1989 is one of two books published this season by Contrasto that presents a montage of photographs from a specific year. The power of these photographs calls to mind the year's principal birthdays and highlights its key players. 1989 was an epoch-making year; among the extraordinary events that this book records are the fall of the BerlinWall, Tiananmen Square, the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia and the Exxon Valdez disaster; in the world of entertainment, the success of Madonna and George Michael; the release of the films Batman, Dead Poet's Society and When Harry Met Sally; and in sports, the triumph of Ruud Gullitt's and Van Basten's Milan football team.