SAIPAN, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS--Author and local photographers team up to create Saipan Now!, a photo book highlighting the beauty, culture and lifestyle of contemporary Saipan.
"That's what the tourists have been asking for," explains a clerk at Bestseller Bookstore on Saipan.
"Saipan has a very significant war history that many new residents and expats find fascinating now that they live here, but today's visitors are looking for something to take home that captures the Saipan they just experienced on their vacations," adds Walt F.J. Goodridge, a local author who escaped the rat race to live his dream life on the island. Since moving to Saipan in 2006, Goodridge has published several books about the island including Saipan Living, Doing Business on Saipan and was the "as told to" author of Chicken Feathers and Garlic Skin: Diary of a Chinese Garment Factory Girl on Saipan.
Saipan Now is the collaborative effort of a few photographers on island and offers a unique tribute to modern-day Saipan.