I have the shot or I don't. This is what drives and haunts the professional photographer, the gnawing sense that "this is it."

From an outpouring of pictures over 20 years, these are the faces I cannot forget. Some stare out of places I don't want to remember. All of them represent chance connections in a world of resilience.

--from the introduction to "Portraits"