Our Top Ten Photo Books of 2011

It was not unlike a political caucus. The candidates — in this case, nearly 100 photography books published this year — took over every inch of available counter space in the photo department, where they were carefully scrutinized by a group of opinionated voters, each of whom was given just 10 Post-it notes as ballots. Impassioned speeches were made. Votes were cast: a few books grew polychromatic bouquets of Post-its — each voter had his or her own individual color — while others sprouted single lonely Post-its. Votes were changed: worthy candidates, including the likes of Diana Vreeland and Gerhard Richter, were abandoned. Finally, after weeks, a group of winners emerged. Like all campaigns, it was brutal. Here are the 10 victors, in no particular order.