Americans

Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans, Expanded Edition
$75.00
Ms Greenough has outdone herself in creating the most thorough, broadest, and deepest attempt to analyze a single work of art. This book sets a new standard for what a similarly intended book can be, not just for one work by one artist, but books about a single artist, a group, or a genre of art.

There are several brilliant critical books on any number of artists now. But this one, even at full price, has arguably the best price-performance ratio of any. This book is a steal, hands down.

Including all of the plates and all of the contact sheets for each plate in "Americans" is a curious photographer's dream, never realized, to this reviewer's knowledge, until this book.

The publisher, Steidl, deserves, too, high praise for taking on this tome and for the quality of so many of its recent publications on Frank, Leiter, and so many others. Steidl is currently among the top very few highest quality publishers of significant photography.

The Americans
$39.95
This collection of photos didn't attract much attention when first published. Some believed race issues were a problem. Don't think so. I graduated from college during this period. The photos then would have been ordinary scenes in black and white during a period when most photos were color. The collection captures the time nicely. One of the photos is misidentified as to place. Several others have explanations different from my assessment. It isn't about the narrative and black and white makes the subjects stand out. There is a newspaper stand in one of the photos. Who is on the cover of Look?

When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present
$27.99
Excellent presentation. Easy to read and a great reminder of how far we have come in such a short time. All women need to read this.

American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
$25.99
As one who used to surf right past 'The Late Late Show,' I recently found myself stopping to look and listen. Craig's guest was Billy Connolly, the Scottish actor/comedian and they were discussing Craig's new book. I have long enjoyed Billy's outrageous humor and find it not unlike Craig's. Their discussion was very interesting and so funny that I ordered the book the next day. It's hard to believe that a man who had sunk so low and lost so much through multiple addictions could pull himself together and become a sober, productive member of society. His first step toward recovery was when he finally accepted the fact that he "couldn't drink and he couldn't not drink." That was when he sought help. When he had been sober for a while, he was incredulous the first time he realised he was actually having FUN without having had to drink,smoke,or snort anything. It is not a preachy book so I think alcoholics and drug addicts might well find, as Craig did, that life can go on happily without these artificial props.


Craig is a master of the double entendre and his language and humor are quite irreverent, but somehow not offensive. It makes me think that perhaps laughter IS indeed the best medicine, because this book, though sad in part, made me laugh out loud more than once.