Documentary-collections Books

ALTHOUGH I WAS PHOTOGRAPHED BY SCHNEIDER SOME YEARS BACK, I'D NEVER SEEN THE BOOK UNTIL THIS WEEK WHEN I SIGNED A COPY AT THE FLORIDA STATE FAIR. I'M NOT BUYING BECAUSE I'M IN IT, I'M BUYING IT BECAUSE IT'S IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN---ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICANT ! CERTAINLY COMPARABLE TO RANDAL
LEVINSON'S "IN SEARCH OF THE MONKEY GIRL" AND THE NUMEROUS STUDIES
DONE ON SIDESHOW PERFORMERS BY DIANE ARBUS. EACH PAGE EVOKES A VARIETY
OF EMOTIONS THAT WILL ENGRAVE THEMSELVES IN YOUR MIND !
JOHNNY MEAH
"THE CZAR OF BIZARRE"

Walking, Talking, Lying is a full-color gallery of most unusual photographic works by Laurie Simmons. Nearly all the photographs are of dolls or mannequins juxtaposed with objects and artifacts - from a doll-sized hourglass with very feminine lower torso and legs to a ventriloquist's dummy seated and posed as if for an expensive formal portrait. The text commentary by Kate Linker points out the binding themes of Simmons' work such as the confusion of individuals with their possessions, to the extent that they identify with inanimate objects. Simmons' photographs form an unforgettable impression in their fusion of human nonhuman simulacra in this singularly distinctive treasury.

This is a great book. The images are tender and touching, even still-life are full of emotion and delicate beauty. You will want to give John Dougdale a hug and a pat on the back for this successful project.

Murray Leff saw ETO combat with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 137th Regiment, 35th Infantry Division from September 1944 to VE-Day. Atypically, Murray went to war armed with a Garand rifle AND a Welti folding bellows camera he had acquired in a swap for cigarettes. Line infantrymen were forbidden from carrying cameras into combat yet Leff kept - and used - his camera throughout his time in Europe. Fifty-seven years later he combined those long-ago photos with a narrative he had written just at war's end to produce this rare illustrated guide to one G.I.'s wartime experiences.

Leff's book chiefly consists of a 77-page narrative of his ETO experiences up to February 1945, a second - largely photographic - 62-page section that covers his ETO time from March to May 1945 and a 45-page appendix that reproduces the daily Company E combat reports sent to Division HQ, therein supplementing Leff's foxhole-level observations with the 'big picture.' (The narrative only runs to February 1945 because he was discharged before he could complete the manuscript).

Leff's war wasn't one of endless heart-pounding advances and set-piece battles but rather of long periods of inactivity holding the line, breaks for behind-the-lines R&R followed by more marches, new positions, late-night patrols, etc. Casualties were mercifully few and often were victims of random shellfire, a chance encounter with a German MG position, etc. As with most dogfaces, much of Leff's time was spent digging in, trying to keep warm and so on. In that respect LENS OF AN INFANTRYMAN offers a valuable insight into the life of a typical line doggie in World War II.

The over 90 wartime photographs featured in the book reflect Leff's 'long periods of tedium pierced by moments of stark terror' existence. There are a number of shots of Company E personnel in action and behind the lines; American tanks, trucks and other equipment; civilians welcoming the Americans, GIs examining a dead German soldier, etc. Several sequences are quite striking - one showing a Sherman taking up a firing position only to be hit by a 88mm gun; Leff's squad seeking cover in a water-filled ditch as an MG opens up on them; etc.

Since the narrative was written just months after the events happened, LENS OF AN INFANTRYMAN has a rare freshness and emphasis on daily life missing from other accounts of G.I.s at war. The photos though elevate the book to a higher level, offering a rare perspective on the life of a combat infantryman. Murray Leff's book comes highly recommended.

Part of the University of Calgary Press unique 'Parks and Heritage' series focusing on North American national parks and historic sites, "The Lens Of Time: A Repeat Photography Of Landscape Change In The Canadian Rockies" is the collaborative Project of Cliff White and Ted Hart which compares yesteryear black-and-white photographs in side-by-side arrangement with contemporary full color photographs of the same landscapes, taken from the same positional perspectives, and revealing the changes that have taken place during the intervening 125 years. Enhanced with an informed and informative commentary text, "The Lens Of Time" is an enthusiastically recommended addition to professional, academic, and community library collections, and would prove of immense and particular interest to environmental activists and non-specialist general readers with an appreciation of Canadian Rockies landscapes -- then and now!

Having admired Bernstein for many years, I have always felt that there was a lack of photos from his final years. Here, Seiler has provided a wonderful portrait of the master in his many moods. The close-ups reveal Bernstein in intense thought while his candid photos (eg playing ping-pong) allow us to see his more playful side. Rarely are there photos without the cigarette in hand but this surely is his trademark. The comments by those who knew him add to the mystique and wonder of a man who embraced life so intensely.

Okay, one of a thousand signed copies. This is one of those unique slices of time that Grannis almost stumbled into. Some of the best pictures seem very matter-of-fact, there's Corky Carrol, Hobie Alter, Lance Carsen, or Greg Noll..before anyone outside surfing knew their names. Grannis captures the surfshops of the 60's, the cars and beach scenes with this snapshot, family-like, intimacy, but you know you're looking at the incubation of an industry that will never be the same. A bargain at $400, but worth much more to those of us who witnessed the transition.

With an impending trip to Sicily in sight, a friend lent me this staggering portfolio of Battaglia's images from the streets of her home, Palermo. She cites Joseph Koudelka (the foremost photographer of Gypsies, as far as I'm concerned), and Dianne Arbus, as inspirations for her work. If she hadn't mentioned them herself, I think they would be the names her work brings to mind; the immedicay and warmth of the former, the shock of the American. This is a brilliant selection of photos. I don't think even Sebastian Salgado(the other familiar photographic name she cites)has ventured his camera into territory which incites such awe. Hers is an impossible act to imitate or follow, a consummate emotional achievement with great political clout. Together with a re-read of Peter Robb's, 'Midnight in Sicily', and,'The Leopard', I'm at least intellectually better prepared for the trip than with a tattered copy of my Lonely Planet Guide to the locale. Robb meets Battaglia on p239 of his rigorous exegis and speaks of 'each photo(being) a shock, the accumulative effect devastating. Not taken with art, though with the strengths that art might have envied'. Absolutely!

Great photos often have great stories behind them and you'll learn about them in this book. The photos themselves are great to look at, but the stories behind them are equally inspiring. They cover almost 200 years of photographs and encompass a huge variety of things. This is a great book of photography.

Life's World War II in Pictures is an invaluable reference for any student of history, Military Historian, those interested in photo journalism or simply anyone who has an interest in the worlds greatest conflict. I have many picture books on World War II but this publication has many images I've never seen before. I highly recommend this publication.