Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7235 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 180 pages

Customer Reviews

memorable
when I first got this book, it was one of the five books I had to get for a history of photography class. At first, I thought it was just another photo book with images that were not very spectacular to look at. Then my eyes were opened by my teacher. In the midst of these photographs of all different kinds of people doing what we call ordinary events, lied the human spirit.America as it was , when frank set out for his journey.In the most subtle way, he is able to tell us great stories of the conflicts, and the happenings of a country that was about to go through some major changes. It is a highly recommended book, and it is very rewarding, even for the photographer at heart.

A classic of 20th Century Photography
In 1955, Swiss photographer Robert Frank traveled around the United States on a Guggenheim Fellowship. The images he created were published first in France in 1958, and then the following year in America. Highly controversial in its day, "The Americans" gave us a much needed outsiders view of who we are as a people.

Frank is an incredibly skilled image maker, able communicate on many different levels with a single image. Jack Kerouac is the perfect person to write the intro to this book. Both artists worked in a similar way, using travel, speed and chance to communicate fleeting, yet deep, feelings about our complex culture.

Perfectly enjoyable by anyone with an interest in American culture, but essential for those practicing documentary photography.

Every photographer should have this in their library
What a great idea, re-release an out of print book which in its original form costs hundreds of pounds and make it assessable to the multitudes.

I love the images in this book and I am so pleased it has been republished at a reasonable price. This ranks up there with books by Henri Cartier-Bresson, David Bailey and Ansel Adams, each of whom have or had their own style but this book and its images stand out and proven how good Robert Frank was as a photographer.

When this was first published there was uproar in that The Americans showed Americans how they were in society and it caused anger in some areas. this wasn't a sugar coating of Americans but the real thing. Even, Walker Evans said that this book and Franks images had "a bracing, almost stinging manner" . If you get this book you will identify with that description. The only photographer of social photography who gets close in the States is William Klein, who too shot his images close up and very personal.

If you want to see great timeless images, or to start collecting iconic photographic volumes then this is a great place to start.