Appalachian Legacy [Paperback]

Shelby Lee Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1998

The eighty photographs collected in this book were taken over the course of a quarter-century. They are Adams's study of people who give themselves honestly and openly before his camera. He focuses here on nine families that have been his recurring subjects during these years. His words that accompany the images reveal his long-term association with them and with their histories. Appalachian Legacy reflects the identity of Adams and his photography while capturing the indelible heritage of old Appalachia. It shows as well the new Appalachia absorbed by the American mainstream of television, trailer parks, and strip malls.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Adams brings a respectful but always honest eye to his photographs of the people and places of Appalachia. At a quick glance, this work might seem essentially a graphic depiction of poverty, neglect, and need. But a careful look, which Adams's book deserves, reveals a world of families and history and a timeless merging of people and place. Appalachia has long been synonymous with the rural struggle that results from too little income and too little education, but here it emerges as a place of frail dignity and enduring natural rhythm. Adams must be praised for his skills in handling photography: his black-and-white images are exquisitely composed, finely detailed, full of deep tone and texture, and memorable to viewers. In addition, his fine essay, which opens the book, explains in a humble way how he achieved his visual mastery of Appalachian subjects. Highly recommended.?David Bryant, New Canaan P.L., CT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

paper 1-57806-049-4 A further documentary record of the lives of nine families in Appalachia by the creator of Appalachian Portraits (1993). Like that earlier volume, this new collection of photographs by Adams is frank, unsentimental, but often affectionate. And like Walker Evans, who took some notable photographs in the rural South, Adams is a master at using available light to saturate an image--these black-and-white photographs of families gathered on the porches or in the crowded rooms of their hardscrabble, venerable homes show a remarkable crispness of detail. While the effects of longstanding poverty and malnutrition, along with the ravages of disease and alcoholism, are all evident here, so too are a resilience and grace. Adams's lengthy notes on the families he portrays also stress his conviction that for far too long, poor rural southerners have been the victims of one-dimensional depictions. An unusual record, in prose and photographs, of an old and ebbing way of life by a disciplined, gifted photographer. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578060494
• ISBN-13: 978-1578060498
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 10.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #817,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Confusing, January 11, 2004

By 

Bruce Hurley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Appalachian Legacy (Paperback)

I grew up in rural Kentucky in an area where conditions were very similar to those in the Appalachian region. My first viewing of this book disturbed and angered me. I asked myself how someone could make a coffee table book out of subject matter which embarassed me because of where I grew up! I knew and grew up with people no different than this and didn't like seeing what I was seeing. It was a bittersweet sensation. It was a paradox for me. On the one hand, I have beautiful memories of growing up in rural Kentucky. On the other hand, I've never been able to figure out how people could live like this. After reading the narrative, searching my soul, and talking with my wife, I realize that these people aren't dissatisfied with life! They live hard lives but still enjoy life just like my family did. We rarely had two dimes to rub together but I was always happy. Life was good. Now this book has a home on my coffee table and I look at it with fond memories and affection for the people who live there.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Photographs,, May 17, 2001

By 

Amanda Williams (Smithville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Appalachian Legacy (Paperback)

This book inspired me as a photographer, and human to look beyond the obvious. The people of Appalachia are represented in startling frankness. Through the eyes of Shelby Lee Adams we are allowed a glimpse into the lives of individuals who are so often stereotyped by the media. While the photographs stand on their own quite beautifully, the text serves to tell the story of each of the families or individuals depicted. Shelby Lee Adams writes from the point of view of someone who has shared the lives of the people photographed. The book was thoughfully designed and the photographs are large. This is not just a picture-book by any means, the writing style and content make this book a gem.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have book for students of the human condition., April 8, 1999

By 

Chick Patrizio [e-mail] (Lenoir City, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Appalachian Legacy: Photographs (Hardcover)

Mr.Adams provides a REAL look at the people of Appalachia. His photos capture the sorrow, joy, desperation, but most of all the pride of these mountain folks. His subjects are real and "in your face". Although some of these pictures show some of the worst poverty in the United States, the people display a simple strength and love of their land and heritage. Shelby Lee Adams is a master at combining all of these traits and producing a photograph that makes you come back time after time to look. I have worn the pages out in my copy and still find something new in each photo every time I go back. Thank you Mr. Shelby and keep the excellent work coming.