02/25/2026
The Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas at Austin has published Light in Dark Places, the newest book from renowned photographer Matthew Naythons.
The book documents more than four decades of photography, reportage, and personal reflection on some of the most pivotal global and American events of the late twentieth century. Naythons donated his rich collection of photography and personal documents to the Briscoe Center. The collection and book represent his entire career, from his youthful photographs of JFK’s funeral and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, through freelance coverage of the Yom Kippur War, to landmark assignments that followed for TIME, Newsweek, and National Geographic. Naythons covered the fall of Saigon, departing on a Marine helicopter during the final evacuation; chronicled the Nicaraguan Revolution over multiple years, from the earliest Sandinista barricades in the cities to the revolutionaries’ triumphal entry into Managua; and reported on everyday life in America and around the world.
Beyond historic milestones, Naythons’ work consistently focuses on intimate, often overlooked moments of resilience, dignity, and compassion—images that reveal the presence of light even amid profound darkness. “Cameras can peer through darkness,” Naythons notes. “I’ve used mine to shed light.” Naythons' work is available for research at the Center.
