History Books - Page 6

The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer

Louis Kaplan

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Editorial Review:

In the 1860s, William Mumler photographed ghosts—or so he claimed. Faint images of the dearly departed lurked in the background with the living, like his well-known photo of the recently assassinated Abraham Lincoln comforting Mary Todd. The practice came to be known as spirit photography, and some believed Mumler was channeling the dead. Skeptics, however, called it a fraudulent trick on the gullible, taking advantage of the grieving at a time of suffering and loss. Mumler’s insistence that his work brought back the dead led to a sensational trial in 1869 that was the talk of the nation.

In The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer, Louis Kaplan brings together, for the first time, Mumler’s haunting images, his revealing memoir, and rich primary sources, including newspaper articles and P. T. Barnum’s famous indictment of Mumler in Humbugs of the World. Kaplan also contributes two extended essays, which offer a historical perspective of the Mumler phenomena and delve into the sociocultural and theoretical issues surrounding this vivid ghost story.

Mumler’s case was an early example of investigative journalism intersecting with a criminal trial that, at its essence, set science against religion. The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer is the definitive resource for this unique and fascinating moment in American history and provides insights into today’s ghosts in the machine.

Lincoln Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Shaped an Extraordinary Life

Martin W. Sandler

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Editorial Review:

He was born in the backwoods of Kentucky in a humble log cabin, but Abraham Lincoln was savvy enough to embrace the new technology of his time—photography—to propel him all the way to the White House. This simple man with lofty goals was willing to use any means necessary, including the power of photography, to save the union and free the slaves—leaving behind an unmatched legacy of sacrifice, service, and achievement.  

More than one hundred images of Lincoln’s life and times provide a complete portrait of this revered president and the events that defined him. From the only confirmed existing picture of Lincoln before the historic Gettysburg Address to his second inauguration—where he is unknowingly surrounded by John Wilkes Booth and his coconspirators—to the execution of his murderers, this eye-opening, inspiring visual journey provides a fresh take on one of the most documented and beloved figures in American history. 

Historic Photos of Theodore Roosevelt (Historic Photos.)

Stacy A. Cordery

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks, and the greatest of all prizes are those connected with the home. No father and mother can hope to escape sorrow and anxiety, and there are dreadful moments when death comes very near those we love, even if for the time being it passes by. But life is a great adventure, and the worst of all fears is the fear of living. --Theodore Roosevelt, from his autobiography.

Following the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt charged into the limelight and the twentieth century as the 26th president of the United States. Charismatic, fiercely energetic, and adored by Americans everywhere, TR would champion a host of causes to bring the nation into the new century brimming with optimism and onto the international scene as a world power.

From his earliest days as a youth in New York City to his declining years during World War I, Historic Photos of Theodore Roosevelt captures the greatest exploits of one of the nation s greatest Americans. As soldier and explorer, as conservationist and big game hunter, as governor, vice-president, and president, as scientist and writer, and as family man, TR s life in pictures blazes a path sure to enthrall every reader, from the student of history to the history buff.

TR became and remains an American icon. The hundreds of photographs in Historic Photos of Theodore Roosevelt, many of them rare and unusual, and all published in striking black and white, help Americans a hundred years later to understand why.

New York Noir: Crime Photos from the Daily News Archive

William Hannigan, Luc Sante

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Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

During the golden age of tabloid photography--from the 1920s to the 1950s--photojournalists created some of the most innovate and enduring images in the history of photography. Photos of crimes and criminals, more than any other subject, captured the public imagination. Here for the first time is a selection of the most outstanding crime photographs from the archive of America's premier tabloid newspaper, the New York Daily News

Author William Hannigan demonstrates how these groundbreaking photos helped create the visual style that we now associate with film noir classics from Double Indemnity to Chinatown and L.A. Confidential. Narrating the history of tabloid photography, Hannigan tells how hard-hitting pictures helped the Daily News win the tabloid wars on the 1920s, earning it the title of "New York's Picture Newspaper." An introduction by Luc Sante, author of Low Life and Evidence, examines the impact of these pictures on their original audience and how differently we see them today.

Capturing the mystery and drama of real-life "news noir," the photographs in this volume are both visually sophisticated and relentlessly revealing of human nature's dark side. An eloquent portrait of a city and an epoch, this book is not to be missed by crime buffs, photography lovers, or students of New York City's past.

Art Forms in the Plant World: 120 Full-Page Photographs (Dover Photography Collections)

Karl Blossfeldt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

An inspirational "must have" for metalsmiths and artists! 5 out of 5 stars.
28 of 29 people found this review helpful.

Karl Blossfeldt's imagery conjures up strange imaginary worlds. An absolute must have for artists searching out unusual organic forms as inspiration. Straight forward full frame B and W shots make photo copying or scanning a breeze. Gaudi, and Ernst along with the Brothers Quay come to mind.

Photos were not the quality I thought they'd be. 2 out of 5 stars.
10 of 12 people found this review helpful.

I was expecting crispy photos of professional quality with good levels of contrast to define edges, variation, etc. of the forms photographed. Instead most of the photos were somewhat blurry and of low-contrast, mostly grays, leaving depth to be inferred and not readable. I admit that I'm disappointed.

bad reproductions 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

the reproductions are low contrast and not very nice -- i'd rather have photocopies! will look for a better copy...

Editorial Review:

Originally intended as reference for his work as architect, sculptor, and teacher, Blossfeldt's exquisite sharp-focus photo studies of plant form — leaves, buds, stems, seed pods, tendrils and twigs — won acclaim with publication of the 1928 edition of this book. 120 full-page black-and-white plates. Original introduction. Publisher's Note. Captions.

Hollywood Portraits

Roger Hicks, Christopher Nisperos

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Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Hollywood Portraits 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is an excelent book for the budding portrait photographer, dealing with the various lighting solutions used to produce stuning portraits; I certainly found it to be very informative when undertaking my HND portrait assignment.

Editorial Review:

From the innocent allure of Audrey Hepburn and the sensuous poses of Marilyn Monroe to the macho charisma of Marlon Brando and the cool sophistication of Humphrey Bogart, this fabulous, inspirational book of star photographs provides classic portrait styles and detailed directions on how to set up, light, and shoot each photo. Step-by-step instructions reveal the techniques used by top-notch Hollywood photographers for their glittering glamour portraits of the 1920s through the 1950s. Diagrams and additional step-by-step instructions give readers the information needed to create classic Hollywood-style portraits of their own. Included are sections on equipment, processing, lighting, and modern-day equivalents, plus a decade-by-decade gallery featuring vintage portraits of the stars.

ALBUM OF THE DAMNED: SNAPSHOTS FROM THE THIRD REICH

Paul Garson

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The photographs in this startling collection were taken by German soldiers and civilians during the Third Reich; a few were taken by professionals embedded with the troops. But for the most part, they are the work of amateurs taking snapshots for family and friends.Through these black and white images, we enter the living rooms, the back yards, the boulevards and the killing fields of Nazi Germany. Many of these photos were once in family albums. Some soldiers returned with them after the war and, years later, these photographs were offered for sale by relatives along with their own snapshots of the home front. Other pictures were captured by the Soviets and, after the fall of the USSR, became available on the open market.The author acquired these snapshots from some fifteen countries; he spent more than four years researching, working every day, reviewing more than 100,000 images and selecting nearly 400 for this book. 'Most images,' the author says, 'are accompanied by text that both complements historical research and offers a subjective analysis of each - all in an effort to comprehend, to somehow attempt to understand what is essentially unfathomable.'

Vermeer's Camera: Uncovering the Truth behind the Masterpieces

Philip Steadman

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Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Art historians have long speculated on how Vermeer achieved the uncanny mixture of detached precision, compositional repose, and perspective accuracy that have drawn many to describe his work as "photographic." Indeed, many wonder if Vermeer employed a camera obscura, a primitive form of camera, to enhance his realistic effects?
In Vermeer's Camera, Philip Steadman traces the development of the camera obscura--first described by Leonaro da Vinci--weighs the arguments that scholars have made for and against Vermeer's use of the camera, and offers a fascinating examination of the paintings themselves and what they alone can tell us of Vermeer's technique. Vermeer left no record of his method and indeed we know almost nothing of the man nor of how he worked. But by a close and illuminating study of the paintings Steadman concludes that Vermeer did use the camera obscura and shows how the inherent defects in this primitive device enabled Vermeer to achieve some remarkable effects--the slight blurring of image, the absence of sharp lines, the peculiar illusion not of closeness but of distance in the domestic scenes. Steadman argues that the use of the camera also explains some previously unexplainable qualities of Vermeer's art, such as the absence of conventional drawing, the pattern of underpainting in areas of pure tone, the pervasive feeling of reticence that suffuses his canvases, and the almost magical sense that Vermeer is painting not objects but light itself.
Drawing on a wealth of Vermeer research and displaying an extraordinary sensitivity to the subtleties of the work itself, Philip Steadman offers in Vermeer's Camera a fresh perspective on some of the most enchanting paintings ever created.

The Book of Caddyshack: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Greatest Movie Ever Made

Scott Martin

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• Scott Martin

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

If you loved the movie, you will love this book! 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

The Book of Caddyshack is awesome - perhaps even worthy of the Dalai Lama himself!

Caddyshack is one of my all time favorite movies and this book makes me love and appreciate it even more.

The book has all types of tidbits and facts about every minute of the movie and humorous interviews with the actors and production crew members. Thanks to the author's research, after reading this book and watching the movie again, you will notice all sorts of stuff that you didn't see before...guaranteed.

Not only do you learn about the four big stars - Knight, Dangerfield, Murray, and Chase - but there are great stories about all the hilarious supporting characters: Noonan, Spaulding, Lacey Underall, D'Annunzio, Porterhouse, Maggie, Dr. Beeper, Lou Loomis, the Havercamps, and others....which is nice.

The Book of Caddyshack really is a peach, hon!

Editorial Review:

The Book of Caddyshack gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at this classic comedy and includes a full descriptions of all scenes, with the main action plus what's going on in the background, details on actors and others involved in the movie, info on key props, how the plot/script progressed from the original to the eventual, every possible bit of trivia about the movie and making the movie, and what PGA Tour stars and others in the golf world particularly like about the movie.

San Francisco's Lost Landmarks (California/Old West)

James R. Smith

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History at its best 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

So many books appear yearly on San Francisco that it's easy to miss one - and San Francisco's Lost Landmarks is not one to miss; it holds riches like few others. Where competitors offer listings of dates and facts, San Francisco's Lost Landmarks uses vintage pictures to blend with history to tell of lost pieces of the past. From the Tivoli Opera House and Gardens to Ralston's failed Grand Hotel, San Francisco's Lost Landmarks is history at its best.

Editorial Review:

With long-forgotten stories and evocative photographs, San Francisco’s Lost Landmarks showcases the once-familiar sites that have faded into dim memories and hazy legends. Not just a list of places, facts, and dates, this pictorial history shows why San Francisco has been a legendary travel destination and one of the world’s premier places to live and work for more than one hundred and fifty years. It not only tells of the lost landmarks, but also dishes up the flavor of what it was like to experience these past treasures.