Customer Reviews

Men at Work Photographic Studies of Modern Men and Machines

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Lewis Hine had an affinity with the workingman. Jonathan Doherty, in the introduction to this book, says "Hine looked at workingmen with his camera and found a strength in them and a pride in their work that was common to all". He had a point because the photos show men controlling their machines and not the other way round, with these photos you can see craftsmen at work.

The sixty-nine excellent photos in the book (originally published in 1932) show forty-six taken during the construction of the Empire State Building and they are clearly not posed. Hine was given the assignment to cover the building work and so the photos have the raw energy of heavy work. The remaining twenty-three photos are much more formal studies of activity, lathe operators, engine drivers, coalminers, turbine engine grinders, welders and others are all creatively shown going about their work. I think these beautiful photos really show the respect Hine had for the working craftsmen.

Good (and inexpensive) as the book is I wish these photos could have been presented in a more formal setting, centred on each page with quality paper and printing to really do them justice.

Men At Work by Lewis Hine is a beautiful collection of 69 photographic studies of men and machines originally published in 1932. This book is a great example of men controlling machines in order to benefit their lives, rather than the machines controlling their lives. Hine was able to find normal subjects and turn them into to amazing, interseting images. Through these photogrphs he catches the positive side of life which is very enjoyable to look at. There are also 18 extra photographs of the construction of the Empire State Building. Each page has a detailed description of the photographs to let the reader know exactly what he was shooting. The Empire Sate Building photos are quite amazing especially when you think about Hine himself that high off the ground taking these photos. In addition to the Empire State Building shots, are photographs of railroad workers and coal miners which no one had ever really recognized before. Overall this is a great book at an excellent price.

It will be presumptuous to place my opinion next to all the worthy accolades this work has received.
It stands all by itself in the B&W pantheon, and even people not interested in art or photography can`t afford to miss this true classic.

Being a very visual person, I bought "Men At Work"-- photographs by Lewis W. Hine-- to help me in my research for a novel. I was not disappointed! Not only were the photographs a remarkably authentic look at what went on at the Empire State Building site as it was going up in 1930-31, the captions gave me a clearer idea of how the various 'gangs' worked; i.e., the rivet gang, the derrick gang, etc. etc. For anyone who is interested in looking at how men worked in the building industry, with some additional pictures on railroad workers and miners, this is the book for you.

Superb collection of Hine's later work. Not what's usually thought of when we think of Hine. A short book, not a lot of writing-it's about the photos, which are wonderful. I bought a "used" (like new) first edition (has better quality photo reproduction than more recent reprints). Great tonal range and good size to enjoy these important, rarely seen photos. A worthwhile addition to anyone's photo library.