Customer Reviews

Photos That Changed the World

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The biggest criticism of this book may be that the title is misleading. There are a lot of great photographs here, but only about half-a-dozen that truly mobilized public opinion.

That being said, this is the century of the photograph, or certainly the news photograph. And many of the iconic photographs of the century are here: planting the flag on Iwo Jima, Buzz Aldrin standing on the moon, the screaming student at Kent State. Other photographs are notable for what they depict: the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the AIDS quilt laid out on the Mall.

Each photograph is accompanied by a commentary of varying substance and quality. Some discuss the technical aspects of the photograph, others the background, and others attempt to draw conclusions. The later photographs seem to inspire rather politically biased and arguable commentary, most notably the discussion of the famous Tiananmen Square photograph with an unarmed man halting four Chinese Army tanks. The commentary suggests that the photo depicts individual powerlessness against the "overpowering might" of a ruthless government. I always saw it as showing that an individual could stop tanks.

That being said, this is a fascinating and extraordinary collection of photographs that depict key political events of this century. It's riveting browsing.

Some of the photo's are more mundane than riveting (like Marilyn Monroe's skirt billowing around her in Manhattan), but most are galvanizing moments of great importance, frozen in time.

I disagree with the platitude that a picture is worth one thousand words. Many are not, but these are worth many more. The pictures speak for themselves, but are accompanied by a descent amount of text.

The value of this book is not only in photos, but maybe mainly in description of history that is behind the photo.

I think this book should be in every family house, especially with children.

Most of these photos are of notable events or people; the photos themselves did nothing to change the world. There are exceptions--for example, the photo of Cuban missile sites certainly affected U.S. policy towards Cuba in 1962. However, the famous portrait of Che Guevara did not change the world--it is simply a remarkable photo of a man who was particularly influential.

That being said, the photos in this book are all interesting. The accompanying commentary betrays the authors' bitter hatred of conservative views, but perhaps the reader will be inspired to learn "the rest of the story" that is not quite so one-sided. Of course, if you are already a socialist, then this book is perfect for you--it will say all the things you love to hear over and over: wars are the fault of the Bush family, people are starving in Africa because of heartless American corporations, and the use of depleted uranium ammunition in Kuwait has made the whole region into some sort of desert. This book has all the American self-loathing today's liberal craves.

Leave out the anti-American, anti-capitalism commentary and this would be a great book.