| | The Americans |  | Author: Robert Frank
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 5628172
Media: Paperback
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 067011619X
EAN: 9780670116195
ASIN: 067011619X
Publication Date: March 19, 1973
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| Customer Reviews:
 Am I completely obtuse? July 17, 2008
8 out of 17 found this review helpful
I purchased this much heralded photo collection book after reading the review in Newsweek. Maybe I'm not artsy-sophisticated enough to understand the supposed power and humanness or whatever behind these photos. I just don't get them. For a much better look at people in general, look at the book The Life of Man, or even a book of Norman Rockwell paintings. Those books will give you a better idea of life from the 1920's to the 1970's, and the people. The only photo that did stand out to me was the cover photo of the bus. It's painful.
There's nothing left to say April 15, 2003
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
What can one say about a classic? Is it possible to review Beethoven's Ninth? Faulker's "As I Lay Dying"? No. This is arguably the book that most influenced almost all the subsequent generations of photographers. Frank looked at the world with a fresh viewpoint and his photographs were a slap in the face. It's impossible to put ourselves in the world of photography that preceded this book because Frank has changed our prespectives so drastically.
The definitive "The Americans" July 28, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
We're lucky to have this edition. Robert Frank is an old man with health issues now. That he is healthy enough to oversee this work is wonderful. Everything about this edition - especially in comparison to the 2007 Delpine edition I purchased earlier this year - is first-rate. I wish I had known this was coming out!
The book is a little smaller than the Delpine, but that's the only real negative (if it is one) I can think of. The main thing to me is that the photos themselves are how Frank intended them to look. Gone are the overly-lightened faces that plague the Delpine book. This is a pet peeve of mine that kills many photos in this Photoshop age. This is very obvious in the New Orleans trolley photo. In the Delpine work, the faces of the white passengers are totally washed out, and the black faces are awkwardly lightened (someone apparently thought they were helping Frank's work). That's all corrected here. In this Steidl edition things are shown as they were intended. One can even see details in the face of the man at far left, even though it is partially obscured by a window reflection.
Also, on several photos more of the frame is visible. This was most noticeable to me in the Butte, Montana photo of the woman looking out the car window, with several children in the back seat. A good portion of the left side of the photo is now visible, along with more shown on the top and bottom. The new crop just seems more "right." Not too mention that the face of the child in the middle of the photo is too light in the older edition.
Simply put, comparing the two editions is an eye opener. I first saw these photos years ago in a much earlier edition (I believe it was the 1969 Aperture work) and I still marvel at the depth of the images in that printing. I don't have that edition in hand, so I can't do a direct comparison, but I believe the Steidl images are much closer to that ideal. Franks prefers his images a little on the flat, low-key side. Another difference is that the photos are now printed on a non-glossy paper. I was surprised at this at first, but now I believe it works much better for this book.
In short, if you want an accurate, lovingly-printed edition of The Americans at a reasonable price, this is the one. Highly recommended.
Still as powerful as ever! August 8, 2002
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
This book re-affirms for me, the power of photography. It grants me permisssion to look at the world again with fresh eyes, enjoying all that humanity and nature has to offer. I find the images speak to me in a timeless manner and are a joy to behold. I am still surprised that it received such a cold reception when it was first published, but as a Gen Xer I geuss it was another world in those days. Buy this book you'll not regret it.
PHOTOGRAPHY. June 9, 2004
6 out of 17 found this review helpful
There are three types of photographers.
The first are with goals of one day selling out to a magazine or whomever has a wallet.
The second are the hobbyists who prance around the city with their Leicas.
The third is Robert Frank. Thank you for sharing your pictures.
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