In the 'heroic' era of photojournalism a single image could define the greatest human dramas and catastrophes. Today, digital manipulation has undermined photography's claim to veracity; video is available on everyone's mobile; and artists and amateurs have taken over the territory of intimate revelation. What authority does documentary photography retain as a record of events and source of insight into the historical realities of the world? Featuring newly commissioned photo-essays by 8 internationally renowned Magnum photographers on diverse subjects including child labour in Bangladesh, sex slavery from Ukraine to Western Europe, and South Korean former sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II. The plates will be accompanied by an introduction and commentaries on each section by the world's leading authority on contemporary slavery, Professor Kevin Bales, President of the US-based organisation Free the Slaves. Published to accompany the touring exhibition opening at the Southbank Centre, London, 26 September - 9 November 2008, and touring in 2009 to The Gallery, Peninsula Arts, University of Plymouth; University of Northumbria, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne; Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle; New Art Exchange, Nottingham; and Aberystwyuth Arts Centre.