The New York Times Magazine dedicates entire issue to one story photographed by Paolo Pellegrin

The New York Times Magazine’s new issue is dedicated entirely to one story, photographed by Paolo Pellegrin. The issue features no advertising, courtesy of a grant from the Pulitzer Center, allowing the story to be presented in one continuous narrative.

The 40,000 word article, Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart by Scott Anderson, tells the story of Middle Eastern conflict from 1972 to present day, covering the invasion of Iraq, the rise of ISIS and the refugee crisis, through the eyes of six characters. It represents 18 months of reporting.

Ten portfolios by Magnum photographer Paolo Pellegrin accompany the text, taken from his documentation of 14 years of travelling through the region. The magazine’s cover image is a black and white shot of civilians fleeing Basra, silhouetted against a bare landscape.

“It is unprecedented for us to focus so much energy and attention on a single story, and to ask our readers to do the same,” New York Times Magazine editor in chief Jake Silverstein says in the article’s preface. “We would not do so were we not convinced that what follows is one of the most clear-eyed, powerful and human explanations of what has gone wrong in this region that you will ever read.”

The entire article and photographs, plus a VR film, are online here and the magazine is published on 14 August.