Amazon.com Review
America 24/7 reunites the team that started the popular
A Day in the Life series of photography books, Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen. Those books sought to profile a single day in a country or city through pictures. Here, the concept is similar but far more epic in scope: photojournalistic, people-driven snapshots of young and old at work and play throughout the entire United States over a given time period (in this case, one week). Another twist this time is that more than 25,000 amateur and professional photographers snapped all of the pictures with digital cameras. From the million-plus photos submitted, 25,000 were chosen for a total of 53 volumes, one on America, one for each state, and one each for D.C. and New York City. The result is an amazing array of subjects, but all shot with a consistency of tone. Composition, lighting, and camera effects aren't as important as the content. the gener! al sentiment one gets from the images: Muslim high school girls jumping rope in traditional headcovers, Roller Bladers on the Brooklyn Bridge, electrical lineman students learning to climb telephone poles, Eve Fletcher, a 76-year-old California surfer, or Tonto, the "seeing-eye" miniature horse. There are babies, children, rites of passage, monuments, forests, circus performers, movie stars, and cattlemen. The images might be a tad sentimental, but not overly so. In addition, readers can order a custom book jacket at www.america24-7.com/customcover, using their own digital photo as the cover.
--Eric Reyes
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-More than 25,000 professional and amateur photographers were asked to capture the essence of life in their communities and tell their stories through the lens of a camera. Digital photography was chosen for the project because 2003 was the first year that Americans purchased more digital cameras than film cameras. The result is this collection of color images of everyday life in all its joys and sorrows. Essays by Charles Johnson, Robert Olen Butler, and Barbara Kingsolver, among others, introduce the divisions, such as "Sea to Shining Sea," and set the tone for what follows. It is a joy to see the common threads in the photographs no matter where, no matter whom. There is much to be savored, examined, and remembered in this extraordinary collection.
-Peggy Bercher, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
