Customer Reviews

The Face of Texas: Portraits of Texans

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
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This is simply one of the finest books of portraiture you will ever find. If you are a Texan it is a must. If you love photography and the ability of the camera to probe the lives of others and in return tell us more about ourselves you won't want to miss this.

Under the sensitive vision and the caring heart of Michael O'Brien the rich, the famous and the common folk come together in this extraordinary look at Texans and indeed all of humanity. Though his photographs span a wide cross section of various ethnic and socio-economic groups, Michael shows us that we have more in common with each other than we realize. We are more alike as humans than we are different.

He is an artist as well as an anthropologist who happens to use a camera. We are so much the better for his work.

The Face of Texas stands out within the array of Texas books that have been published in recent years. The photographs by Michael O'Brien--portraits of Texans, both famous and ordinary--are stunning; and the subjects themselves, from celebrities like Earl Campbell and Lady Bird Johnson to regular folks like painter Ran Horn of Van Horn, TX, the self-described "Van Gogh of Van Horn," and Ila Johnston, the beloved, retired Spur, TX high school teacher who just renewed her Texas driver's license at the age of 97, are fascinating individuals. The pictures in The Face of Texas are accompanied by well-written, plainspoken stories by Elizabeth O'Brien about each subject. The text and photographs combine to create a substantial picture of each person that transcends the visual; both writer and photographer treat their subjects with warmth and respect. The book is not meant to be a definitive portrait of Texas; as photographer Michael O'Brien says in his introduction, it is simply a collection of his favorite portraits taken over the years on assignment, primarily for various magazines. Bravo for O'Brien--what a phenomenal photographic journey!

This is a beautifully photographed coffee table book picturing Texans from small towns and large cities all over the state. Photographed by Michael O'Brien, a photographer with a background in photojournalism, the book spotlights Texans as diverse as Willie Nelson, Lady Bird Johnson, ZZ Top, small town chearleaders, ranch families, and Laura and George Bush. Michael's wife, Elizabeth O'Brien, a writer, captures each person in a sensitive, personal interview which describes each Texan in that moment in time. The Face of Texas would be a wonderful gift for anyone who lives in the state of Texas or has friends or relatives there, or for anyone who appreciates beautiful photography or Americana.

This is a beautiful and expressive collection of portraits of a wide variety of Texans, from the famous to unknown, real Texans. O'Brien has a great sense of light and clearly connects with his subjects, who are often pictured in their environment, so that you get a real feeling for the place as well as the people. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in photography or Texas.

The Face of Texas is a beautiful book which I believe any Texan, particularly those living away from Texas and homesick for the Lonestar state would be proud to own. Micheal O'Brian's photographs portray famous Texans (Lady Bird, Pres. and Laura Bush, George Strait) along with little-known individuals from varied ethnic backgrounds. O'Brian manages to capture the essence of his subjects in a sympathetic and very artistic manner. I loved the portrait of Destiny's Child, shot in black and white, with a luminosity shining from their beautiful faces. Who wouldn't be stopped dead by the photograph of 2 members of ZZ Top in leopard print tuxedos, cowboy hats and shades flanking the third guy sitting in a barber chair, chin covered with shaving cream. The text by Elizabeth O'Brian brings the photographs to life. In a page of text on each subject, she manages to combine cogent biographical information along with funny tidbits of background. "...neither Gibbons nor Hill (from ZZ Top)has had a close encounter with scissors since 1979."
I love this book and it will be top on my list for birthday presents.

I will start my review my rejecting all of what the past reviewer Daniel Andrade said about the book. What he said completely reflects the tone of a somewhat jealous person and a selectabley one-sided arguement. The Face of Texas, which I had anticipated since its announcement, did not only capitulate some of Michael O'Brien's famous and somewhat artistic photographs but it also gave me something that other coffee table books did not: it a description of the photgraph...let me explain. Other coffee table books or general photograph books for example often lead me to be confused...I want to know the people in the picture...and yet, no one ever explains the picture. Elizabeth O'Brien did this beautifully, and I found myself more interested in the "nobodys" such as Sloan Peterson and her Austin High prom date rather than Willie Nelson and Troy Aikman.

And to make another point on Daniel's bittersome review, let me pose him a question. What do you think of when you think of someone's face? You think of the distinct features that you remember most easily. Let ask you another...what are the distinct features of Texas? People don't think of such things as its racial diversity...they think of cowboys, famous legends such as Earl Campbell and Troy Aikman and Willie Nelson, they think of small town Texas, the hill coountry, the Mexican influences. To refute yet another weak point of his review proves that he must not have looked at the book for very long and may have had some sort of squirmish with the publication of this book. Hardly anything is accurately protrayed these days but how doers that have any wager of me or anyone else buying the book or enjoying it? Not only would I highly recomend that someone buy this book for yourself, but maybe give it to a friend...it seems to make a wonderful present.

This was purchased to be a gift. The product description indicated the book was new, however, it came without the jacket cover which shows the name of the book and the author. What arrived was only the bare book - with no jacket and with what looks like wear marks on the front and back of the book. As I stated, I wanted to give it as a gift to someone in Texas. I can find no way to contact the seller to inquire about exchanging it for another book WITH the cover. I think that if this switch was intended, it is fraudulent advertising since the description picture showed the book with the jacket and the words "The Face of Texas Michael O'Brien" across the front. I hope there is some way to contact the seller to rectify this.

I like everything about this book, from the writing to the choice of images. It's impossible in one book to encapsulate the entire state of Texas but I think Michael did a great job showing us the faces of people who have power, passion and purpose. The photography is just what I would expect. Very well executed, with a personal style that instantly says, Michael O'Brien, combined with a sensitivity to people that in turn makes each image very accessible.

From a production viewpoint the images are very well reproduced and well integrated with the writing.

The book is on my office shelf and I refer to it often when I want to reset my sense of seeing after a long day of work. Well done and a "must have" in the library of every Texas Photographer or fan of photography.

We all love to watch people, we all love to learn about the stories people have, now we have the opportunity to see a wonderful slice of texas culture. This book captures the heart and beauty of each of its' subjects. From the largent family to willie to destiny's child to junior brown to ran horn to all the members of the fandangle to kinky...etc. Sinead, my 7 yr. old girl, has her favorites as well. All animal related: The gatorfest queen, ran horn, the prairie dog from the Fandangle, and last but not least kinky standing on the water. She said, "That one is weird...no one can stand on water, how does he stand on the water? I had to explain the magic of photography...i think she understood. You will also enjoy this book for the stories that Elizabeth writes. They are fascinating and very necessary to explain why and how and where are they now questions. You will not be dissapointed with this collection of stories and photo's!

I had been looking forward to this book as it has received a lot of press in Texas--after perusing it at a local library,I am very disappointed in the chosen photos of famous and not so famous Texans, and I most certainly will not purchase it. Almost all the photos have previously run in Texas magazines, primarily Texas Monthly, and most of them were taken from 1990 through 1997. These two important facts have not been publicized by the publisher or the author/photographer team in their press interviews,releases,etc. People expecting fresh photos done expressly for this book will be disappointed like me.

To make matters worse, it is a poor reflection of the real Texas. Although Texas is about 50% non-white, (Afro- and Latino- Americans) you would think Texas is an almost lily-white state based upon this book. Of the 160 photos, only 10 portray the non-white residents of the Lone Star State. Of the approx. 225 persons portrayed, only about a dozen or so are non-white. This is a glaring omission! It's as if the writer and photographer included them for local "color", pun not intended. There are much better Texas photo/coffee table books available than this one. I suggest you pass on this one.