Deep South

Book Description

This evocative collection by internationally acclaimed photographer Sally Mann is a masterful reinvention of the art of landscape photography. Sally Mann remains among the most innovative, talked-about, and daring artists working with a camera today. DEEP SOUTH is a much anticipated collection of her exquisite, ethereal landscape photographs, taken in the years since she rose to international fame with her groundbreaking book Immediate Family. The photographs in DEEP SOUTH, many produced with the 19th-century collodion process and a variety of toning techniques, capture what Mann calls the radical light of the American South. Borrowing methods favored by early masters of landscape photography, Mann bends classic craftsmanship to serve the expressive needs of a heightened contemporary sensibility. Serendipitous technical imperfections, such as light leaks or scratches on negatives, echo the accidental, chaotic workings of time. From ghostly images of historic battlefields to painterly visions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and her native Virginia, Manns landscape photographs transport the viewer to another time and place.

Customer Reviews:

Exquisite and Haunting Landscape Photography.......2007-01-12

Landscape photography has never spoken to me until this book. Sally Mann has created gorgeously abstract and ethereal images of the south and has coupled it with very eloquent text. It has forever changed the way I feel about landscape photography. If straight up landscape photography isn't your thing, by all means give this book a chance.

moving photos .......2006-11-22

I am again deeply moved and awed by Sally Mann's work. Using older photo processes, combined with a deep seeing, these photos create a sense of place that I can feel as well as see. Ms. Mann also writes beautifully about these images and the people and place she is photographing. Though I shoot digitally, I am still inspired and in some ways try to emulate what I'm seeing here

I like the imperfections of these images, but if you want bright colors and tack sharp images, these my not be for you.

David.

seeing through the opaqueness.......2006-04-25

whether this is Mann's best work it certainly is the most thought-provoking, when you think of the Deep South, you think of a place much like Stravinsky's Russia,Eastern Europa,or parts of New York State intolerant,class-orineted;superstitious,but also one that savors progess and the science of the image, the sensual,the evocative,but a place also defeated,Appomattox, that really has takened long to live with, in fact defeat is covered everyday in the macho-isms that has been part of popular strains in music.
The opaqueness-es of Mann's reveals a fascinating abstraction,touched daguertypes, I don't know the correct technical affiliation,and that takes you someplace,it has rails to take you someplace,but more like an archeologist for you do merely sit and stare,and examine closely; where you need to decipher the layers of history,meanings seems to be held in abeyance for now, suspended the layers of reference, and this might be difficult for someone who has not really lived in these places, in Virginia,Antietam and Manassas, but these are works of art nonetheless you return, Mann does draw you into her work; to again and again and you cannot say that for other of post-modern forms, yes these are manipulations as if Mann had lived herself in the Civil War,as a recluse held up in a forgotten city, as Knoxville or as the viewer had lived then and these are remnants of this discovery.
Her photos are of natural landscapes, spots, where the horizon quickly becomes blurred, it is not the sense of things to have perspective here,merely one image, one-dimensional,like her subject matter is some respects; yet placed with layers of hue, mists,nebuli and filigrees of time,durations and their ruins,we see decapying Greek columns,made of wood, with chipped paint, white of course,now deteriorating like those of an ancient time in the USA, but we know the time of here where we live, lost civilizations, or Persopolis.
Curious how you really cannot find these works beautiful unless you know something about history USA for that matter,and then their beauty is arresting for a moment;Mann's voice here speaks within a distance,like the faces of her children in her previous work, a voice once or twice removed, here a voice that has no resonance; or if you have followed the forms and shapes of the human spirit, you come to understand these photos. Mann has created a work that can stand alone in a void, they refer to a time, well no one today knows from real experience,perhaps Toni Morrison's "Beloved" has some resonance here but only from a great distance between her prose in parametrical time exposed as you read. Mann has found a way between representation and abstraction two of the paradigms of the 20th Century,the late Kirk Varnedoe had wanted to devote a study to this very subject, why the two have persisted throughout a century, or barely less than one. You also not only come to understand the South, but most places where such similar occurences have takened place. The American Civil War seems closer in a way, like these places are icons, yet not icons that form a critique with them,asking questions, there are no special spiritual places, here only where men have died, slaughtered along with mosquitoes and peaceful trees, Magnolias gently alive to witness the human condition.

Transcendent Images.......2005-11-22

Mann is one of the very most gifted photographers of our time. In her landscape work, she finds the perfect marriage of technique and subject matter--marrying the processes of 19th-century photography and historic lenses to the subject matter of great sites of the South, the profound and mysterious ways in which site carries memory. In doing so she has created images that seem to derive from our own memories, carrying the ghostly presences of the past, embodying something we hold in our minds while adding something distinctly new as well. Mann's are transcendent, glorious photographs that should be examined and appreciated by anyone with a discerning eye for great work from our own time.

Magnificent and complex.......2005-10-29

This is certainly Mann's best work. The landscapes seem destilled from both southern history as well as intimate and collective dreamworlds - both beautiful and intimidating. Look for a truly transcendental image that depicts a wooded landscape scarred by some kind of disaster. The image merges with the scarred emulsion of the glass plate to form a scull like shape that seems to expand into a fragment from and infinite outer space. An ambiguous, singular and extremely rewarding work of art.

Average customer rating:

Aperture and Christenberry : A triumph.
Christenberry finds mystery in the ordinary
Shades of Walker Evans

William Christenberry
Andy Grundberg , Elizabeth Broun , Howard Fox , and William Christenberry
Manufacturer: Aperture
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1931788898
Release Date: 2006-06-01

Book Description

Since the early 1960s, William Christenberry has plumbed the regional identity of the American South through his work in Hale County, Alabama, where he was raised. Although he is most often associated with--and recognized as a pioneer in--American color photography, he also works in an unorthodox mix of media that includes sculpture, drawing, painting and found-object assemblage. This comprehensive survey of his work considers all those practices together, and in doing so gives readers access to the full scope and complexity of his vision. In every medium, Christenberry's theme is unified: the history, the story of place, is at the heart of his project. His poetic documentation of vernacular architecture, signage and landscape captures moments of quiet beauty in a sometimes mythic terrain that, with its worn iconography and buildings turned ramshackle, evokes the form and power of the passage of time. Since relocating to Washington, D.C., in 1968, Christenberry has dutifully returned to photograph the same locations annually--the green barn, the palmist building, the Bar-B-Q Inn--fulfilling a personal ritual and documenting the physical changes wrought by the passing of a year. More than half the photographs in this comprehensive survey are previously unpublished, including new and vintage images and a stunning selection of never-before-seen Kodachrome work. An essay by Walter Hopps, the artist's lifelong friend and the founding director of the Menil Collection, who passed away in 2005, will draw attention as well.

Customer Reviews:

Aperture and Christenberry : A triumph........2007-09-14

Aperture are publishing some of the best printed and produced photographic books available. William Christenberry is an artist who uses photographs as part of his work that includes paintings, sculptures, constructions and installations. I purchased this book because of the photographic work, but I enjoy the paintings and sculptures also. My appreciation of William Christenberry as an artist grows everytime I look at this exceptional monograph.This is one of the better books of its type currently available, and the essays that accompany the plates are excellent.

Christenberry finds mystery in the ordinary.......2007-01-04

After ordering this book based on the solitude of the cover image, I was not disspointed with the excellent content. Christenberry has an ability to capture the questioning and mystery of quiet images. He stops and watches for natural arrangements that probably go unnoticed by just about anyone. (Except those also blessed to see the intrique that can lie quietly waiting for imagination to find them.) This photographer has the great gift of finding the unknown quantity. He is skilled like a painter, to catch the light that can turn a shed into something that can stop you dead in your tracks in wonder.

Shades of Walker Evans.......2006-09-01

Christenberry photgraphs and crafts replicas of the landscapes in Hale County, AL. This is the same area in which Walker Evans photographed the people and places in the 1930's for the US Gov't and the classic "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men."
Christenberry's images are every bit as poingnant and timeless as Evans and like Walker he captures the old farms, buildings, signs with a great eye, circa 1966.
Chistenberry also consturcts replica models of the building and scenes he captured on film which are stunning. Any afectionado of Evans or photorealism should have this book.

Jeff Rose

Markets of Provence: A Culinary Tour of Southern France

Average customer rating:

Poor service -- very poor follow-up.
Wonderful! A tour of Provence even when you can't travel.
Perfect For Trips Or Just Some Dreaming...........
you can almost smell the lavender
Absolutely marvelous!

Markets of Provence: A Culinary Tour of Southern France
Ruthanne Long
Manufacturer: William Morrow Cookbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Most Beautiful Villages of Provence (Most Beautiful Villages)
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Michelin Green Guide: Provence (Michelin Green Guides)

ASIN: 0002250616

Book Description

Tour the markets of seven towns while exploring the role of the market in Provencal life, plus receive dozens of insider tips as the authors focus on food, present information on regional and seasonal specialties (with recipes in every chapter), wines, restaurants, and picnic spots.

Customer Reviews:

Poor service -- very poor follow-up........2006-08-28

As part of a $250.00 order, I ordered the Michelin France Provence map in English, and the Michelin 2006 Red Guide France: Hotels and Restaurants in English - both Items they sent me were written in French, which are of no value to me. I requested a shipping label to return the map and the book and asked they send me the English versions. The Amazon Outsourcing Desk in India refused both request. I requested an American Amazon Customer Service Manager contact me on this Issue. That has never happened. I am also being asked my Satisfaction on a 3d book - Markets Of Provence - which they never sent me. The remainder of my $250.00 order were the English Versions, as ordered. My Overall Satisfaction: Well below the 1 Star shown. Actual Satisfaction "F Minus" for all departments in Amazon and far less for their very poor Customer Service and lack of ethical follow-up for their mistake.

Wonderful! A tour of Provence even when you can't travel........2005-05-26

This book is a lovely guide for those who plan to travel to Provence as well as those who cannot. It is lovely - just lovely. Beautiful photographs, wonderful insights and descriptions off the beaten path. I high recommend this book.

Perfect For Trips Or Just Some Dreaming..................2000-07-30

If you or anyone you know plans a trip to Provence, make sure this book goes too! It is an excellent guide to the wonderful Provencal outdoor markets. If you want to experience Provence at its finest, this is one of the very best guide.

Full of gorgeous color photos, this is a beautiful as well as helpful book. After the trip, it is wonderful to go through the book again and savor all of the great memories. For the finest produce, cheese and other delights of the South, this book is a must have!

you can almost smell the lavender.......2000-05-17

This excellent book was in the kitchen of a house we rented a couple of years ago in Caromb, northeast of Avignon. Not only were the lists of daily markets invaluable, but the recipe for quails with spring onions on tapenade-covered croutons, for example, allowed us to make good use of local products. (With all those fabulous tapenades available at market, I did not make my own, as the recipe suggests.) Patricia Wells's introduction reminds you of her own invaluable guides to food throughout France, and her inspiration and influence are apparent throughout the book -- the level of knowledge, enthusiasm, and appreciation for the wonders of Provençal food is engaging and contagious. The illustrations remind you of places you've been away from too long and get the juices flowing for a return visit for markets you missed the last time.

Absolutely marvelous!.......1999-06-25

My cousin and I just returned from a 9-day trip to Southern France. Our highlights can all be found in this wonderful book. We met Henri Tomas and taste-tested and approved the Galette specialty of the house; taste-tested and brought back many bottles of wine from Chateau La Canorgue. We followed the suggestions and pretty much made the rounds to all of the sites. Our last evening in Provence, we sampled the goat cheese, bread from Henri Tomas' patisserie and the wine...we added our own Picheline olives and fresh market tomatoes to make our meal complete...what a last supper to have in France. Joy of Life, Indeed!!!!!! Thanks for making our trip a 10++++++.

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Southern Exposure
Sam Carson
Manufacturer: Bruno Gmunder Verlag Gmbh
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3861878569

Book Description

After "First Exposure", "White Boys" and "L.A. Boys", here comes the latest and greatest from Sam Carson. Carson continues in his unique style with this fourth book of photography, presenting his men at ease and with an extremely pleasant and seductive reserve. The photographer hates complicated staging, thus leaving enough room for quiet erotic moods to unfold. Sam Carson presents unknown faces and fresh, youthful bodies over this 80-page work.

Thomas Jefferson's Journey to the South of France

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Thomas Jefferson's Journey to the South of France
Roy Moore , Alma Moore , and Thomas Jefferson
Manufacturer: Stewart Tabori & Chang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Jefferson Abroad (Modern Library)
The Paris Years of Thomas Jefferson

ASIN: 1556708920

Book Description

In the early spring of 1787, Thomas Jefferson embarked on a three-month journey to the South of France visiting Arles, Aix-en-Provence, the Canal du Midi, and many other places. He kept extensive notes and wrote, as was usual for him, many letters every day.

Jefferson's journey is now recreated in this stunning new book by Roy and Alma Moore, who have taken the same trip more than a dozen times. Each time they photographed (without cars, people, or signs) the same images Jefferson viewed some 200 years ago. Complementing the full-color photographs are period engravings, portraits, maps, paintings, excerpts from Jefferson's notes, and dozens of letters he wrote along the route to his daughters, his friends in America and Paris, his protg, William Short, and many others.

Customer Reviews:

A difficult balancing act.......2007-06-26

In a world where photographs should stand by themselves and be judged as photographs, Shelby Lee Adams is forced to walk a dangerous wire. His photographs of economically disadvantaged Appalachian families could easily be seen as exploitative and, indeed, they have received much criticism along those lines: "Wealthy city slicker comes down to the hollar' to poke fun at the local folks." The only real down side to "Appalachian Lives" is that Adams has to spend so much time in text defending his photography, explaining to the reader that he came from that area, that he went to the same schools, that he knows these people, and that he's known them for years.

The bottom line is that Adams' photographs are beautifully executed. Is it a scientific sample of life in Kentucky? Surely it isn't, but ultimately I think the only real question is "Were the subjects of the images represented fairly." And I think they were. I don't question Adams' motivation, I'm inspired by his skills as a photographer to open a window for me to look through that without him, I would have forever been denied.

Beautiful Reality.......2007-06-15

I am somewhat confused by the people who bash Mr. Adams work, and those who suggest that he is exploiting poverty. The local Wal Mart magazine racks are packed full of airbrushed images of malnourished pop icons. Noone gets upset at that, and that isn't a reality in any sense of the word.
Mr. Adams has brought beauty from the everyday. He has shown us happiness is not purchased at a make up counter, or a tanning salon. He shows us true reality of living, and that simplicity is beauty.
For those who think he is showing the worst of Appalachia, I disagree... he is showing the common everyday life, and the effervescence of humanity that noone should be ashamed of.
The problem with most people is they don't have a warped sense of beauty. Mr. Adams captures the polor opposites of light and dark. The stark reality of death and the joy of life... even if that life makes some uncomfortable. To those living it, they know no difference, and make no apologies.

the movie.......2005-11-27

as a canadian..watching this show. threw mw off a little bit.I have seen it twice,and see nothing wrong with showing the rest of the world people and places they would never see for them selves.further more i believe that any one whom doesnt like the book/movie is very close minded,and should open them selves up a bit.I can say that if not for this show.. i would not have known that people like these ones featured in the show.. even still do excist.id recomend this show/movie to any one who looks at life and all in it..with an open heart body and soul.

Stunningly beautiful.......2005-08-29

I am a great fan of this book as it has inspired me to try to be come a better photographer. When you see his photos you see the real rough-hewn people without the masking of an airbrushed reality. It is clear that he has created meaningful relations with the subjects of this book and as a result they are willing to share who they are, and I for one see pride and strength. The rich textures and patina of life is so vividly captured by his images that I found myself constantly going back to this book as a reference to refine my goals for my own images. These photographs are real, intimate, and he is a rare chronographer of a deep woods Appalachia that still exists. If you are offended and don't want to see the truth maybe you should not purchase his books on photography, those more open minded will find it quite beautiful. I have been to similar places and this is an honest view of how it is.

baffled.......2005-01-13

I cannot be anything but baffled when I read some of these other reviews! Adam's is doing nothing to degrade or push anyone into a stereotype. He is a documentary photographer, obviously documenting a place in which he grew up. He isn't railroading these people. Have you read any of the texts that accompany his photographs? The photographs are stunning, the people real and dynamic. Fantastic book!

Wildflowers of the Southern Appalachians: How to Photograph and Identify Them

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Wildflower photos sets new standard for genre

Wildflowers of the Southern Appalachians: How to Photograph and Identify Them
Kevin Adams , and Martha Casstevens
Manufacturer: John F Blair Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Nature & Wildlife | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0895871432

Customer Reviews:

Wildflower photos sets new standard for genre.......1999-09-13

Adams and Casstevens combine top-notch botanical briefs for each of the featured species with superb photographs. The botanical data is sufficient for appropriate identification and interesting notes about the plants are plentiful. The authors are commended for recognizing the importance of the composition of the photographs. They are not only useful for identification purposes, they are each masterpieces of photographic art. Adams teaches how to create similar photographs. Clearly this book was not just thrown together, but was carefully crafted by geniuses.

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Living Butterflies of Southern Africa
Graham A. Henning , Stephen F. Henning , John G. Joannou , and Stephen E. Woodhall
Manufacturer: Umdaus Press,South Africa
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

California Rock, California Sound: The Music of Los Angeles and Southern California. Photographs by Henry Diltz (160P)

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California Rock, California Sound: The Music of Los Angeles and Southern California. Photographs by Henry Diltz (160P)
Anthony Fawcett
Manufacturer: Amer Showcase
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0891695079

Southern Californialand: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome

Average customer rating:

Feast for The Eyes..............& Heart....
Sorry, this book is a waste of money
"AND STILL THOSE VOICES ARE CALLING FROM FAR AWAY..."*
Southern Californialand: MId-century Culture in Kodachrome
Californian Kodachrome.

Southern Californialand: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome
Charles Phoenix
Manufacturer: Angel City Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Southern California in the '50s: Sun, Fun and Fantasy
Americana the Beautiful: Mid-century Culture in Kodachrome
Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture
God Bless Americana
Fabulous Las Vegas in the 50s: Glitz, Glamour & Games

ASIN: 1883318424

Customer Reviews:

Feast for The Eyes..............& Heart...........2006-11-10

As Someone Who has 'Lived' This Era, The Book Was Especially
Gratifing! Esp. The 'San Pedro' Pics (Where I Hail From) Everyday
People Capturing Everyday Situations....Makes The Book VERY
Spontaneous! A Winner!

Sorry, this book is a waste of money.......2006-01-24

You'd be better off buying a pack of postcards. Pictures are certainly NOT exuberant, lack good explanations, and are not relevant enough--I am a native Southern Californian and was bored and disappointed.

"AND STILL THOSE VOICES ARE CALLING FROM FAR AWAY..."*.......2006-01-03

[*Lyric from the song, 'HOTEL CALIFORNIA' by The Eagles.]

I acquired SOUTHERN CALIFORNIALAND by Charles Phoenix just over a week ago in a Christmas gift exchange game. The book is a true celebration of Southern California in its glorious, paradisiacal decades of 1940 through the 1970s. Charles Phoenix who oddly became obsessed with the old 35 mm Kodachrome slides taken by strangers in memorializing their family trips, gatherings, and everyday lives, shares about 150 of his favorites with us in this absolutely charming book. His love and enthusiasm for his subject (SoCal in its glory days) just oozes from every page. Like the author, I grew up in SoCalLand in the '60s & 70s, and so I share his fascination for the magic that it once held.

Enchanting, dreamy, nostalgic, and a tad melancholic (because the enchantment and the dream has been reduced to nostalgia) are words that best describe this picture book. But "surprising" is another word that fits, because I was surprised by the wealth of information to be found in the brief text that accompanies each photograph. Even I - who has traversed so many of these locations - learned some interesting bits of trivia. For example: Did you know that when Vice President Richard Nixon cut the ribbon and became the Disneyland Monorail's first official passenger, unbeknownst to that famous rider, it was the first time the unique transportation train completed a trip without catching fire? Phoenix describes Walt Disney as being very nervous. Yeah, I suppose he was! Did you know that the Luer "Quality Meat" Rocket (a forerunner to the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile) was discovered in a Prescott, Arizona junkyard in 1997, "weathered, but restorable"? (And here I always thought that I was the only good thing to wrench free from the evil clutches of Prescott! I made good my escape in early '94, also "weathered, but restorable.")

I loved perusing the lost details of places where I have traipsed: the famous Brown Derby restaurant and the Pan-Pacific Auditorium; White Front of Anaheim, one of the discount chain of stores fo' po' folks. (My Ma used to drag us to one as children in Orange County. I don't know how many the O.C. boasted of, but this might well be the same White Front.); the Pacific Ocean Park amusement park, which I guarded as a young Police Explorer during its demolition in the Winter of 1973-74; the L.A. International Airport Theme Building where I experienced my first Red Dog beer. The beer wasn't memorable, but the location was.

Phoenix includes insightful, and sometimes funny commentary. When he describes the cover photo (a white, 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible parked near the corner of Walnut & Allen in Pasadena, with palm trees, an orange grove, and snow-capped Mt. Baldy in the background) as "a perfect Southern California shot," he's right on the money! When he writes of the 1954 Mineral Baths photo in Desert Hot Springs, "Hundreds of thousands of acres of beautiful undisturbed desert scenery and someone had to build a wall around this place and paint in [desert] scenery," it's genuinely funny.

This book is a treasure trove for any pre-Hotel California SoCalLand lover. Where else are you going to find a photograph of a 1956 teenager with the perfect ducktail 'do waiting to test Disneyland's Autopia track? Or a photo of President Eisenhower blowing his nose in Palm Springs? Or a photo of Lee and Katie Kellogg eating meatloaf sandwiches in 1955 Alhambra? This book is a vibrant, eye-popping gem of pop culture which I urge you not to buy.

I'd rather you didn't purchase this fun Charles Phoenix book. Why? Because on page 144 we learn that SOUTHERN CALIFORNILAND was "Printed in China." Yes, this is the same China that embraces Communism, a failed economic/social system responsible for murdering approximately 100 million human beings worldwide, and torturing and starving many millions more. The same China that enforces its one-child family policy with forced abortions. The same China that got caught smuggling AK-47s into the U.S. to be sold to Los Angeles street gangs; threatened to nuke L.A. if the U.S. militarily defends Taiwan; kills its citizens who have the audacity to publicly request freedom; sells body parts of executed prisoners to medical facilities; enslaves political opponents & Christians for their faith, and puts them to work in forced labor camps, producing all imaginable types of goods, and printing books, all to be sold to Americans.

Everytime we purchase a Chinese-made product, we are feeding the human rights-abusing monster that has made no secret of its hatred for us - a monster that is increasing its military might at an astonishing rate and will someday overrun its neighbor, Taiwan, and declare war on the United States. Let's have a little foresight for once. Let's stop building our enemies. Let's boycott ALL Chinese products and sleep better at night. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIALAND is a nice book, but until it is being produced in a country that values human life, it's a book that we can LIVE WITHOUT! (Of course, if you're buying a used copy, this is not an issue.)

Southern Californialand: MId-century Culture in Kodachrome.......2005-08-05

I purchased this book for my husband's 50th birthday and it was a big hit!! He loved seeing many of the sights he grew up with in the San Gabriel Valley. We both grew up in So. Cal. in the 50's-70's and the photographs captured the "feel" of those times perfectly. Looking at them was like going back in a time-machine,just a fun blast into the past!

Californian Kodachrome........2004-08-28

This is the author's second bite of life in Southern California, his earlier book 'Southern California in the 50s' (ISBN 1883318491) was an exuberant looking collection of photos and graphics mixed in with the text. I thought it was rather let down by the less than rigorous image selection. 'Southern Californialand' is a much better offering which I think captures the feel of this fascinating part of the Nation.

For a start 'Southern Californialand' only uses photos and none of them are angled like the earlier book. The design is much more formal too, the photos are large, frequently one to a page or one to a spread, the very detailed captions and headings are not set in period typography either.

The 170 were mostly taken by amateurs but don't let that put you off, there are some great shots in these pages and Phoenix has wisely chosen a wide selection of places, for instance the Eastland Shopping Center, West Covina 1957, the Compton Drive-in 1977, Angel's Flight funicular railway 1956, kids enjoying an Easter party in Palm Springs 1953, Vine Street, Hollywood 1948, tract homes in Highland Park 1958, oil derricks at Signal Hill 1953 and the huge globe at Leisure World 1962.

As well as plenty of places and events there are many showing folks having fun in the fifties (why would an amateur take a photo of someone looking glum?) and some of these are sometimes the most interesting, a super photo on page sixty-eight shows four people having a meal, nothing clever about this at all photographically but it has a wealth of information about fashion, interior decor, furniture, utensils and the food on the table. Pages twenty and twenty-one show a husband taken a photo of his wife sitting on a bench at an intersection, again a real amateur shot (I wonder why this photo of someone taking a photo was taken?) but it is full of detail, commercial strip architecture, their clothing, ads on the seat, and the street furniture. So many of these photos have this kind of detail that you can pore over.

Because these are amateur photos there are a few duds but overall I thought this was a lovely book of photo nostalgia and examples of the pop architecture that commercialism in Southern California did so well. If you lived here in mid-century this is the book to get.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

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