latest additions to your library

Chauncey Hare, Protest Photographs. Gorgeous printing from Steidl and a fascinating book, both for the images and the part-bio part-essay introduction from Hare -- these are definitely images "with a conscience" and Hare is almost paranoid of them being appreciated esthetically "as art". Perhaps a tad naively, he insists that they be read for their "true meaning" as a protest against corporate America that abuses workers.
 
I ordered Mark Steinmetz's South East from Amazon filled by Warehouse Deals in Lexington Ky and got shipped Greater Atlanta. I find it ironic that a booksellor who sells millions of books a year can't compare the title on the invoice and the title on the cover before they ship the book. I wouldn't be so mad except that Amazon's lack of Customer Service was horrid. I went ,to the website to see how to return the book because this was only my second order from them. It told me to contact customer service. I had them call me and they said they couldn't help me now, they were changing out the computers and could I please call back in an hour? Nothing like planning ahead. The customer service was outsourced to India or Pakistan, which nothing against those people, but if you're a US based company you should have your customer service based here too. That's my opinion. This will be my last order from Amazon.

The book is now in-stock at Photo-eye.com. You don't get a discount on the price, but at least you'll get the book you ordered.
 
Pretty much agree completely with this.

I've purchased literally thousands of books from amazon in the last decade and I have not had a single mis-order -- and only one order damaged in shipping (returned and exchanged without any question from amazon). The only mistakes have been from third-party sellers; same is true for non-book items as well. Amazon's batting average (for me) has been perfect, year in and year out -- 65 orders (many with multiple items) in the last six months alone, and not a single error. But exercising some care and caution with the 3rd party sellers is definitely prudent.

EDIT: to keep this thread about (photo)books, I'll say that Raymond Depardon's "Our Farm" (the English translation of his La ferme du Garet) arrived yesterday and it is quite lovely in both image and word. I've always enjoyed his images, but seeing and hearing his farm and family background was a delightful treat. Particularly enjoyed the way he intermingles his vintage b/w photos (many taken when he was very young) with his large format color images (made for the DATAR project). Wonderful book!

endustry said:
I've only had one negative experience with Amazon sellers: yet another of these "we sell millions of books!" type places put a hardcover copy of Erwitt's "Snaps" into a plastic shipping bag--no padding whatsoever--and by the time it reached me the book looked as if it had been used to assault a fire hydrant...repeatedly.

I know that Warehouse Deals orders are serviced by Amazon themselves but as for other 3rd party sellers, here are my own personal rules:

1. Ignore sellers that don't describe the book in the description field but choose instead to copy/paste something like "100% satisfaction guaranteed! Ships daily!" You'd be amazed at how many of these sellers don't even bother to describe the condition of the book at all.

2. Huge book stores that sell everything from $.50 paperbacks to $500 first editions and have like 100,000+ feedback. You never know what you'll get or how they'll get it to you (as I found out.) A shipping/handling system designed primarily for efficient dispatch of remaindered or used paperbacks is rarely sufficient for a fine art book (as I also found out.)

3. Look at smaller boutique sellers that DO describe the condition and also have a good feedback history. I've gotten books wrapped in some of the most beautiful paper I've ever seen and shipped with 2 or 3 layers of thick bubblewrap.

4. Check both "new" and "used" links. I find a lot of copies that are described as "new" (and of those I have ordered, all have been "new"), but the seller placed them under the "used" link instead. They are some great deals to be found.
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Do you mean, "The Nature of Photogrphs" by Shore, or "Looking at Photographs" by John Szarkowski? Both fine books of essays about photography with lots of great photographs included.

Cheers,
Gary
 
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Jim Marshall: Proof

Jim Marshall: Proof

A friend got me Jim Marshall: Proof. It's been on my wish list since it was released. Marshall shot portraits and candids of celebrities during the 60's and 70's (a lot of musicians) with a particular emphasis on the San Francisco scene of that time. This book includes many of what are now iconic images of these individuals and of the time.

The real bonus here, as the title implies, is that you get the contact sheet of the roll that produced the image. This book gives you a 1:1 of the contact sheet right next to the selected image.

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farewell to bosnia - gilles peress

this book went out of print a little while after i first saw it several years ago. a few copies of the german edition went up on ebay for a "too good to be true" price, so i chanced it and clicked Buy It Now. i don't think the seller knows what he's got. the book was not packaged very well and it got a few bumps in the mail, but nothing that a bone folder can't fix. no remainder mark, either.
 
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endustry said:
Another vote for Eskenazi's Wonderland. [...] I don't think there's a bad photo anywhere to be found. Guys like this make me consider putting ALL my gear in the classifieds and finding a new hobby. He's touched.
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Agree. Am blown away by this piece of work. It's up there with Luc Delahaye's Winterreise.

Vincent
 
Sorry about the long absence, Andy and GNS - I meant The Nature of Photographs by Stephen Shore - but I've also just bought John Szarkowski's Looking at Photographs, too. And after reading Mike's comment on TOP, I've just ordered the 7 volume set of August Sander. I saw the August Sander exhibit when it was in Sydney, and found myself going back again and again. I'd love to take photographs as good as that.
 
Bernd & Hilla Becher: At Museo Morandi
Schirmer / Mosel: Munich
ISBN: 9 783829 604062
Printer: EBS Verona
Paperwraps

44 page catalogue of industrial typologies including gasometers, blast furnaces, mill heads, kilns, and water tanks.

If you like this it's a great sampling of their photography.
 
lynnb said:
Sorry about the long absence, Andy and GNS - I meant The Nature of Photographs by Stephen Shore - but I've also just bought John Szarkowski's Looking at Photographs, too.
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Both are good books to have. Looking at Photographs is a book I would always recommend to anyone just getting interested in photography. I just bought a copy of it for a niece who has enrolled in a photo class at her high school.

I read that the Shore book evolved out of his teaching. He was using another of Szarkowski's books, The Photographer's Eye, but wanted to supplement it with some additional material of his own. That eventually became The Nature of Photographs.

Gary
 
Recently got Nicholas Nixon's "The Brown Sisters". For the past 3+ decades he has established a tradition of making an annual group portrait of his wife and her 3 sisters.
The book has all (at the time of publication) 33 photos and looking back and forth through them can be kind of mesmerizing. An interesting meditation on time, change, and I guess, the family snapshot.

Cheers,
Gary
 
I recently worked at a local Amazon warehouse over the holiday. I saw books by Weston, Mapplethorpe, Newton, Ansel Adams, plus many I have never heard of. The cover art was fantastic!

(We couldn't remove the shrink wrap and actually look inside, but between the above, the National Geographic books, plus may generic digital or landscape (or digital landscap) books, I could have spent my entire 4 months worth of salary...)
 
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