The Best Photos of 2005

Reflecting a year marked conspicuously by natural and human disasters, our selection of pictures made many readers think we had overlooked the year’s sunnier moments. But for others, the images underscored photography’s power to convey reality and renew perspective on life’s trials — and gifts

How often do those who have the good fortune to be comfortable, safe and secure take their situation for granted? Your collection, “The Best Photos of 2005,” serves as a humbling reminder of the fragility of the human condition [Dec. 19]. In juxtaposing our vulnerability to Mother Nature’s wrath with our suffering and violence at the hands of our fellow human beings, those images of death and destruction do more than etch a small piece of history into our minds; they carve out in our hearts a warning for the future.
Jeff Michaud
East Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.

What striking photos you picked! What an amazing year! I don’t remember being so affected by a series of magazine pictures since the tumultuous year of 1968. The image shown on the cover, of the New Orleans Garden District aflame, reminded me of a Currier & Ives lithograph. Despite my dislike for the war in Iraq, especially for all the dissembling by politicians that got us into it, I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of patriotic pride upon seeing the photo of an Iraqi woman voting.
Alexander Wells
Los Angeles

I cannot recall another year that brought such human misery. Whether caused by nature or man, the events depicted in your collection reminded me how truly awful 2005 was. May the human family look forward to some small measure of joy in 2006.
Robert D. Rauch
Bayside, New York, U.S.

Your photos of the year prove that 2005 was a devastating time for most of the world. My eye was caught by the picture of the London bus mangled by a bomb explosion. Ironically, the remains of a theater or movie advertisement on the side of the bus read, outright terror … bold and brilliant.
Emilio A. Schlabitz
Culver City, California, U.S.

As I looked at the photos over a cup of gourmet coffee, I thought I should never again complain about having to wait in line an extra minute or two or having to shovel the walkway after a snowstorm or gripe when a store is out of my favorite item. The next time I get upset over trivial, everyday things, I should step back and look at the big picture.
Jeffrey N. Achber
Laconia, New Hampshire, U.S.

Your editors enhanced the nation’s misery index in smashing style with the overwhelming number of pictures that were a stark visualization of ugliness, suffering and pain. Didn’t any of your photographers catch a pear tree blossoming? A wren scolding? A schoolboy playing?
John F. Waldron
Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S.

Checking Out Bush’s Numbers
The essay by Patricia Marx, “Check Out My New Numbers,” with totally made-up statistics about President Bush [Dec. 19], was a real dud. I have no problem with puzzling over the strange mind of W. or with Time‘s taking up a full page to develop a keen, witty perspective on some topical issue, but Marx’s piece was, at best, filler. It seemed like one of those papers I wrote on the school bus on the way to class despite having had two weeks to get it done.
Tom Wright
Burke, Virginia, U.S.

Ramallah’s Renaissance
Re Your article ” Palestine’s Oasis Of Artistic Freedom,” about the cultural revival in the West Bank city of Ramallah [Dec. 19]: Maybe the world will begin to understand that before the so-called Israeli occupation can end, the terrorist occupation of the Palestinian territories must cease. When Hamas, Islamic Jihad and al-Aqsa are stopped, then Palestinians will be able to live free. Israel is not preventing the Palestinians from having the freedom to express themselves through art and culture. The real oppressors are the ignorant terrorists who think calling themselves politicians is enough to excuse their acts against their own people.
Adam Segal
Tel Aviv

The Elusive Father Figure
Your piece on Joseph’s relationship with Jesus, “Father and Child,” was timely [Dec. 19]. Joseph plays a great role in the season of Christmas and in Jesus’ family. I am grateful for the article. In contemplating Joseph’s role, you quoted author Jerry Jenkins, who got it just right: “We can make him work for whatever we want him to work for, as long as we stay within the intent of Scripture.” Let us explore Joseph’s hidden virtues.
Ramon C. Santos Jr.
Pasig City, the Philippines

As a Christian who believes in the miraculous birth of Jesus, I have deep respect and affection for Joseph and Mary. Their lives were sacrificial and worthy of their great calling. Nevertheless, by focusing on speculations and possibilities about those two worthies, people lose sight of the fact that there is only one King of Kings, and that is Jesus Christ. I believe Joseph and Mary would be the first to cry, “Enough! Worship Jesus.”
Fran Wheeler
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.

The human penchant for telling stories unfettered by facts is remarkable. It is sad that many people accept those accounts as truth. I wish the promise of the Enlightenment would be fulfilled — that supernaturalism would be replaced by scientific investigation and reason.
John Moorman
Tifton, Georgia, U.S.

Battle of the Binge
I love the English. It’s sad that your article did not probe more deeply into why the English binge drink more than the French and the Italians [Dec. 19]. It may be a combination of circumstances both natural and man-made: the dismally damp weather of Britain, the lackluster cuisine and the Brits’ Victorian heritage.
Angelo Forlenza
San Jose, California, U.S.

You noted that the British government has extended the hours that pubs and bars can stay open. I am an American living in Britain. London is far more social than most U.S. cities, with people gathering after work in public houses. Pubs are places in which people have lunch and get together for afternoon business meetings and evening socializing. London is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, and it has been asinine for its pubs to shut at 11:00 p.m. Adults need to take responsibility for themselves; the change in the drinking laws is a necessary step toward shifting the burden of responsibility from the state to the community.
Danny Mermel
London

In other times, youths used to rebel against society and parents by smoking joints or taking drugs. Nowadays they prefer alcohol. I think the French are quite right: instead of forbidding alcohol consumption or punishing their children for imbibing, parents should try to show that alcohol can be healthful if consumed moderately. Parents should sit down with their children, drink some wine or whatever they prefer and show that alcohol is part of a dolce vita, like having a wonderful coffee in a café. It can be a kind of little luxury in everyday life. You can indulge yourself if you consume a drink correctly, enjoying every sip.
Julia Schimpf
Gochsheim, Germany

A Moment in Time
In his new film, Munich, director Steven Spielberg attempts to identify the terrorist act at the 1972 Olympics as the starting point for the cycle of violent events being played out today [Dec. 12]. But that cycle started in the 1940s, when Jews fleeing Europe occupied Palestine and drove its people into exile. Spielberg’s use of his great talent in making deep and meaningful cinematic material has been a delight to his fans, myself included. But when it comes to the Middle East, it is categorically biased to take a snapshot of events in 1972 and have that define a conflict.
Khaled Radwan
Cairo

Church in State
Your article “The Cardinal’s Virtues,” about Camillo Cardinal Ruini’s efforts to push Roman Catholic Church doctrine onto the Italian political agenda [Dec. 12], gave only a glimpse of a very unpleasant situation. I cannot help brooding over the unique condition of a sovereign state being host to another state on its soil. Italy is the host. The Vatican is the parasite. Not only does the Catholic Church obtain substantial financial aid and tax exemptions, but it also arrogates to itself the right to interfere with the policies of the Italian government. Every day the Pope or some Cardinal appears on the TV news, and politicians queue to kneel before the Pope, thereby humiliating the state. If only some latter-day Henry VIII would appear on the scene and expel the Vatican.
Alessandro Berrini
Milan

Exit Strategy
The average American is simply sick of the U.S.’s spending our money and our young people’s lives for political ideals [Dec. 5]. What would Americans do if Saddam Hussein or any other world leader believed that Bush was evil and decided to trump up charges to end his term? I’m a Vietnam veteran, and if that happened, I would start making some car bombs. What right do we have to police the world? Iraq is an Arab problem and should be solved by the Arab world. How about sending more politicians into combat?
Charles Delling
Waterford, Michigan, U.S.