In 1949 the Englishman George Rodger, one of the founding members of the Magnum photo agency, learned of the Nuba tribe while travelling in the Kordofan region of the Sudan. The Nubas were a people living just as their ancestors had lived - centuries before. Remarkably, he was granted permission by the Sudanese government not only to spend time with the tribe, but to be the first ever Westerner to photograph its rituals and way of life.

In 1955, Rodger's 'Nubas' photographs were published in France as Le Village de Noubas, a diary-like account in words and pictures of his journey through Kordofan. A limited number of copies were produced and the book became an instant classic. Phaidon celebrates Rodger's most famous work with the first ever English language version, in a facsimile edition of this famous book.