Customer Reviews

Amazing Men: Courage, Insight, Endurance

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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

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.

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!

I love having this book somewhere where guests can just pick it up and flip through to have a look... It's a beautifully photographed and compiled collection of words & pictures with thoughts both insightful and humorous.

You won't recognize every individual, or necessarily agree with their reflections, but you will be captivated nonetheless...even years after its initial publication.

This book is a fine portrait of men, inside and outside! Readers who enjoy biographies of very successful leaders in any field of effort will appreciate that leadership and parenting qualities stem from the same principles. I cannot believe how much I learned from the inscriptions that accompany each photo in the book! Already I have some posted in my home office for continued inspiration. The book is about men who are 60-and-over years old, but many men will identify and most would like to be identified with these old-timers. I am hooked and ready for the book about women by this same author. Before I move on, however, I wanted to recommend this book to all readers.

Amavilah, Author

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