More than three decades of work, capturing more than 40,000 images along with 10,000 audio recordings, this is the story of how one man’s epic obsession led to one of America’s greatest cultural treasures. Prizewinning author Timothy Egan tells us the riveting saga behind the most famous photographs in Native American history, and the driven, brilliant man who made them – Edward Curtis – in the new novel Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher.

The Navajo gave Edward Curtis the name “Shadow Catcher” because he was able to trap shadows and light in his box camera. And he did it magnificently. Here is a small representation of the beauty of his vision and imagery.

All photos courtesy of the Library of Congress.