Americana the Beautiful: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome [Hardcover]

Charles Phoenix (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Angel City Press; First Edition edition (June 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883318548
• ISBN-13: 978-1883318543
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Americana

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Colorfully normal, November 19, 2006

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Americana the Beautiful: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome (Hardcover)

Another selection of snaps rescued by Charles Phoenix just before they might have ended up in the local landfill. In the same format as his excellent 'Southern Californialand' (ISBN 1883318424) and so much better than the earlier 'God Bless Americana' book. The two hundred amateur slides feature a rich seam of everyday life full of white middle class detail (which of course does raise the question: didn't colored folk take photos back then or perhaps they never junk them).

Overall I thought the photo selection was fascinating and grouping them in themes worked well. The last few pages have some intriguing architectural and transport slides like the 1964 flying saucer style State Capitol Bank in Oklahoma City or the late fifties General Motors Aerotrain pulling into a station. On page thirty-six onward there are several pages of people at home showing all kinds of domestic activity, food on tables, kitchens, watching home movies or just enjoying company. It's interesting looking at these photos because they are so unlike anything taken by professionals though sometimes the composition, lighting and color does lift them out of the mundane.

Like 'Southern Californialand' the editorial format works well with photos one to a page, allowing for a deep caption or several slides butted together. My only criticism is that sometimes out of focus images are too large, for example the soft-focus Jefferson Drive-in on page ninety-seven would have worked better much smaller or even rejected. Also captions frequently describe in words what the reader can obviously see in the picture but fortunately many of them also have plenty of historical background detail about things in the photos.

Charles Phoenix has hit on a successful publishing genre and there surely will be more titles to come but until the next one you can follow the latest finds on his website.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Fifites Fotos!, March 18, 2008

By 

Mark Podmore (Columbia, SC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Americana the Beautiful: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome (Hardcover)

Americana the Beautiful is a trip down memory lane; especially for us Baby Boomers.

These old shapshots are great! What a wonderful trip we took every summer when we visited my mother's family in South Carolina. Remember those luggage racks on station wagons? I remember being on the New Jersey Turnpike one time and luggage thtat was tied to the roof blew off. Dad had to pull our station wagon to the side of the road and pick up a suitcase full of diapers for my younest brother!

I have fond memories of the Dairy Queen and the Good Humor mah. The smell was sweet mixed with raw exhaust fumes! What great times those were!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Worth Full Price, August 2, 2009

By 

Sarah Lopez - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Americana the Beautiful: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome (Hardcover)

This book has many great images and is a great coffee table topper except that it is not really worth the price. Starting at 19.99 on [...] I highly suggest that this book is bought in the store.