5 comments about Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays.

1. This book has a number of positives: beautiful pictures and some interesting presentations of scientific studies.
   
   It has a major flaw: the author has an anti-science bias. Despite relying on science for just about every detail of the book, she constantly makes snide remarks about how limited it is and doesn't really know things.
   
   If science is that stupid, why is she using it for most of the content of her book?
   
   It also serves as a red flag. While much of the presentation of material is accurate, the author often twists details to fit her notions about science, gender(when a girl bird does something, it shows intelligence; when a boy bird does the same or nearly the same thing it is instinct or aggression), and romanticized nature (nature tends to be peaceful save for humans). This leaves the reader with the burden of sorting fact from the author's wishful thinking.



2. When I got this book last week, I was initially somewhat disappointed. I had expected something more humorous or absurd. I mean, a "coffee table book" about CROWS?! Sounds like the ultimate dada, LOL! When I looked through the book, I also instantly saw a major whooper: the author (or perhaps her editor - the error is in the photo captions) claim that Hooded Crows are black and...wait for it...WHITE.
   
   WHAT?????
   
   I live in Sweden, where there are Hooded Crows everywhere, and I can assure you that they are, of course, black and grey. And yes, you can check a standard, scientific reference work at your university library, unless you don't believe me. :-D
   
   Be that as it may, when I actually started reading the book, I realized that the rest of it isn't that bad, after all. As another reviewer pointed out: it depends on what exactly you are looking for. It's not a field guide to crows and their allies, nor is it a original scientific study. Rather, "Bird Brains" is a popularized introduction to the subject of crows and their intelligence, intended for the general reader. The author, Candance Savage, is a Canadian author and nature-lover (and yes, crow-lover!). The book is lavishly illustrated with photos of crows, ravens, jays, jackdaws and magpies. All photos are in color. Some are quite dramatic, for instance a photo of a crow challenging a Bald Eagle, and another showing magpies sitting on bisons, not to mention a photo of two magpies chasing a crow! (As you might have guessed, I'm a magpie-lover myself.) The text is pretty basic, but it's well-written and interesting. I think the book could be an excellent gift to both adults and teenagers, including people with only a passing interest in birds.
   
   The main point of "Bird Brains" is that crows, ravens and other corvids are surprisingly intelligent creatures. In laboratory tests, ravens have showed abilities on the level of chimpanzees, and above the level of monkeys. One raven could count to six, another learned how to fill a small cup with water and moisturize his food, simply by observing a laboratory assistant. The raven wasn't specifically trained to perform this task - he learned it anyway. Both ravens and crows can mimick human speech, just like parrots or mynabirds, and the most humorous situation in the book involves a crow that could say "Three, two, one" and then mimick the sound of an explosion. Apparently, the crow had spent some quality time near a building site.
   
   The most spooky situation mentioned in the book involved a raven that learned to say "Come" and somehow taught another raven to join him every time he uttered the command! The ravens lived in a laboratory, and were mimicking their trainer. Flexible instincts? Real intelligence? A little bit of both? A short work like this cannot answer the question, just pose it. One thing is certain: if a corvid would start talking to me outside the local shopping mould, I would start running!
   
   On a more sober note, "Bird Brains" also mentions situations where corvids don't act very intelligently, where they are indeed driven by pure instinct. For instance, crows and their relatives don't recognize their own chicks, but automatically feeds whatever happens to be in the nest (something not mentioned in the book is that this dumbness is taken advantage of by cuckoos - at least one species of cuckoo specializes in parasitizing corvids). Only when the chicks leave the nest do their parents start recognizing them, even in large flocks. Savage also mentions several instances of rank stupidity among the jackdaws studied by the famous Konrad Lorenz. Apparently, the jackdaws attacked poor Lorenz every time he held up a black object, thinking the object was a jackdaw in need of assistance!
   
   Still, corvids (the quaint scientific term for crowbirds) are remarkably intelligent, and this book may wet your appetite for learning more about the intelligence of birds. Perhaps I'll order Irene Pepperberg's apparently more technical "The Alex Studies" next. It's about that other fascinating group of intelligent birds: parrots.
   
   Four stars! (Yepp, I had to delete one star because of that Hooded Crow thing, no offense.)



3. You will never look at these birds the same again - fansinating.



4. Though it's not as long as I would like, the pictures are fabulous and the information is great. It's a must-read for anybody who likes corvids.



5. A good part of my childhood was spent on an upstate New York farm. We had lots of corn and many other vegetables; many birds - and one extra-special crow. He quickly adopted us and often spoke to my uncle and me by name in my aunt's voice and exact intonations. The vegetable farm, barn, shop-garage, and chicken coop were at the top of a fairly steep hill and the house was at the bottom. Aunt Rose ruled the household; the crow ruled the farm area. Sometimes he would deliver small things up or down the hill. My uncle and I never tired of his antics and wisdom. We were happy to do the work orchestrated by the crow and I was ready for J. Allen Boone's work years in advance.
   
   Bird Brains may not be the most scientific or even accurate book, but I bring it out any time I find a potentially interested visitor. Even now where I live in a fairly rural area of New York City - there are crows among my friends. They live in close quarters with several Cardinal families, near blue jays, and many smaller birds in a huge oak tree and smaller peripheral trees. Crows are gregarious and adjustable. They would no doubt be pleased with this book and see no reason to find fault.
   
   If the book were about humans, would be as picky as we are about crows being correctly represented? Do we expect all humans to be alike? Equally smart with similar talents?

2 comments about Animals in Motion.

1. The images of the dray horses pulling heavy loads is worth the price of admission for me. This is a great reference for artists who want to create realistic images of animals in motion. It's a fabulous settler of bar room bets. It's a source of animated gifs for web designers (I have the running cat image that's been going around.)

   For people who want to understand animals in general, this is a good reference. I never thought that all the ways an animal can go from point A to point B each had a name to it and that a quadruped can have so many ways to move.

   Its an interesting historical piece, too. People do not see horses doing useful work any more and it's a reminder that we all had a life before internal combustion. Its an interesting chapter in the history of photography and the history of art, too. (Painting was never the same after people figured out how animals really moved.)




2. Muybridges momumental work photographing animals in all different gates and poses and tests of ability. Using sometimes up to 100 cameras for a single set up to gain what is now the definitive guide for animators in understanding the motion of animals. It all started with a $25,000 bet: Eadweard Muybridge and a friend argued whether all four of the horses hooves leave the ground completely at any point during a gallop. Being funded for the project, Muybridge proved to be the winner in saying that horses do in fact leave the ground for a momentary second in their strides. The book begins with an anlaysis of locomotion, going over the walk, the amble, the trot, the rack (or pace), the canter, the transverse-gallop, the rotary-gallop, and the richochet, along with the leap and buck and kick. There are roughly 4,000 photos in this collection which claims to be the largest collection of animals in motion. It features not only horses but lions, deers, oxen, elephants, birds and kangaroos. From this development, Muybridge not only discovered that horses gallop with no feet touching the ground, but his discovery led to motion pictures, in which his photos is a very crude version of cinema today. Later he designed a viewer called a Zoogyroscope (or Zoopraxiscope) which, similar to a Zoetrope, was a carousel with slits which you look through while it is spinning to give the illusion of motion (or persistence of vision). Today these pictures are looked at for a couple of reasons, mostly as nastolgia for one to have wonder and excitement of this simple cinema, but it also is a great reference for modern animators. In fact, for those looking at animation, I can tell you that if you ask for an application to Walt Disney Animation Studios, they will give you their requirements and texts, this will be on the list. Highly reccomended for the artist, graphic, fine arts or animation or anything else you can dream of.

1 comments about Great Escapes Around the World.

1. What a gorgeous book - fantastic, delicious photography, 400 pages plus, text in English, French & German (as with all Taschen books), and vital information about each resort such as current prices, types of food served, websites, e-mail addresses & even book suggestions for each destination. The only shortcoming is that Australia is not included AT ALL and this country boasts some incredible escapes, especially among the Great Barrier Reef islands off the coast of Queensland. If a title includes "Around the World" and continents such as Africa, North & South America are included as well as Europe and parts of Asia, it seems to me that Australia could have been included too and only added a few extra pages to this lovely tome. However, I still give it 5 stars and can highly recommend it as a gift for anyone who loves hotels & traveling or even as a present for yourself!

5 comments about Diane Arbus: A Biography.

1. Not only could I not put this book down, it made me miss Diane Arbus terribly once I had finished it and so sad that she must have despaired at the end. Not an easy feat for a book, so I would highly recommend it to anyone who is moved/intrigued/awed/interested by her photography.



2. I can't say I really liked this book. In the early stages of the biography I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Diane's childhood, but the author does too much fawning over Diane and repeatedly talks about how gifted she was. Yes, I think we all appreciate that fact, now let's move on and get to the core of who she was. ...Except I don't necessarily feel that this book ever truly did that. There were some interesting insights, but I constantly felt far too removed from the real Diane. Each piece of information I felt I could really sink my teeth into was buried between pages and pages of repetitive or useless (to me, anyway) information.
   
   Throughout the book I felt Bosworth also spent too much time detailing a large number of Diane's friends and acquaintances. Family, close friends and mentors are certainly key in any biography, but the deeper I got into the book, the more I found myself skimming over chunks of text, searching for what (if much of anything) these relationships MEANT to her life rather than tedious details about a person she only met a couple of times.
   
   I was also disappointed in the lack of reflection on Arbus's death at the end of the book. I had expected many more thoughts on that, or maybe even a bit of discussion on her legacy, and how her work is now received. Instead, the book ends with her death.
   
   In short: If you want to know more about Arbus, read the book, but be prepared to skim.



3. I found this book on my shelf. Someone may have recommended it to me but I forgot who. I thought, "Oh, another book about some unknown person who is probably a very boring person and this book will be boring, I'm sure." Several times during the hearing (on tape) of this book I thought, "Well, that's enough about this Diane Arbus person." But, the book is so well written and finally I descerned that the subject of the book, Diane Arbus, is so "worth reading" that I did finish the book. And, it was "worth the time". I mean, here's this "little unknown lady" making "immortal" all these "unknown" people who now are "known" and "will be known forever" thanks to her! I wish I had met Diane Arbus and had MY picture taken by her! After you read this perhaps order "Monograph" or "Magazine Photos" to see "what the fuss is all about". You won't be disappointed! Recommended! boland7214@aol



4. After watching the movie "Fur" which is a fictionalized biography, I wanted to know more about this artist. The book is fascinating, but sometimes dreary as the author relates the severe depression that pervades many of the artists who were associated with Diane Arbus, as well as Diane herself. Full of famous names and families of $$ in the NY and New England.



5. Diane Arbus as a photographer is linked to Walker Evans and Robert Frank. She believed a photograph is a secret about a secret. David Nemerov, her father, was a creative spirit, an enterprising retailer. He expanded the family-owned Russek fur business. He knew fashion was theater, ephemeral. Both Diane and her brother Howard were gifted. A friend felt that Diane and others grew up in an emotional desert of shame, not affirmation, as they received training to become accomplished in the various cultured disciplines. Diane came to believe her circumstances were irrational. She complained that throughout her upbringing of Ethical Culture schools and summer camps she had never felt adversity. Diane met and fell in love with Allan Arbus when she was fourteen. At Fieldston School in Elbert Lenrow's Great Books class, Diane wrote essays on Flaubert and Sophocles, preoccupied with ambiguity, with contradictions. Diane told her friends she was not going to apply to college, she was going to marry Allan Arbus. Her talent set her apart from others; it frightened her.
   
   During World War II Howard joined the Canadian Air Force and Allan the Army Signal Corps. When Allan was sent to photography school at Fort Monmouth, Diane moved to Red Bank. Daughter Doon was born in 1945. For a time Diane studied with Berenice Abbott. Allan and Diane worked closely together as a husband and wife fashion photography team. They were creative and perfectionists. In 1951 Allan, Diane, and Doon went to Europe. The sights were a revelation to Diane. All of her experiences were sensory. Another child, Amy, was born in 1954. Allan and Diane were successful, they were 'comers', but they hated the fast-paced trendy world of commercial photography. Howard Nemerov felt the couple was living an unreal but glittering life. NYC was a mecca for photographers. Diane's younger sister Renee was a sculptor. Her husband was a magazine writer. All of the Nemerovs had depressive illnesses, but Diane's were deeper and longer-lasting.
   
   It was felt fashion photography, the artifice and the monotony, contributed to Diane's depression, and so she stopped. Allan continued the business. Diane took a course at the New School with Lisette Model. Under Model she began documenting fearsome persons and places. She went to Coney Island. Diane drifted into downtown Bohemia. She developed a friendship with many artists including Mary Frank. Allan and Diane moved their studio to Washington Place. The couple became estranged. Diane and the two girls moved to Charles Street. Silence, cunning, and exile were emblematic of Diane's work according to Emile de Antonio, using a Joycean formulation. During the summer of 1959 Diane photographed circuses. At sideshows she felt shame and awe.
   
   Diane acquired a mentor, Marvin Israel, who believed she was an original talent who needed to be pushed. Her snap-shot style and subject matter were perfect for ESQUIRE. On assignment, photography for Diane became contemporary anthropology. When Marvin Israel went to HARPER'S BAZAAR, Diane had another outlet for her work. Walker Evans was impressed with Diane's work. Diane was awarded a Guggenheim to explore American rites and customs. When Howard published JOURNAL OF THE FICTIVE LIFE, Diane realized that she and Howard had the same family memories and the same lexicon.
   
   In the mid sixties Diane seemed to be at every spectacle, every parade in NYC. She taught at Parsons in 1965. Her students said she was a terrific teacher. Her photographs appeared in the 'New Documents' show at the Museum of Modern Art, 1967. Later her use of a square format with direct flash was copied widely. Friends tried to tell her not to take the neagative comments to heart, that all original work was irritating at first, (Gertrude Stein). Diane revered the photography of August Sander, Weegee, and Lewis Hine. In 1969 Allan and Diane were divorced. Their studio was closed. Allan moved to Hollywood. In 1970 Diane moved to Westbeth. She taught a photography class at Westbeth to raise money to purchase a Pentax camera. In the end Diane felt her work was being noticed for the wrong reasons. Friends ignored Diane's allusions to suicide.
   
   Patricia Bosworth has done a smashingly successful job of capturing the essence of the life and work of this photography pioneer. Readers of the book feel compelled to follow-up every name and every work mentioned.

5 comments about Stuff on My Cat: The Book.

1. This is the funniest cat photo book since Why Paint Cats, which fooled a lot of people into thinking the images were real "cat paintings." But here the photos actually are real. Considering how finicky cats can be, it's amazing so many of them would put up with having so much odd junk piled on them, and then being patient enough so that you could take their picture. If I hadn't seen the book I might not have believed it myself. With so much odd stuff piled on them, the images become sort of live kitty collages. :-) For someone who is both a cat fancier and amateur photographer there is probably no more entertaining book than this.



2. 
   My poor cats have no idea what they have coming the next time I'm drunk off my butt on Jack Daniels' popsicles!



3. Sometimes it is great to have something fun to open at Christmas. This year I gave this book to my new son-in-law, and it was quickly passed around the family. My daughter says that they have it out at their home to share with their guests. Hey, I'm allergic to cats, and I even like it!



4. If you have the Internet none of the pictures are that great. Many of the pictures are online or have been done better since. The paperback is too small to enjoy the collection pages (they display 20 or so pictures on one page). You can get this for someone that doesn't have the Internet, but the paperback isn't good enough so you would need to find a hardback; but I couldn't see paying the price.



5. I picked up this book in a bookstore and couldn't put it down. It was so good, I read it cover to cover at the bookstore, but I didn't buy it (because many book readers are perverse and cheapskates about buying "non-literary books"). Months later, I still think about it and I'm laughing. So I'm finally caving in and parting with my money to get a copy. If anything, it is worth ten bucks for the idea. But it took me months to realize it. Yes, it is that good. (To cat owners especially).

5 comments about Jonas Bendiksen: Satellites.

1. I bought satellites on a whim, as I had seen some of Jonas Bendiksen's work and been impressed. After viewing this book time and time again, he is now one of my favourite photographers. The use of colour and the interesting compositions are awesome. Very highly recommended.



2. As the title for this review states, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The quality of photography is outstanding and the black border presentation is quite effective. I also found the commentary illuminating, albeit a bit on the short side. But I must say that the subject matter is just fascinating. I have always been fascinated by the USSR/former USSR and Bendiksen's photographs do an outstanding job of conveying the quality of life that exists in those countries. That region has undergone some huge and traumatic changes in a very short period of time and this book captures the raw essence of those changes.



3. This book gives a very illustrated insight into the fringe of the former USSR. Extremely interesting to read and the photographs are amazing, very atmospheric.
   The images of the crash zone for the Russian space program are my favorite, they're like weird movie-sets.
   
   Michiel



4. I've never written an Amazon review, but after finding this book, I want to say how much I loved it! Jonas Bendiksen takes a remarkable concept: the former Soviet Republics as "orbiting satellites held together by the gravity of Moscow" and through his photographs exposes the complexities of obscure regions in which he spent years traveling. It is beautifully documented with a lyrical eye. It is also a book that deserves many visits because the images evoke layers of emotions. The photographer is obviously passionate about revealing a collective truth that lies among the ruins of the former Soviet Union.



5. Everithing makes you think you'll find a lot of photographs of satellites inside this book: the title, the cover and the description... but there are only 3 nice photos at all.

2 comments about Libraries.

1. A picture is worth a thousand words! This book says so much and yet there are only a handful of words on each page identifying the library in the photo. As I was "reading" through this book, I realized that I have been in many of the cities or countries where these libraries are located. I missed some beautiful sites. For anyone who has an interest in libraries, this is a must "read." I will be giving this to my son, who is an architect. His specialty is libraries.



2. 137 color plates distinguish Candida Hofer Libraries, beautifully capturing seats of knowledge around the world from the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York to the Bibliotheque nationale de France in Paris, the Villa Medici in Rome and others. Aside from a brief introduction, no essays intersperse the eye-catching plates, each of which takes up a whole page with a blank page opposite in a two-page spread. The snapshot images speak for themselves in this captivating compilation highly recommended for bibliophile's coffee tables and photography shelves.

1 comments about Curse Of The Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta.

1. I just returned from working in Port Harcourt for several months. This is a very graphic book from people who were able to penetrate the heart of the Niger Delta with pictures that very few people would otherwise be able to see.

5 comments about Magic Lantern Guides: Nikon AF Speedlight Flash System: Master the Creative Lighting System! (A Lark Photography Book).

1. I like this book. Unlike most of the book in this series that mostly written for people who lost a manual this one goes far beyond manufactures manual. Even if you a not a Nikon flash users it contains some information that could be interested for anyone in flash photography.



2. I have been looking for help with the Speedlight system for over a year - since first purchasing my SB-800. There only ones I found were out-of-print and obviously too outdated to matter anyway! If you think figuring out how to access all the power of one model is difficult, just imagine trying to cover all the models Nikon has produced since it introduced TTL. Add to that the fact that Nikon bodies change the available features. (The current digital bodies like D200 are covered as well). A daunting prospect for any author. So the good news is that I found the book very helpful and it clears up a lot of my confusion. The bad news is that you must sort thru a lot of info about Speedlight models and film bodies that you are unlikely to own.



3. This book was WAY over my head. It was a struggle to understand and I did not finish but about half of it. If you are not an advanced lighting technician you should look for a more simple SB-800 guide. I wish I had known this before I purchased it. Nikon has a CD that I wish I had purchased instead. This book was too technical for me.



4. Here's a book aimed at Nikon camera owners using the speedlights that make up the Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS). Perhaps the most innovative function of this system is the ability to exercise a new degree of control in the use of multiple lights.
   
   The book starts out providing some basic flash concepts and explaining Nikon's nomenclature (which is often confusing because of the similarity of terms over the years) for its different flash modes. The author follows with a discussion of flash techniques, including direct flash, bounce flash, and repeating flash. The most practical chapters tell you how to use a single speedlight to take pictures, and how to use multiple speedlights. Finally, there are descriptions of both the early digital speedlights, i.e., the SB 28DX and the SB-80DX and then the components of the CLS. There is an addendum on the D80 which has a built-in speedlight that works with the CLS, and which probably was necessitated by Nikon bringing that camera to market as the book was going to press.
   
   The book is aimed purely at the technical side of using these speedlights and does not touch on the artistic use of the lights. This book probably was in response to the difficulty that some people had in understanding the manuals that come with Nikon products, and integrating the manuals from several different products. But this effort at integration creates its own brand of confusion. The author tries to tell you how to use the products with both film and digital cameras, but since the automatic features of the CLS have to be handled differently for film and digital cameras, the instructions are somewhat confusing. I suggest you go through the book with a magic marker and highlight the sections applicable to your type of camera (and if you shoot both film and digital, you'd better use both a yellow and a blue marker!)
   
   Moreover, don't think you can skip over any of the material, because important information may just have a passing reference in an unusual place. It took me several readings to understand that I could not use my SB-28DX with a digital camera for multiple speedlight use. (That's not altogether true - it's possible to shoot in manual mode, but if you are going to do that, you lose all the advantages of modern speedlights. You're better off junking your old SB-28DX and getting a new CLS speedlight).
   
   There are several pictures included in the book but they are of a rather pedestrian nature and add nothing to one's understanding of Nikon speedlights. Additionally, except for the cover there is no color printing in the book. Finally, for a system that has been on the market for a couple of years, this book looks like it was rushed to market with many typographical errors.
   
   The Nikon CLS system offers unprecedented opportunities for photographers to use flash for better pictures. However, if you are looking for ideas on increasing your creativity, look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you are still having a problem with the technical side of your speedlight, like how to set your SB-800 to control the lighting balance of a second flash, this book will prove useful to you.



5. I have Simon Stafford's "The new Nikon compendium" and use it all the time as reference. I purchased the current book before purchasing a Nikon R1 flash kit. While Mr. Stafford mentions the compatibility problems between various camera bodies and this kit, no mention is made (in the book) of the fact that you CANNOT use the R1-kit, or the SB-R200 flash system, with a stack of Nikon LENSES - they are incompatible - and serious damage may result, esp when using AF. Nikon says "the weight of this Speedlight when attached to the front of the lens will cause excess strain on the barrel and helicoid, affecting lens performance". Whilst thankfully I have not damaged my lens (found the fine print in the manual before using the kit), I would have liked Mr. Stafford to have done his research, and I would have liked to have been warned! I have spent a lot of money on the R1-kit after reading this book. Not happy.
   
   Then I tried to refer to the book on how to use the Nikon D200 camera in commander mode with the new Nikon CLS speedligths. And while I could find the info on how to set up the SU-800 controller, I just could not find any info on how to set up the camera itself to act as a commander, when not using the SU-800 commander. My camera does not need the SU-800 commander, so I don't own one. So I ended up refering back to the Nikon camera manual to find out which menu item to set and how. Hmmm. Shouldn't this info be in the book? Easily accessible and indexed?
   
   Anyone want to buy a slightly used book about the Nikon AF Flash system?

4 comments about The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978.

1. There has been very little written on the snapshot, particulary as it relates to the development of photovision. Sara Greenough has put together an excellent exhibit on the subject. This catalogue only goes into the 1970s. Now she has to carry the snapshot into the digital world.



2. 
   Sir John F. Herschel gets credit for coining the word "snapshot" in 1860; "The possibility of taking a photograph, as it were by a snap-shot -- of securing a picture in a tenth of a second of time." (He also coined "photography" itself, and was the first to apply "negative" and "positives" to photography.) Given his wide ranging interests, I'm sure he would have loved this book as much as I do.
   
   The editors divide 1888 to 1978 into four periods. The first is discussed in Diane Waggoner's essay, "Photographic Amusements." Eastman Kodak was dominant with the Brownie: "You push the button, we do the rest (or you can do it yourself)."
   
   Sarah Kennel covers 1920-1939 in "Quick, Casual Modern." Their PR folks peppered the roads with "Picture Ahead! Kodak as you go!" Eastman Kodak also tied the permanence of photos to family values: "Kodak began to stress use of the camera to counter the truancy of memory, particularly with regard to family stability."
   
   Sarah Greenough's covers 1940-1959 with "Fun Under the Shade of the Mushroom Cloud." Kodak introduced Kodachrome in 1936 and Kodacolor in 1942. Snapshots were tied to social life. "Life" taught Americans pictorial journalism. Snapping pictures was "modern".
   
   Matthew Witkovsky ends with "When the Earth Was Square." "It is the period when daily life, turned by a nation of consumers into an unending succession of narcissistic photo ops, becomes fodder for media spectacle, creating the lottery-like promise of instant but evanescent celebrity for everyone. ... These are the years when nothing is sacred yet everything is ritualized; when no one and everyone is special, and all things are made potentially interesting in pictures; and when amnesia, which thrives on prosperity, takes, hold, leaving memory to scatter and fade in billions of little prints."
   
   The history is grand and enlightening, of course, but for me the images are key. The book is beautifully printed and bound; there is plenty of white space around each shot. You are free to flip through quickly, or stop and puzzle for lost minutes over a single image.
   
   I have three suggestions for anyone interested in photography. First, read John Updike's wonderful review of this book free online on "The New Yorker" website.
   
   Second, consider the words of Robert Jackson who put this collection together: as Updike writes: "his afterword to the catalogue manages to cast a pall of reasonableness over his curious passion. He coins the phrase 'a visual trophy' for a medium that 'seeks to preserve an idealized and individualized moment in time.' Attempting to explain the collector's motives, he claims, 'It is the anonymous snapshot's immediacy, inherent honesty, and unstudied freedom from external influence that are the draw. . . . The personal can therefore become impersonal.' Ah, but, then again, 'a collector can have a subjective interest in a snapshot's narrative content as a surrogate for life experiences. Thus the personal remains personal, if you will.'"
   
   Third, buy this book.
   
   
   Robert C. Ross 2008



3. I love this treasure trove of a book. Leafing through it takes me back time and time again to specific photos from family albums over the years. The book is a collaborative work that captures the essence of Americans' love affair with the camera.
   
   The narrative divides the ninety years into four "generations" of the evolution of the snapshot: thirty years of beginnings followed by three twenty-year periods celebrating the interactions of the technical developments and the cultural idiosyncrasies of each era.
   
   While the "plates" of photographs selected from Jackson's collection for exhibition form the book's core, the authors have introduced a sprinkling of "figures" of other photographs--and Kodak ads, in particular--to complete their histories. The Timeline of Technical Milestones at the end is nicely executed.
   
   I've no idea how the authors would characterize the last two decades of the twentieth century, but I'm certain that the first two decades of the twentieth century belong to digital photography. I'd love to read their take on this generation of the American snapshot.



4. I can't speak highly enough of this wonderfully rich book on the grand topic of the American snapshot. The essays are full of revealing information about how big a role the snapshot has played in our culture. The generous sampling of photographs gives us shots that are entirely unique, each in its ow way, and yet they are also familiar, if you are old enough to remember the days of Kodak cameras, especially the Brownie. I found the best review of this great book at www.ronslate.com.