Documentary-collections Books

I enjoyed looking at Howard Roffman's photographs in THREE. I've often wondered whether threesomes actually work--apparently so (I wonder whether the guys are still together?).

Roffman documents three men/lover's lives. The photographs are visually pleasing and very erotic. This is a unique collection that certainly merits review. Roffman's photographs captures the male form in various stages of passion, as well as in mundane moments; each definitely tells a story of the men and leaves the viewer to conjure up stories to fill in the narrative blanks (no pun intended).

I highly recommend THREE. It's a wonderful coffeetable book...:)

THREE by Howard Roffman is a wonderful collection of photos of 3 very handsome and sexy young men who have decide to make a life together as a permanent three-some. The photographs are beautifully executed, and the subjects seem very comfortable with who they are, their relationship, and the fact that it is being documented for the general public. The men are handsome, and the concept of a permanent three-some is charged with sexual innuendo and potential. This is a real nice book. Buy it, you will enjoy it totally.

I sometimes wonder whether these books are used for less than platonic purposes (although, knowing Plato's morals, I'm never sure how to use that word). I truly hope Howard Roffman's work is purchased purely for aeschetic enjoyable, rather than well..you know.

Three is a tribute to Roffman's contributions to the continuing study of the male nude. Using Black and White photography to capture the playful, emotional, passionate nature to three romantically entwined individuals, Roffman offers the world a look into a very interesting relationship. A relationship which I am uncertain that I could emotionally withstand. Nonetheless, these three are going against the societal tides in an expression of love that is truly unique.

The history behind the relationship was not throughout the book which might have made it even more interesting. The storyline might also have been beneficially fleshed out. One does wish to know a bit more about these individuals. It was well worth the money; I do heartily recommend it to you.

Roffman scores again with this book. His early style still captures the beauty, poignancy, and fun of the three young men he photographs for this book.

There is some explanatory text but this is just a tad saccharine in it's sentimentality. The photographs are stunning, and that is what is truly important, so you can afford to ignore the text if you wish. He's even made some of the grins seem enticing. The more thoughtful photographs are truly erotic.

This is not a wank mag - it's softback and the spine isn't too strong, even if your's is. It is, however, a strongly recommended example of young men at one with each other ad the photographer.

Starring in Howard Roffman's photo book "Three" are three young men: John, Gary and Kris. They live together in a quite unconventional relationship in London. Roffman's photos show scenes from their everyday life - tender moments and even sexually heated situations. But Roffman's models do not remain "just models". With each picture the three protagonists get more and more lively. And each of them tells his own life story.

Miss Johnson shows the humility, the kindness, and insight: All three traits imbibing her as the Professional photographer of The Traverse City State Hospital. She has done justice for those gone; future generations shall grasp a better understanding of the hollow halls of antiquity.

I was excited to receive this book as a present as I lived in Traverse City for several years and visited the grounds of the state hospital where the photographs from this book were taken quite often and have a great interest in the architecture of Thomas Kirkbride. I was especially hoping to be able to finally see the inside of Kirkbride's Building 50 (one of the most complete Kirkbride main buildings still standing), the gothic building that graces the cover (the building was closed and inaccessable while I lived in Traverse City). While there are photographs of the buildings on the ground prior to their recent conversion as multi use/mixed housing, most of the photographs were reprints of historic photographs, not the lovely work of Heidi Johnson and the pre-renovated buildings. There also were many pages of just words without any photographs (while the detail of the first 20 deaths of patients is "interesting" I would have enjoyed Ms Johnson's work a bit more). I was also a bit dissapointed by the size of the book. It appears to be a coffee table book but is quite a bit smaller. All in all, the book is quite lovely but for someone interested in the Kirkbride asylum architecture this book was disappointing.

The somewhat haunting photographs of the interior of the asylum makes one try to imagine how life was for those souls who lived there. The beautiful architecture of those majestic buildings and well-manicured grounds is a testament to an era of compassion. There is one photograph in particular that caught my attention, on page 185 that has what appears to be a ghostly image of a man standing in the doorway of room 50. A book you can look at over and over again and see new things in the detailed photographs.

This book should be required reading in Psych 101 classes. Photography classes as well.

The author gently uses her camera and prolific writing style to tell a story that both inspires and shocks you at the same time. There are incredible amounts of patient and staff histories both touching and surprising. The book inspires one to ponder the life of each person profiled.

One can only hope that Johnson continues along the same lines and creates another masterpiece like Angels in the Architecture.

"Angels in the Architecture" is a first-rate homage to a former asylum, the Traverse City State Hospital of Michigan. Heidi Johnson has masterfully combined her hauntingly beautiful photographs with both archival material and first-hand reports from the trenches. The result is a powerfully compelling journey into the soul of a once vibrant institution that provided care to thousands of its wards.

David Leddick continues in this second volume of naked men what he began in NAKED MEN, PIONEERING MALE NUDES, 1935-1955, bringing us up to 2000, the year this volume was published. The genie is out of the bottle as famous and unknown men pose before many different photographers. In addition to George Platt Lynes, there are photographs here by George Dureau, Ken Duncan, Francesco Scavullo, Tom Bianchi, Robert Mapplethorpe, Greg Gorman, Harriet Liebowitz, Jim French, Pierre & Gilles, to name a few. Additionally there are drawings and/or paintings by Paul Cadmus, Michael Leonard, Don Bachardy and George Dureau. Among the famous and sometimes infamous men who bared all are Yves Saint Laurent, Rupert Everett, David Kopay, the exhibitionist Peter Berlin who apparently only photographs himself, Charlton Heston--hello!--Burt Lancaster from THE SWIMMER-- remember that 1968 movie made from a John Cheever short story?-- Peter Hinwood, whose name probably means nothing to you until you find out that he was the god Rocky Horror in ROCKY HORROR SHOW-- and Joe Dallesandro, one of Andy Warhol's superstars, who has not aged particularly well, photographed here by Scavullo. Finally we are graced by at least three porn stars: Ryan Idol; Cal Culver a/k/a Casey Donovan, who died of AIDS in 1987; and the notorious Jeff Stryker, (pp. 86-87) whose photo here is a hoot. He is demurely posed, stretched out on a flower-patterned couch with his back to the camera in the tradition of a 19th Century painting of a nude woman. (Seeing that hilarious photograph alone is worth the price of the book.)

Choosing favorite photographs is challenging. I particularly like Harriet Liebowitz's work (pp. 92-93) for her exquisite composition. Both photographs by Pierre & Gilles as always are creative and look like no other artist's work: Midnight Cowboy (pp. 98-99) and Casanova on pages 128-29. The photo of Larry Schleinz by Barry McKinley (p. 9) might have been the sexiest shot in the book had it had not been for the Romain Johnson photo by George Platt Lynes (pp. 24-25) done in 1953. It's easy to see why Leddick chose the photo of Anthony La Fauci by Dianora Niccolina (pp. 76-77) for the cover. Finally I nominate three contemporary photographs of men who have aged beautifully for the "Joy Of Aging" award: John Eddy (p. 82), Scott Wilson, (39) and Mike Helie on page 59.

Collecting these photographs and meeting the models must have been a labor of love. A great concept for a book, Mr. Leddick.

Following "Naked Men" with "Naked Men Too" adds to the resource literature on the development of gender perception during the past century. This is an informative book (yes, there is actually material to READ as well as to see) and to this reviewer the words are better than the varying degrees of quailty in the photography and art. This book may initally appeal to the voyeur but the accompanying text is concise and very helpful in exploring the ever present question of "why is frontal male nudity such a problem for contemporary viewers?". Recommended.

this book provides an excellent history to the photography of nude men. Beautiful photographs and beautiful men. This collection has helped me out quite a few times.

As good as its predecessor; highly recommended.

The photography in this book is top notch. I am especially fond of the man on the cover, Anthony LaFauci. He is the empitome of the ultimate male nude!!!

This is a magnificent book full with beautiful artistic photographs. Each day I turn just one page and leave the book open on my coffee table to enjoy the splendour of nature. The photographer went out of his way to capture unique moments of the day, capitalising on unusual light conditions to emphasise natural structures and scenery!

I bought it as a gift for my husband who is into photography. He's really enjoying it. It arrived before Christmas too even though I got an email that said it would be late. I've had good experience w/ amazon on book orders.

This is a beautiful book of photography done by one of the most outstanding nature photographers America has ever known. The photos from all over N. America are outstanding. A wonderful coffee table book. Also an inspirational book for photographers or anyone desiring to be amongst the glories of nature. Galan Rowell knew what to look for in a great photograph.

I love this book! I'm in to landscape photography and this book is some of the best examples out there.

This book is packed full of breath-taking scenery with every page, from front cover to back, presenting exquisite photos of North American treasures. It is a picture book filled with eye candy for the nature lover, world traveler, and science enthusiast. I highly recommend this book to inspire your soul, renew your mind, and lift your spirits.

Polidori's work is not just about the places he photographs. This book is something to recommend to people with no understanding of Havana or it's history as well as those that do know the city. He has captured an eerie world, ghostly and abandoned, yet clinging to life. It's a dark tropical dream. If you find peeling paint and dark hallways strangely inspiring, you will treasure this collection of work from a masterful photographer with a great appreciation for decay and its warmth as well as sadness. Look at these photographs and enjoy their mysteries.

Being Cuban American and having visited Havana numerous times as well as having the opportunity to actually see firsthand, many of these grand interiors Polidori so eloquently displays for all to page through and imagine the events that have transpired in these interiors. The joys, the struggles, the rise and fall of a culture with all it's social graces. This book captures what I captured with my own eyes passing through those marvelous mansions of Cuba's golden age. Havana is truly a Paris of the Caribbean, although decayed and damaged, she is still beautiful, graceful and inspirational to all who visit her. Thus the term "Havana-itis", a disease thought to befall visitors who fall instantly in love with the grand ole dame. I believe there is still hope for her to be restored to her rightful brilliance one day, If only the current government would allow it.

There are two principal cities in the world where time seems to stand still. One is Pripyat' Ukraine which was abandoned following the Chernobyl disaster in April, 198. In that unfortunate time literally all the people left within 24 hours. The other is Havana whose middle and upper classes departed over several decades following the Cuban Revolution mainly to live in the United States.

Unlike Pripyat' where vegetation and wildlife replaced human inhabitants, the City of Havana lives on despite its painful decay.

Robert Polidori's Havana depicts several days in the life of the city in the early years of the new century. Probably by chance, the period he photographed represented simultaneously the zenith and nadir of the Revolution. His camera details the architectural heritage of the colonial era set among the blockish facades of Socialist reality. Even as neglect defaces these urban jewels, a certain spirit shines through recalling a city whose exiles in Florida still yearn to return.

As we enter the last days of the Cuban experiment in our hemisphere, the Havana so lovingly pictured here will not endure. Buildings and homes will be restored naturally enough. But the spirit of the urban caretakers of this legacy might have been lost forever if not for Polidori's lens. This is an amazing and dreamy work that belongs to a city and people whose heritage stayed behind.

These photos are breathtakingly spectacular. As soon as I saw this book, I had to buy it. It was the first time I'd ever seen anything that captures exactly what being in Cuba feels like: as if you were witnessing the beautiful ruins of a decaying Roman empire. It's the most spectacular, cinematic misery you could ever experience. And I'm glad that someone like Robert Polidori has captured it so faithfully before it all crumbles to the ground (or gets built over with hideous concrete Spanish hotels).

Visceral images of a unique city, in which splendor and squalor are juxtaposed, and the past is suspended within the present, decaying yet enduring. Robert Polidori has captured the beauty and melancholy of Havana, gazing unflinchingly at the ruins and the people who inhabit them. When the boycott is finally lifted, all this will be swept away by a tide of new development, so try to see it now and use this wonderful book as an introduction and a lasting memento. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

Not only do the "twin authors" provide a first-hand glimpse into the world of "being a twin"...but through the plethora of inspiring interviews with "real-life" twins, they gave me the "real-life" gift of stopping to think of "being human!"

Not only do the "twin authors" provide a first-hand glimpse into the world of "being a twin"...but through the plethora of inspiring interviews with "real-life" twins, they gave me the "real-life" gift of stopping to think of "being human!"

It was refreshing to read a book about twins that wasn't all research and statistics. This book tells a short story about the lives of twins that are either famous or have accomplished something extraordinary or stick out in some other way. Notables are Muhammad Ali's twin daughter, the Hennessy's, Tamera and Tia (Sister Sister show), Mario Andretti and his twin Aldo and Jane Seymour's twin boys. Also the story of the Jim Twins (in every book about twins) and the famous Hensel conjoined twins.

Very interesting reading, and I agree it's a good coffee table book. I do think they should have more boy-girl and other fraternal twins sets represented though.

I liked this book enough. I was disappointed that it focused so much on identical twins and same-sex twins. (My twins are boy/girl...there is only one vignette in the book.) I haven't found myself reading it over and over. The pictures are lovely and the stories are fine. I give it a B or maybe B+.

This book truly touched my heart. I am a twin and felt that it honestly portrayed the many complex and deep emotions and issues that twins experience. I can't wait to share this book with my twin and family! And there are so many amazing people in the book. I didn't realize Muhammad Ali and Jane Seymour had twins. And how different each relationship can be, yet also have such commonalities. I absolutely love this book and find myself opening it up often to read an essay and look at the beautiful photos.

The photographer certainly has a highly cultivated taste. The book is both enjoyable and collectable, for its extraordinary aesthetic design and its rare visual beauty. You see this kind of art works once in decades.

I have not had the pleasure of seeing Howard's follow-up work, "Pool Light," but if it is anything like this it is absolutely remarkable! "Water Dance" has several pages of written introduction followed by a stunning array of hundreds of full-page, sharply contrasted and brightly colored photos of nude dancers/models exhibiting many traditional ballet style moves under water. There are other kinds of poses as well, some showing full frontal nudity of male and female figures, most with long veils and ribbons that further enhance the fluidity and grace of the poses. Howard Schatz has truly charted new territory here. This work should serve as inspiration to all aspiring artists of the nude figure as well as photographers and students of dance. I bought a new paperback copy in 1998 but would gladly pay the (much) higher used prices people are selling it for (as I do intend to buy a used copy "Pool Light" for it's even higher asking price). This is a positively magnificent work!

And, to Amazon's credit, I also recommend the following: David Hamilton's "Age of Inncocence," Jock Sturges' "Radiant Identities," also (for some more abstract and hard-hitting photography, demanding personal interpretation) Jan Saudek's, "Saudek," and Boris Vallejo's, "Bodies," Christian Voght's "In-Camera: Eighty-Two Images by Fifty-Two Women" and, of course, Howard Schatz' "Pool Light."

Howard Schatz is a master at creating amazing photographic images of the human body. "Water Dance," his fourth book (1995), is a collection of over a hundred stunning color photos taken of ballet dancers underwater in what started out as an experiment and ended up as new and alluring choreography.

The introduction to this book talks about man's quest over time to conquer gravity, and how dance is created to give the illusion of weightlessness. This discussion is a perfect foreword to Mr. Schatz's work, in that having dancers "perform" underwater essentially solves the gravity problem. What you see in "Water Dance" is a collaboration between photographer, dancer, choreographer and even costume designers to produce a sort of ballet that is weightless . . . underwater. Virtually all of the subjects are dancers from the San Francisco Ballet and other companies, recruited by Mr. Schatz to perform in this project that uses a pool as a stage. Each image is entitled "Underwater Study #..." and features usually one, but occasionally two or more dancers, captured in the midst of an expressive movement or pose, but suspended in a way that the fluidity is still present. An interesting attribute to these photos is the use of the surface of the pool as a mirror, or as a plane through which a portion of the body can penetrate to become hidden. Note also the use of special chiffon fabrics which were created for the underwater studies to take a shape which complements the dancers.

You don't have to be a fan of dance or photography to appreciate this book. The images are truly amazing, and I believe anyone will find fascination with these photos.

Review Summary: This book deserves more than five stars.

Take the most talented dancers from the San Francisco ballet, give them special gossamer costumes for underwater, and see how their poses and moves soar in the relatively weightless space beneath the surface. The resulting color photographs capture exquisite forms, bubbles, reflections, and stressless arabesques. The photographs are done with a Nikonos RS camera and a Hasselblad underwater camera, lit by Balcar strobes.

Viewer Caution: These images contain many nude photographs of men and women that would earn this material an R rating if it were found in a motion picture. All of the images evoke freeflowing, tasteful versions of classical poses for dancers and nudes.

Review: Water Dance is one of the most original photography books I have ever seen. Most underwater images are of fairly still poses, while these are often dynamic in their movement. Mr. Schatz has also found many special effects that mimic mirror images, reflections on the surface of water, and bubbles caught in solid transparent objects. Flowing hair and costumes also serve to capture the undulations and movement in the water in ways that will remind you of the most delicate kites flying in the most gentle, steady breezes.

The dancers themselves are in marvelous shape and seem to have adapted well to making leaps and pas de deux that would be impossible above the water. Those images are the most ethereal. The images are greatly enhanced by the special costumes designed to work well in the undulating world of underwater.

Ms. Katita Waldo is clearly the dancer who has taken most naturally to this new medium, and you will be intrigued by her freedom of expression in these images. But many other dancers were able to achieve remarkable poses that were well photographed and reproduced in this wonderful book.

Here are some of my favorites:

Underwater Study #49 (Shannon Lilly); U.S. #229C (floating costume); U.S. #189 (Heather Nahser); U.S. #117 (Tiffany Heft and Nikolai Kabaniaev); U.S. #179 (Jessica Schatz and Heather Vaughn); U.S. #152 (Katita Waldo); U.S. #107 (Anastasia); U.S. #215 (Julian Montaner and Nicole Panone); U.S. #183 (Wendy Van Dyck); U.S. #130 (Katita Waldo); and U.S. #41 (Katita Waldo).

I hope that someone will take this concept the next step and choreograph a whole underwater video featuring such beautiful dance sequences.

After you finish marveling over these astonishing scenes, I suggest that you think about how your own work could be transformed by being moved into a medium in which it could operate with fewer constraints. What would glass blowing look like in outer space? How would writing change if it were dictated while roller blading?

Extend the joy of life in as many ways as possible!

Having gotten acquainted with several of Howard Schatz' books, and owning more than one, I vouch for the opinions of other reviewers that this collection of photographs of dancers, fabrics, bodily configurations and arresting visual phenomena underwater is just beautiful, and astounding! An earlier reviewer said, "The photos in this book are a bit rawer than those in 'Pool Light' - and by that I don't mean tawdry." Unfortunate use of the word; since true appreciators of dance and the human form don't consider the uncovered body as "raw", but exquisitely natural. Mr. Schatz is very discrete in his exposure of both male and female bodies in this fine collection. To my taste, this book is superior to the later one, "Pool Light" (which I also own and thumb through).

One of the arresting visual phenomena is the reflections of forms from the "mirror" meeting of water and air (mediums of different density) at the pool"s surface.

To me (dance buff) this is much more than a "coffe table" book.

if you are looking at a way to make the ordinary special, looking at the images contained in Atget definitely intrigues your imagination. details and compostion place the viewer in the scene, an active particpant.

Now that it is so cheap, don't miss this great book! Excellent prose by Szarkowski and beautiful pictures by a master... hard combination to beat.

Eugene Atget is known to everyone, perhaps not by name in all instances, but at least by the images of Paris and environs that grace all manner of books, essays, brochures, museums, art collections, and postcards throughout the world. At the time of his death in 1927 his enormous output of images was archived and has subsequently been studied, purchased and shared with exhibitions too numerous to mention. Yet in this fine book the essence of Atget the observer is appreciated as well as any publication of the many about the pioneering photographer, a man who served as an important bridge from studio formality of the art to entering the human realm of images of people on the streets of Paris and the surrounding areas.

Each of the 100 tritone and 5 duotone photographs in this elegant volume is accompanied by an insightful comment by the superb writer John Szarkowski who also happens to be the former director of the Department of Photography at the MOMA in New York. Rarely have photographic images been so enhanced by the written word: Szarkowski is in complete synchrony with the vision of Atget. Here are images of simple people of early 20th century Paris, images of streets, still lifes, woods, streams, rivers great and small, each captured with immediacy and yet with timelessness.

For those looking for an affordable introduction of Atget's work for the library, this is certainly the volume of choice. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, March 06

This book is another gift from a great writer and observer, an homage to Atget, to photography, to art and to Western civilization. For anyone who pretends to be a photographer or to love Art, it is a joy to share Szarkowski's easy erudition, one or two pages at a time.

Atget showed us the axioms of photography and axioms cannot be explained by analysis. The test of an Atget, Bach, or Cezanne, is that it is impossible to find the source of their revelation and impossible not to find their influence in future artists.

"Good pictures are not explained by words...With exceptional good luck criticism might with words construct meanings that are different from but consonant with the meanings of pictures. Such constructs of words might possibly guide us toward the neighborhoods where pictorial meanings live.", he says in this book. (Please, if you are an art historian or critic, take this pledge!)

Thus Szarkowski tours the photographs he has selected and writes a thought or two somehow connected to each one - sometimes a revelation, often a question. Each page of writing stands alone and will engage the reader in a conversation with the author and the photographer. Many times Szarkowski puts us somewhere behind the camera a hundred years ago, or on a bridge in Paris 600 years ago. He really brings Atget to life by putting us in his time and place.

There are plenty of revealing facts stashed throughout the writing. Szarkowski talks of the influence of Atget on Weston, Walker Evans, Winogrand, and others and leaves us to recognize the Atget in Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, and ourselves. He mentions just the relevant technical and biographical details.

He shows examples of how Atget handled Time,the essence of photography. As he wrote in "Photography Until Now" about Atget, "Perhaps from the practice of looking attentively and repeatedly at the same thing from different vantage points and in different lights he came to see that ...one tree, or one reflecting pool, was never twice the same, and would therefore last as a subject as long as one's concentrated attention. With this realization he became, surely not intentionally, a modern artist."

The reflecting pools and trees are in this book along with the more familiar Parisian architecture. Different views of the same subjects are also in other books such as Berenice Abbott's "The World Of Atget". Szarkowski thus, enriches the literature on Atget, giving meaning to many of the published mindless catalogs of his photographs.

Szarkowski shows another reason Atget is a modern artist. His work is meticulously constructed in the same cultural elements as the works of his more famous contemporary French painters and sculptures. There are no accidents and no mistakes in his work. The result is a richness that reveals something new every time we look at it.

The same is true of this book by Szarkowsi. I've read it three times. It is a masterpiece, "...seductively and deceptively simple, wholly poised, reticent, dense with experience, mysterious and true." To use the words Szarkowski wrote of Atget in Looking At Photographs.

Again, John Szarkowski takes us by the hand and leads us into the photographs of Eugene Atget, as through the magic of a looking glass. In these writings, on a selection of photographs from the first quarter of the 20th century, in his historically aware and individual way, Szarkowski instructs on how to read a photograph by doing so himself. We not only see into the environs of Paris through the eyes of the eclectic, determined and tender Atget, but also through the eyes and the keen, attentive mind of Szarkowski, who writes as though he lives inside these pictures, and tends them, and the photographer, with great devotion.

This edition is set up by the previous 4 volume study, The Work of Atget, by Maria Morris Hambourg and John Szarkowski, Museum of Modern Art, 1985. But this new book comes from a persistent, deep seam miner, one who knows that what it is about these photographs is so fertile, they can be studied throughout one's life, and still give more.

How rich is the mind that can bring another mind to light? Would it be bearable if everything in life could be keyed into focus, for us too busy and bothered to pay attention, by a poet as revelatory as Szarkowski? When considering entree des jardins, 1921-22, he says, "except occasionally, as (for example) during revolutions, the French have managed very well to sublimate the periodic human tendency to behave violently toward one's fellow human men, and have directed these impulses toward their trees", you cannot help but love the gardener who built the gate here, the photographer for seeing it, and Szarkowski, for bringing it to our attention in this way. He tells you what is on the menu, who lived in the house, how the hotel got its name, who built it, what may have motivated them to sculpt a Dionysus over a doorway, what member of the court of Louis the XIV was cast to live where, what other photographer may have attempted to photograph the same scene, and sometimes, what led Atget there.

The book is a beautiful masterpiece, and an accomplishment worthy of a life spent looking deeply. If you love (really looking at) photographs, you should consider your shelves incomplete without it.

This is a wonderful photo representation of the desecration and destruction of a beautiful train station. It provided me with images and emotions I have not otherwise experienced in reviews of the original Penn Station. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the subject and photography!

This is an extraordinary, heartbreaking, must have book for anyone who loves New York and/or McKim, Mead & White's work.

Photographer Peter Moore and his wife Barbara moved into the Penn Station neighborhood in the early sixties. They used the building every day, whether they were passing through to the subway or catching a bite in the cavernous coffee shop.

With the railroad's permission, they documented its slow dismantling over the four years from 1963-1967. This book is the first appearance of that work. The black and white pictures are arranged chronologically, showing the faded but still magnificent station from its last days of active use through to its ghostly presence as a metal shell. The photography is beautiful and lyrical and sad beyond words, like a mournful love song to a love lost. The picures of the rubble-filled waiting room, its shape still intact but its side walls gone, are especially hard to take.

One note: this is not an exhaustive review of the building and its various spaces. It is a chrono picture of the concourse and waiting room through through their destruction. For more pics of the station in use, try "The Late, Great, Pennsylvania Station."

I remember as a kid in the mid-70s taking the train to NYC and having to endure the commuter's nightmare known as "modern" Penn Station.

In the late 80s, I learned what once was on the site of the current MSG/Penn Station monstrosity and became appalled that people could let a beautiful work of art be dismantled and replaced with a horrible building. In the early 1990s, I learned about the 1950s and 1960s and how Americans were obsessed with all things modern and new, rejecting anything with a hint of age or ornament.

Moore & Moore take a pictorial look on how the McKim, Mead and White's neoclassical masterpiece was dismantled over a multi-year period in the mid-1960s. While they really don't go into detail on why the old Penn Station was demolished, the spooky, B & W photos tell more than how an architectural gem was demolished. On a deeper level, the photos tell the tale of how an entire city was becoming irrelevant to suburban America and was sinking into massive decline (the years of municipal bankrupcy and burning neighborhoods in the South Bronx are only a few years away).

It was a very sad book that gets more depressing with each turn of the page, as more and more of the beauty of the old Penn Station gets stripped away. I guess that was the power of the photographs working on me.

Pair this book up with Robert Caro's _The Power Broker_ to get a good picture of New York in the early Baby Boom era.

This book just takes your breathe away, the images are so vivid and shocking. How on earth could anyone sign off on destroying this colossel beauty, it's something I just can't get my mind around. I am so grateful that this was documented, as hard as it is too look at, people need witness these pictures to make sure it does not happen again. Many people credit the outrage over the razing of this McKim, Mead, and White masterpiece with helping save Carnige Hall and Grand Central, which though appreciated, does not lessen the sadness over the loss of this New York City treasure, it really is such a tragic loss. I highly recommend this book for its text, great visuals, and the power is thought it provoks: great book.

I am one of the generation of New Yorkers that have grown up with the ghost of the old Penn station - and its unfortunate replacement. We have been forever robbed of this stately thing, which was so much more than a building. Watching it's slow death in these haunting pictures makes me hope this is the last time we have used our imagination to destroy rather than build. (This is an especially painful irony in light of our recent tragedy.) Get this book, and look at it with your children. And may we never treat the human-made beauty around us with such contempt again.

My whole family just went crazy over this book of photographs. My Niece was very happy with her birthday present.

Christopher, you have done it again! And this time, with my favorite animal!
The photo's are INCREDIBLE! I just love horses...believe me! I love mounting them; riding them; talking with them; not talking with them!
This is truly one of your best works so far!

Christopher Makos is one of the most exciting photographers working today. In this gorgeous new book, he has taken one of the most perplexing of all animals - horses - and demystified them with his incredible and candid shots and angles. A must for any horse lover, or anyone who simply admires the beauty of amazing photography.

Makos trains his practiced eye on horses and comes up with a fresh point of view. This book is a departure from his usual subject matter of objects, artists, and young men, yet the Makos aesthetic is present throughout. The photographs are beautiful and striking depictions of horses and the equestrian environment. Makos has achieved the rare coup of giving the viewer a new take on a classic subject. This is not a book of horse photos, but rather a new book of Makos photos that happen to be about horses.

Christopher Makos has done the impossible: he has successfully elected to extend his special gifts as a portrait artist of famous people and as a sensual documentarian of the male nude to the realm of animals. EQUIPOSE is a survey of supple and wondrously articulate images of horses that goes far beyond the curious eye and enters the realms of sensuality/spirituality.

Makos uses the same observation skills for which he has earned acclaim in books and magazines and applied those skills to capturing the musculature, the sheen, the power and the disparity between the surface and the underlying massive musculature of the horse. In tender close-up details Makos allows the light and his eye for detail to marry and the result is our being able to observe the veins, the individual flicks of the mane, the eyes, the torsos and the legs of these beautiful animals is inspiring.

If it sounds as though this portfolio is about sensuality then the reader is justly prepared for this particularly satisfying foray into yet another realm of the prodigious gifts of Makos. I am reminded of the play 'Equus' in which a boy's psyche is closely bound to the horse. That is the kind of romanticism that Makos captures. And the results are stunning! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 05