Customer Reviews

America the Beautiful

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I had pre-ordered several copies of "America the Beautiful," by well-known illustrator, Chris Gall in January 2004. Simply put, Chris Gall is one of my favorite artists of all time. His style is bold, campy, and original.

Today, I received the books and I was AMAZED.

The book, "America the Beautiful" is BEAUTIFUL. What is even more beautiful is that Chris Gall shares in the preface how a framed copy of Katharine Lee Bates' verse, written in her own hand, inspired him so much as an artist as he was growing up.

Gall bestows a MAGNIFICENT tribute to his great-aunt's stirring song. Each line of Bates' meaningful verse is paired with a beautiful illustration by Gall. These works of art depict a nation blessed with God-given gifts; a nation built on justice, optimism, hope, and a shared love of America's land.

After viewing this book, which is pristinely made with thick paper and rich colors, I intend to buy several more as gifts. There are wonderful images of the Statue of Liberty, Pike's Peak, immigrants, the Apollo II, and my very favorites - the firemen of Sept. 11th, and the WWII Tuskegee Airmen.

Because "America the Beautiful" is not just a book which is great for artists or children or to grace the coffee table (although that is where MINE is going!), it is a work of art - which magnificently stirs the patriot within us all...

The odd thing about this book is why it took so long to come out. Chris Gall is an illustrator and the great-great-grandnephew of Katherine Lee Bates so I wonder why he had not created these pictures ages ago.

The sixteen stunning pictures were engraved on clay-coated board which makes them very graphic rather than watercolor soft and I enjoyed the little design touches here and there, for instance a picture of some Shoshone Indians in a boat passing a very streamline looking waterfall or a small town snow scene with the buildings placed at different angles to each other.

The choice of image is also refreshing, to illustrate 'A thoroughfare for freedom beat. Across the wilderness!' has a family with their Airstream parked in the open landscape or 'Thine alabaster cities gleam, Undimmed by human tears!' showing a window cleaner eating his lunch and sitting on one of those Art Deco eagles on the Chrysler Building. This kind of originality and warmth comes across from each picture.

The book is well produced and it occurs to me that these illustrations are so good and all the same size that they are worth framing, depending on one's favorites.

I purchased this book for my daughter for her second birthday. We have read it so many times over the past year, that she is the only child her age that knows all four verses of this wonderful song.

Wonderfully colorful and powerful illustrations! I especially like the refreshing and unique interpretations of each phrase--
Nice as a coffee table book too.

This is an amazing rendition of America the Beautiful (which I still think should be our national antherm). The pictures are inventive and moving. Just as an example, the page with "Oh beautiful for pilgrims' feet" doesn't show your classic pilgrims, but a steamship deck with what seem to be southern European or eastern European immigrants coming into New York harbor. It reminds us how much all of us are part of "America the Beautiful." I almost always get teary-eyed reading this book (even more than when I just sing the song). You'll love it.