Book Review: Where We Find Ourselves by Hugh Mangum

Where We Find Ourselves: The Photographs of Hugh Mangum, 1897-1972
by Hugh Mangum and Margaret Sartor (779.12 Mag)

For me, it’s a delight to get a glimpse of the period in American history known as “The Jim Crow South” through the viewfinder of Hugh Mangum’s camera.

Mesmerizing individually, taken as a whole, these portraits tell the enlightening story of the people who came to have their images recorded. Mangum, in an economical solution to the expense of negative plates, often used the same negative for multiple exposures. This is fascinating for two-fold reasons: his clients were not segregated by color—here they are recorded for posterity in the order that they came to the studio, and I believe the smaller exposure area made for a quicker portrait, allowing the subject to strike a natural pose. Many of the portraits are charmingly informal.

On one plate, you will see a young black man, experimenting with different poses, different hats, with his jacket on, or off. He’s followed by another black man, also experiments with hats and “looks”. Next two white women are recorded with fancy hats, without hats, together and individually. Another plate starts with a joyful portraits of four white young women, group photos where they take turns being in front of the camera, reminiscent of a modern photo booth. They are followed by five poses of young white man, in some he’s wearing a distinguished bowler hat, in some he’s sideways, and some looking straight at the camera. The final subject on this plate is a spirited young black woman, smiling and posing playfully at the camera.

This book tells a story, not of separate water fountains and separate establishments, but the story of people who were living alongside each other. It’s a moving, spectacular witness to an age and mental geography in America that is still rife with stereotypes and assumptions.

[ page at Duke University dedicated to Hugh Mangum exhibit ] | [ official Margaret Sartor web site ]

See our specialized reading list The Essential Photographers on BookGuide for works by/about other noteworthy photographers

Recommended by Carrie K.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Light on the Prairie by Nancy Plain

Light on the Prairie: Solomon D. Butcher, Photographer of Nebraska’s Pioneer Days
by Nancy Plain [Biography Butcher] 

If you have any interest at all in Nebraska pioneer history or the history of photography, you must take a look at this wonderful little volume. Intended for a middle-grades audience, this is just as valuable for young adults and adults in recounting the life, and what would become a large part of his life, of Nebraska homesteader Solomon Butcher. Having learned photography as a teen living in Illinois, he later joined the male members of his family who decided to go west after the Homestead Act took effect. They settled in Custer County and the rest, completely literally, is history. Butcher was a much better photographer than farmer and he decided to start documenting fellow pioneers in his own and surrounding counties at their soddies, church picnics, etc. With his camera, a wagon-mounted darkroom, and notebooks to record their stories, Butcher spent as much or more time traveling the countryside as he did at his own 160 acres. Many years into his endeavor, a devastating fire at his home destroyed his papers but not the 1,500 photo negatives he had accumulated. So, he recreated the oral narratives and resumed his project, eventually culminating in the seminal Pioneer History of Custer County. Today Butcher’s work is considered crucial to western settlement history, and his images are widely disseminated. A couple of things I found especially interesting were his shots of ranch daughters in their riding finery with their trusty steeds, and the fact that he would sometimes draw in elements such as plants or birds to make an image more representative of what he or the subject wanted to depict!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Prairie Settlement, Lincoln’s Early Architecture, by Ed Zimmer and Jim McKee or Mari Sandoz’ Native Nebraska, by Mari Sandoz]

[ Light on the Prairie page on the official Nancy Plain web site ]

Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Picture Essays: A Journey Through Life With Camera in Hand

Picture Essays: A Journey Through Life With Camera in Hand
by William E. Ramsey [978.225 Ram]

This one caught my eye on the "new books display" and I'm glad I took a look. Picture Essays is a marvelous photographic treasure trove of Omaha and Nebraska history. Ramsey, a photojournalist for over fifty years in the Omaha area, has compiled an impressive collection of images that chronicle the history of that city (and beyond). Each photograph is accompanied by a personal essay by Ramsey, reminiscing about historical factoids associated with the images or about the circumstances in which the images were shot. His memories are shared in a folksy, matter-of-fact manner, not like a dry historical tome. Major national celebrities and sports figures are featured, but more impressively, Ramsey has celebrated the lives of people known mainly for their works in Eastern Nebraska, with particular emphasis on Boys Town and the churches of Omaha. A small percentage of the images within come from Ramsey's travels across the country and across the world, but mostly, this is a love letter to the river city and its storied history. This is not exactly a book I'd sit down and read cover to cover, but for anyone who's fascinated by Omaha, I'd recommend browsing this one -- a perfect "coffee table" book to inspire a bit of reminiscing of your own! [We don't have as many books in our collection on Omaha history as we do Lincoln, but for those interested in the Capital City's history, told in a folksy way like this one, I'd recommend the books by Mary Jane Nielsen and Jim McKee.] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

New Booklist - The Essential Photographers

A new entry in our series of booklists called "The Essentials of..." has been posted to the BookGuide booklists page.

Glory B., one of the libraries' photography afficionados, has contributed a brand-new non-fiction list focusing on twenty prominent photographers from the 19th through the 21st centuries. If you, too, are a student or fan of the art form of photography, from Ansel Adams to Dorothea Lange to Alfred Stieglitz, we encourage you to check out The Essential Photographers, to see which artists she recommends paying attention to.

Each photographer's entry in the booklist will connect to the libraries' online catalog, to allow you to see which books we have, both by and about that artist. There are also links to web sites with more information about each individual.

If you'd like to merely browse our shelves for materials about photographers and photography, we encourage you to check out the books and DVDs in the Dewey Decimal number range from 770 to 779.

Thanks, Glory, for sharing your expertise!

All Access: The Rock and Roll Photography of Ken Regan

All Access: The Rock and Roll Photography of Ken Regan
by Ken Regan [Music 789.166 qReg]

This coffee table size book is a well-photographed trip through five decades of the music industry. As I turn each page I gasp in amazement at the exquisite portraits and candids. The book is laced with Ken Regan's stories about getting the photographs. One of the stories is about the timely snowstorm that made sure that Regan was one of the few phototogs who made it to Fort Dix, New Jersey to photograph Elvis Presley on the eve his discharge from the army. Another story describes the best photo that he ever took of a musician - Bob Dylan. There are many photos of a youthful Mick Jagger because he was on five of the Stones tours. This is a stunning masterpiece. It's perfect for rock fans, baby boomers who remember these performers when they were in their prime and photographers who appreciate the effort that went into making these photos. -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[ official Ken Regan web site ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

The Photographer

The Photographer
by Emmanuel Guibert [958.1 qGui]

Sometimes distance, language and culture are barriers to understanding a country. Afghanistan has been a country in an area of the world of great mystery for most Americans. Afghanistan was pushed to the forefront of American news after 9/11. I picked up The Photographer after reading about it on the American Library Association's recommended nonfiction reading list for 2010. The Photographer combines the diaries and images of French photographer Didier Lefèvre's and fill in the blank illustrations of Emmanuel Guibert to tell the fantastic and dangerous account of a French Doctors Without Borders team in 1986. In 1986 Afghanistan was at war with the Soviet Union. The Photographer takes the reader through the treacherous Hindu Kush Mountains with a caravan that must avoid targeted roads while the country is at war. The caravan's purpose is to deliver people and supplies to remote regions of Afghanistan. The Photographer includes two unconventional elements which make it a very exciting read. One is in its visual presentation. Using a mixture of b&w photographs and drawings I felt as though I was reading a unique documentary movie. Guilbert's The Photographer is a travel diary, photo book, and graphic novel all in one. This is a unique must read for those curious about Afghan culture and history. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The 9/11 Report or Waltz with Bashir.] recommended by Glory B. - Bennett Martin Public Library


[ official Emmanuel Guibert web site ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

Our World

Our World
photographs by Molly Malone Cook, text by Mary Oliver [770.924 CooYo]

This book is a tribute to Molly Malone Cook by her long-time partner, Mary Oliver. Cook's black and white images are interspersed with Oliver's eloquent prose and poetry. Together these photos and writings tell part of the story of a photographic pioneer. Cook opened what was probably the first photographic gallery on the east coast in the early 1950s, called the VII Photographers Studio. She represented photographers such as Ansel Adams and Edward Steichen. Cook began honing her photographer's eye while traveling through Europe when she was in her twenties and preserving the slices of life that she saw on film. The majority of the photos are shots of people who walked through Cook's life. Some lingered only long enough for one picture. Others became friends and neighbors. A few were famous such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Norman Mailer. Many were unassuming souls. As I paged through the book admiring the artistry of photos I paused to read Mary Oliver's reminisces about their lives together. All in all it is a very satisfying book. -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[ Wikipedia page for Mary Oliver ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

The President's Photographer

The President's Photographer: 50 Years Inside the Oval Office
by John Bredar [779.935 qBre]

These are the stories of the nine photographers who covered the presidential administrations from 1960 to 2011. Each photojournalist tells his story of life with the president, his family and his staff. The presidential photographers are on call 24/7 and, as such, have the opportunity to catch the presidents in relaxed moments as well as during tense situations. Turning the pages of this book is like taking a walk through political history. There are black and white images of John Kennedy playing with Caroline and John-John in the oval office. The grim image of Lyndon Johnson taking the oath of office aboard Air Force One. Photos of the Nixon family the night before he resigns from office. A picture of Betty Ford dancing on the Cabinet Room table. Pictures of the tragic assassination attempt on President Reagan. Bill Clinton playing a saxophone. The senior Bushes surrounded by their grandchildren at Kennebunkport, Maine. A thoughtful George W. Bush on 9/11. Oh, the stories these photographers tell. Cecil Stoughton describes how a chance comment by someone in Parkland Memorial Hospital alerted him to the fact that Lyndon Johnson would take the oath of office aboard Air Force One. Yaichi Okamoto talks about his tremulous relationship with President Johnson. (Johnson fired Okamoto and rehired him nine months later.) Ollie Atkins recounts the night in August he was called to take photos of the Nixon family dining in the White House solarium. The next day Richard Nixon resigned. David Kennerly described his warm relationship with Jerry Ford. Michael Evens recalled the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. There are a substantial number of photos of the Obama presidency in this book. Few of the Kennedy and Nixon administrations. And none of the Carter's time in office. One of the most interesting candid shots was taken by Okamoto of President Johnson standing nose to nose with Senator Richard Russell of Georgia while they discussed Johnson's proposed Civil Rights Act. The photos and the stories give the reader an insider's look at the life a president. -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[ official PBS Special webpage on the National Geographic web site ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.