Customer Reviews

William Eggleston

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It's odd that no one has reviewed this book on Amazon. While it is currently out of print and very expensive to buy, it has been around for almost 10 years and much of that time it was affordable and available. At the current prices, it is definitely not a good value. But it is a good survey of Eggleston's older work with a few newer (at the time) pictures thrown in for good measure. It was published as part of an exhibition in Paris in 2001/2002.

To make it brief, the book contains lesser known photographs dating back to Eggleston's black and white days as well as many of his well known works. The choices are good. To those of us who know Eggleston's works, it is familiar. To those unfamiliar with his work, this would be a good overview except for the current pricing of the book. The reproduction of the photographs is pretty good. The big problem with the presentation is the ghastly decision to present a few individual photographs across the gutter. This pretty much destroys the composition of the affected photographs. Thankfully, this is only done to a few photographs. There is a very short interview with Eggleston at the end of the book. It doesn't really give much insight into his work other than noting the cameras and lenses he was using at the time and his statement that he doesn't have any favorite individual photographs.

I cannot recommend this book at the current prices (in excess of $100 for a good used copy as of this writing) unless you're a die-hard Eggleston completist. As time goes by, more and more of Eggleston's work is being presented in exhibitions and publication. The photos in this book will probably be printed in other books, making this volume redundant. Yet this book is a good one and is recommended if you find it at a reasonable price.