Album for an Age: Unconventional Words and Pictures from the Twentith Century (Hardcover)

~ Art Shay (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Album...not only illustrates [Shay’s] reputation for capturing people in off-guard moments, but also includes his evocative prose. -- Afterimage

Art Shay is one of the best photojournalists I know. I've been a fan of his work since the early 1950's--before the launch of Playboy magazine. -- Hugh Hefner

Art Shay’s extraordinary talent is capturing the human spirit of all those who come before his lens and are characterized by his pen. -- Roy Rowan, former Life and Fortune editor and author of The Intuitive Manager, Powerful People, and Surfcaster’s Quest

Art Shay’s vivid and unique portrayals are a treasure. -- Scott Turow

Enjoyable...Shay has put it all down in a great stew of anecdotes and insight. The photographs [are] classics. -- Bill Brashler, Chicago Sun-Times

His pictures are universal...they tell of greed and lust and ambition and snowy days...they tell us about life. -- Rich Cahan, Photography Director of City 2000, former Chicago Sun-Times picture editor

My initial admiration for his talent and courage have never dimmed. How could they? Just look at the pictures. -- Garry Willis

Shay doesn’t see through the camera lens but beyond it, to the truth of his photographs. -- Roger Ebert

Shay’s strength...[is] his eye for the incongruous…. Shay’s running commentary...is crisp, erudite and at times hilarious. -- David Murray, New York Times Book Review

Product Description

A delightful, thoughtful, and sometimes wacky sightseeing tour of many of the major personalities and events of the last fifty years by one of America's liveliest photographers--for Life, Time, and other assignments. Not a picture book, but a book with pictures. Art Shay's photography shakes you up, sets you down gently, pats you on the head, and then kicks you in the ass. Shay doesn't see through the camera lens but beyond it, to the truth of his photographs. --Roger Ebert. Art Shay is one of our truest photographers. His work over the past fifty years has artfully captured the beauty, humor, and pathos of America. --Studs Terkel. With an Introduction by Garry Wills. Illustrated.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher (August 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566633273
• ISBN-13: 978-1566633277
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #416,259 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joys and sorrows, September 22, 2000

By	Janet David (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

We expect photographers to reveal the world of the 'other'. Art Shay has been doing this for 50 years. "Album for an Age' depicts the lives and deaths of the famous and the infamous, as well as the ugly and the beautiful. We see them in social and historical contexts, and in private and public settings. There are portraits that Hollywood celebrities, artists and poets have posed for, and photos of underworld characters taken in secret by cameras hidden in his or his wife's clothing. There is humor in timely juxtapositions of people and places. One of my favorites is a close-up of a disheveled, grinning, toothless man, living in an Indiana poorhouse, holding aloft a bottle of Coca-Cola in a bizarre evocation of a slick advertisement. The unique contribution of this book, however, is when Art Shay turns his lens on himself, his family , and his feelings. The camera, no longer hidden, becomes a personal journal and a probe. He contrasts photos taken as an observer of an early heart by-pass procedure, with those taken 30 years later of himself, being prepped to receive a pig's aortic valve to replace his own, his only "non-Kosher" part. Most poignant are Art Shay's reminiscences about his oldest son, Harmon, named for his father, Herman, who was murdered at the age of 20. The man who has spent his life photographing celebrities and world leaders, as well as murderers and their victims is now the subject. This book, with its cover photo of a very young Marlon Brando playing with his dog, should appeal to a wide variety of people.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Album for an Age, October 17, 2000

By	Ellen S. Taylor (Ann Arbor Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I like this book because you can open it anywhere for anecotes about the famous people the author took pictures of for Life Magazine and business magazines. It's funny, and in parts about his own life, is quite touching. I gave a copy to a friend in the hospital. He said he liked looking at the pictures because the captions told little stories and his visitors had something to read while he dosed. I gave it to another friend who keeps it on her coffee table, as she adores dogs. The picture on the cover makes her feel good. Its a wonderful, beautifully written book to give as gifts to friends and relatives. Its nuttier than fruit cake, sweeter than chocolate, and it last longer.