Amazing Men: Courage, Insight, Endurance [Hardcover]

Joyce Tenneson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2004

The much-anticipated follow up to Joyce Tenneson's hugely successful Wise Women, Amazing Men presents portraits of a wide cross-section of men aged 60 and over, from varying professions, lifestyles, and geographic locations. Many are well-known figures - Tom Brokaw, Bill Cosby, Robert DeNiro, Ben Kingsley, B.B King, and Joe Torre - and many others are unsung heroes of the heart. These men, whose insights and experiences transcend the traditional male stereotypes reveals sensitivity and wisdom, inner power and humility. Quotations accompany the portraits, offering a wide range of reflections and revelations about the masculine image today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This black-and-white collection of photographs of 60-and-over men follows Tenneson's collection of similar photographs of older women (Wise Women). Obviously intended as a full-on celebration of older manhood, the subjects range from actors (Ben Kingsley, James Earl Jones, Bill Cosby and Patrick Stewart), politicians (John Kerry and Rudolph Giuliani), journalists (Tom Brokaw), writers (Frank McCourt), artists (Andrew Wyeth) and musicians (B.B. King, Willie Nelson) to more ordinary folk, many of whose professions aren't even identified. Many of the 90 photographs are absolutely luminous, with the subject's skin seeming to glow from the inside out, giving the impression that the photographer is indeed starstruck by her subjects. Each photo is accompanied by a brief motivational quote from the subject, but unfortunately no biographical information, other than the age, is included with each man, going against the book's intention to commemorate long, interesting lives. Rather, each man becomes only a pretty face, and one can't help questioning, why, out of all of the 60- to 80-year-olds out there, did Tenneson choose these men and not others? Why Ben Kingsley and not Mickey Rooney? Why Joe Torre and not Yogi Berra? The 7 ½" x 10" collection is small enough that some sort of explanation beyond Tenneson's introduction ("my assistants did Internet research to help me find men like Archbishop Demetrios and men from the Polar Bear Club") would have been welcome.
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About the Author

Joyce Tenneson is one of the most celebrated photographers of our time. She is the author of six books, including Wise Women (Bulfinch, 2002), and her work has appeared in countless publications. Tenneson has had more than 150 exhibits in galleries and museums worldwide, and is a respected lecturer and speaker. She lives and works in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821228552
• ISBN-13: 978-0821228555
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,639,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And beyond the Baby Boomers.............?, November 1, 2004

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Amazing Men: Courage, Insight, Endurance (Hardcover)

Joyce Tenneson respects her subjects, whether they be flowers, women or men, and after her illuminating book WISE WOMEN in which she photographed and quoted women over the age of 60 she now gives us an equally elegant survey of Men over the age of 60. In this youth oriented culture where physical beauty is celebrated and chased by Botox, plastic surgery, laser and herbs, it is refreshing to read and view this beautiful book which goes beyond surfaces to souls.

Beginning with the cover photograph of Sir Ben Kingsley, Tenneson has photographed a large sector of men in the latter portion of the cycle of life. Her photographs are real, not manipulated, and survey all manner of men. Associated with each photograph is a tidbit of wisdom from the subject and the format is touching and warm. Appearing in this book are such disparate subjects as Robert DeNiro, Tom Brokaw, Patrick Stewart, Bill Cosby and John Kerry. But the list goes on, weaving in and out of the lives of people we know and some we should. A very tender book, respecting an increasingly large part of our population that deserves out attention. Grady Harp, November 2004

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Book, April 11, 2010

By 

H. F. Corbin "Foster Corbin" (ATLANTA, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Amazing Men: Courage, Insight, Endurance (Hardcover)

In these more than 90 photographs, Joyce Tenneson has photographed men from the age of 60 to 100, most of them in a studio with the possible exception of Frank Nickol, an eighty-one-year-old grain farmer since 1941. He is sitting in a truck and appears to be outside. All the photographs are in black and white. Each subject has made a brief statement. My favorite: "If only I had a little humility, I'd be perfect." That from the mouth of Ted Turner that accompanies a very fine straight-on portrait of Mr. Turner wearing a suit. These men are photographed in a very wide variety of poses and are wearing just as many different clothes. Many of them are shirtless. Some of them, for my money, should have kept their shirts on. Case in point: the photograph of Frank McCourt and Alphie McCourt who are posed in each other's arms and shirtless. This photograph rivals the one that Annie Leibovitz shot of the writer Robert Penn Warren, also shirtless, and gets the "whatever were they thinking" award. Another most unflattering photograph is that of Willie Nelson who is turned three-quarters away from the camera. Ms. Tennyson, however, was not necessarily looking for the pretty photograph. In her introduction she writes: "Life etches itself into our faces. There are fewer secrets as we near the end of our journey. The need for a facade of outer power fades. In the end, we are all left with who we truly are, we realize that there is no way to escape getting older, no way to escape death. Each of these photographs is a monument to that statement."

Ms. Tennyson includes many famous people in this book (I swear, however, that I have been unable to locate the actor Robert De Niro even though the jacket blurb indicates that his portrait is included): Joe Torre, Tom Brokaw, Al Hirshfeld et al. But she also includes ordinary men-- farmers, a Santa Claus, ministers, a scoutmaster-- and her shots of them are just as interesting as those of people we recognize, the mark of a fine portrait photographer.

Among my favorite portraits is the profile of Vernon Jordan, dressed to the nines as we would expect. Archdeacon Michael Kendall wearing his clerical robes and holding up one hand as if blessing his congregation is quite a wonderful photograph. Finally there is the shot of Andrew Wyeth, who at 86 shows the frailty of old age. He is lit from the back, which, along with his white hair, has the effect of halo about his head.

These are photographs that you will look at again and again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book!, April 1, 2007

By 

MRK (Florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Amazing Men : Courage, Insight, Endurance (Paperback)

This is probably one of the most beautiful books I've ever purchased.
The photography is superb.
The text is superb.
The whole concept is superb.

Run out today and get it!