Oakland Rhapsody: The Secret Soul of an American Downtown [Hardcover]

Richard Nagler (Author), Ishmael Reed (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 1995

Oakland Rhapsody unites the talents of Richard Nagler, an award-winning photographer, and Ishmael Reed, a respected American novelist, essayist, and poet. Through photography and prose, they focus on Downtown Oakland and create a compelling visual and literary portrait of a major American city as it nears the turn of the century.

Downtown Oakland is special. Within a walk of just a few blocks, the visitor can experience the architecture and feel of California in 1895, or 1935, or 1995. Many nationalities have come to call the city home and have contributed to its rich and varied cultural life. All the problems and promise of the American inner city are on view.

Through Nagler's images and Reed's words, Oakland, one of the most misunderstood and unappreciated cities in America, emerges as a beautiful and complex subject, a city of charm and challenge, where the history and the future of the state come face-to-face in multicultural harmony.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The 'there, there' is beautifully photographed and documented for those who love Oakland and for those who wish to learn its secrets."
-Jerry Brown, former Governor of California and mayor of Oakland

"For the past twenty years, Richard Nagler has wandered the streets of Oakland recording on film its people, its architecture, its changes. His sensitive photographs capture in split-second images the essence of Oakland. The result is a compelling portrait of a neighborhood, rich in drama, sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant - what Chekov called 'a slice of life.'"
- L. Thomas Frye, Chief Curator of History at the Oakland Museum

"By concentrating on its downtown, Richard Nagler has captured the beauty, the despair, and the contradictions of Oakland...With his portraits of alienated individuals, actors in a city undergoing transition, he may well be the Edward Hopper of the camera."
- Ishmael Reed, from the Introduction

About the Author

Richard Nagler is a magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Pennsylvania in the fields of philosophy and politics. After studying painting, he began to photograph in the early 1970s. His work has been widely exhibited in museum and gallery shows throughout the United States and Europe and his photographs are included in many major public and private collections.

Nagler has been photographing Downtown Oakland for twenty years. Through his lens, Oakland is revealed as a treasure trove of haunting and powerful photographic images. His photography strikes a resonant chord with Ishmael Reed's words in the Introduction: “Oakland is probably the best-kept secret in the United States."

Ishmael Reed is one of America's leading novelists, essayists, and poets. He has been nominated for the National Book Award in both fiction and poetry. He is a past winner of the Lewis Michaux Award. He has taught at Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and for twenty years he has been a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley. Reed is widely acknowledged to be one of the leading voices chronicling life in America's inner cities and has gained an international reputation as one of the most original talents in American fiction. He has lived in Oakland, California since 1967.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books (May 22, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155643197X
• ISBN-13: 978-1556431975
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 0.6 x 11.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,962,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great photo essay of individuals on the streets of Oakland., March 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Oakland Rhapsody: The Secret Soul of an American Downtown (Paperback)

Richard Nagler did an excellent job photographing the residents of Oakland on their city streets. "Oakland Rhapsody" is not a pretty coffee-table book for tourists; it captures well the overwhelming isolation of individuals against a backdrop of urban decay. Yet the pictures are not all gloomy, as Mr. Nagler also catches the vibrancy and multi-ethnic makeup that gives Oakland its life and promise. Ishmael Reed notes in the accompanying commentary, Oakland is very liveable, attractive city in spite of the problems that plague it. This is the real value of the book, that it seeks to present both problems as well as hopes for the future. One note: Most of the photos were taken from the late 1970s through 1994. As a resident of West Oakland area, I can attest much has continued to change for the better since the early 1990's, but that in no way detracts from the book.