America at Home [Hardcover]

Rick Smolan (Author), Jennifer Erwitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2008

From the co-author of the New York Times Bestseller America 24/7.

The week of September 17, 2007, marked the largest collaborative project in Internet history as 100 of the top photojournalists and millions of Americans documented the concept of home. The result—which included several million photos—is the most extensive record of American home life at the beginning of the 21st century.

Now the powerhouse team of photographers and editors behind such bestselling titles as America 24/7 and the A Day in the Life of... series, present their latest collection of stunning personal and dramatic moments with this tie-in volume.

America at Home aims to capture the emotions of home: the distinctive rituals, ceremonies, traditions, intimate moments, and all the myriad ways in which we work, play, learn, conduct our lives, and interact with friends, family members (and pets!) as we transform our houses (and apartments, trailers, etc.) into our homes. From McMansions to mobile homes, from tree houses to tenement slums, from ranches to old-age homes, the public was invited to help document the harmonies and paradoxes of home life across America over a single seven-day period...

Highlights of this extraordinary project include:

Massive grassroots online outreach: Americans were invited to simultaneously contribute their own images via a series of daily snapshots each day throughout the week. These shots covered topics such as: morning rush, what’s for dinner, and evening family rituals. Participants received daily emails with assignment instructions and also took general photos of what makes their home special. The public was able to sign in and upload them at www.MyAmericaAtHome.com.

Multiple formats: An international team of leading magazine and newspaper photo editors edited all of the images, shot by both professionals and amateurs. The best images are woven together here with essays from leading writers in a unique and evocative coffee table book. In addition to the website, a TV show and photography exhibit are planned, with the help (and advertising) of major corporate sponsors such as IKEA, Google, HP’s Snapfish, and BabyCenter.com.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"About the time it seems books have been written about everything under the sun - and some of them are of little value - someone comes along with a fresh, invigorating idea. America at Home: A Close-Up Look at How We Live is a monumental coffee-table book that portrays Americans of almost every race, economic bracket, locale, age - the list goes on. In short, it is America in pictures." -- The Oklahoman, April 13, 2008

About the Author

Rick Smolan is one of the original creators of the best-selling Day in the Life series and has been responsible for the most successful photography books in history, including the New York Times #1 bestseller A Day in the Life of America. Smolan’s ambitious and imaginative projects combine storytelling with state-of-the art-technology and have appeared numerous times on the covers of Time, Newsweek, Fortune and US News & World Report.

Jennifer Erwitt, together with her husband Rick Smolan, are Co-Directors of Against All Odds Productions, based in Sausalito, California. Fortune Magazine honored Against All Odds calling them “One of the 25 Coolest Companies in America.” Smolan and Erwitt’s award winning projects include: From Alice to Ocean, Passage to Vietnam, 24 Hours in Cyberspace, One Digital Day, and The Planet Project.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762434155
• ISBN-13: 978-0762434152
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 1.3 x 12 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #662,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Food For Thought June 24, 2008

By Mayke B. Briggs

Format:Hardcover

At first glance America At Home is but a wonderful collection of stunning and wholesome photographs of American households and their unique inhabitants. Sponsored by IKEA - my children's favorite store - America At Home turns out to have more depth than you would expect. Amusing, insightful and contemplative reflections are offered on the idea of what Home means to us by an impressive number of contributing writers who include famous author, Amy Tan, Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, Dominique Browning, the former editor of House and Garden, as well as Terry Teachout, Richard Rodgriguez, and David Pogue, who all reflect on our relationship to what we call "Home".

America At Home informs us about what's important to us. Kids, pets and spending money, it seems. Marriage, not so much. 35% of our children live in single or no parent homes, and even though 62% of us don't think money can buy happiness we spend 41 billion more than we earn on whatever it does buy.

Our hard working celebrities appear to live an average of 13 years less than us couch potatoes watching them. Since 85% of us do no exercise of any kind, you'll be surprised how many billions of dollars we - or maybe they! - spend each year on health clubs. Many more such statistics add to the overall impression of this fascinating book that will have you find yourself starting many "Did you know..." conversations, and leaving it on your coffee table for a conversation piece. This will be especially impressive if you get the custom cover jacket you can order featuring your very own - to quote Matt Groening - "kinda functional and kinda loopy" family!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Places of the heart... August 8, 2008

By Cherene L. Snyder

Format:Hardcover

I have spent hours of enjoyment with this book....losing myself in faces and places unknown to me, yet at the same time hauntingly familiar. Rick Smolan has captured America at the very time when so many of us feel we are losing a connection to the vitality and promise of our country. But in every page and every essay, there are precious reminders of where our strength for the future lies...in America's people and in our homes an communities. Thank you, Rick Smolan.....

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars America the beautiful July 3, 2008

By Vincent L. Paterson

Format:Hardcover

I love the warmth of this book. I travel the world and am disturbed by the misconceptions many foreigners have of us here at home. (I can't say I blame them with the present administration having devastated our reputation and the relentless negative news reports.)
I would love to share this book with everyone abroad. It paints honest, touching, personal, everyman images of true Americans in all sorts of everyday activities in their homes.
Whether as a gift to people abroad or enjoyed with friends and family, this beautiful book presents who we are as everyday people. Honest, simple, good, loving Americans.
Thanks to Rick and Jennifer.