Rating: 
Summary: A Picture is worth a million words
Review: Adams work speaks for itself. He spend a lifetime documenting the beauty of the natural world and defined many of the standards that we now take for granted with regard to landscape and nature photograpy. Unfortunately, the curator of this show, John Szarkowki, is a long-winded blowhard who finds his own maundering art criticism much more interesting than, say, the biographical basics of Adams life or the numerous interesting conflicts and interactions he had with other of his peers and contemporaries. The pictures are lovely, of course, but you can learn a lot more about Adams' work and life through almost any other book, and for a lot less than [$$$].
Rating: 
Summary: A pioneer of photography and art
Review: Ansel Adams at 100 by John Szarkowski is a beautiful collection of Adam's finest work. The first fifth of this 191 page book contains a bibliography about Ansel Adams. I was able to read about the trials and tribulations of Adams' family issues, life, and his discovery of his passion for photography. It was in this book that I found out where Adams' passion began - Yosemite National Park. Though, after viewing the book, the audience would probably acknowledge that Adams had a secret love for Yosemite by the plentiful photographs of the historical national park.
This book reminds me of the beauty in nature. Adams took the simplest objects, "grass and water" and makes it into a work of art. The lighting, contrast, and angles makes simple objects shine. Also, the different photograph on each page harmonizes one another. I like the way Szarkowski strategically placed certain photographs together to enhance the effectiveness of the book. Furthermore, the quality of the photographs is remarkable. The photographs are amazingly crisp and each page appears to possess the quality of an original photograph. This is a great book for anyone who appreciates the beauty of nature.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the Greatest Works, but A Must for Ansel Adams Admirers
Review: Ansel Adams at 100 is the catalog for the museum exhibition of the same name that has been traveling the United States and Europe from 2001-2003. Unfortunately, the exhibit did not come to a city near me, so I cannot comment on how well it is represented in the book. Since I did not see the museum exhibit from which the photographs were taken, I will be commenting on how this book fares as a stand-alone "coffee table"-type book of Ansel Adams' photographs. The book has 191 pages, is 14 1/4x12 3/4 inches in size, and is hardbound with an oatmeal-colored linen cover and slipcase. Also included with the book is a 13x11 inch reproduction print of Aspens, Dawn (1937), which is suitable for framing. The book begins with a 42-page essay on Ansel Adams' life and career (don't worry, big print) by John Szarkowski, the book's editor and the director emeritus of the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art. The essay is followed by 114 tritone plates of Ansel Adams' photographs, all black-and-white. I think the most helpful point that I can make about this book is that it is not a book of Ansel Adams' "greatest hits" or of his best photographs. I have yet to find a complete collection of either of those things. This is a very abridged version of the Ansel Adams at 100 museum exhibition which, as far as I can ascertain from the photographs in this book, sought to give the viewer a broad perspective of Ansel Adams' relationship with photography and with nature over the course of his life. Some of the photographs are great and some quite mediocre. But you will find photographs in this book that you have never seen before (unless, of course, you saw the exhibition). This includes a few very early photographs from the 1920's which are not very good, but are significant when contemplating Ansel Adams' whole career and the photographic history of that period. My favorite part of the book are some plates which have two versions: one that was printed in the 1940's or 1950's and a later print of the same image made in the 1970's. These plates are on facing pages so it is easy and interesting to see how Adams' perspective changed over the course of his life. I was reminded of some of my own work from long ago which I recently looked at and thought how differently I would print it now. (Adams' earlier prints are better, and so are mine. So much for improving with age.) In conclusion, if you are looking for a comprehensive book of Ansel Adams' best work, this is not it. If you are a fan of Ansel Adams and would like to learn more about how Adams' work and nature photography as an art progressed and changed over the course of decades, this would be a great book to have. Ansel Adams at 100 is a must-have for hard-core Ansel Adams' fans and those interested in the evolution of nature photography in the 20th century.
Rating:
Summary: ADAMS AT HIS BEST
Review: As a California-based mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I have a great interest in other California-based artists in many diverse fields. Ansel Adams is one of the finest photographers to ever receive wide recognition. ANSEL ADAMS AT 100 is a catalog for the current museum show. It provides an excellent overview of the man's work. Some of the photographs featured here are absolute jewels. Now that I have viewed the catalog, I have every intention of attending the show the first time the path of my book promotional touring activities cross with that the Ansel Adams' touring photography show.
Rating:
Summary: Not Disappointed
Review: Having read many conflicting reviews regarding the quality of the prints in this book, I checked it out at the local Borders prior to deciding whether or not to make the purchase. As a professional photographer, and a great admirer of Adams, the quality represented here was going to make the difference. The book itself is beautiful. Simple and elegant. Beautifully bound, and a pleasure to hold. I was very happy with the quality of most of the reproductions. There were a few that didn't quite make it, but having never seen the original prints of these images, maybe they were accurately reproduced, and the original wasn't up to my expectation. One of my favorite features in the book are the opposing leaves that have the same print made from two different times in Adams career. It gives you the chance to see how interpretation and mood can affect the print that is made. Both outstanding, but both very different as well. I would make this purchase again.
Rating:
Summary: A Picture is worth a million words
Review: I purchased the catalog after seeing the centennial exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The choice of photographs was strong and the exhibit flowed well from one photograph to another - as does the catalog. Like other reviewers, I would have liked to see more of Ansel Adams' greatest hits, but I found this catalog to be as good as or better than any other collection of his work that I have seen. The short introductory biographies in the catalog were informative, if a bit trite at times. The exhibit is a must see and the (paperback) catalog a good buy.
Rating:
Summary: A very nice collection
Review: I purchased the catalog after seeing the centennial exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The choice of photographs was strong and the exhibit flowed well from one photograph to another - as does the catalog. Like other reviewers, I would have liked to see more of Ansel Adams' greatest hits, but I found this catalog to be as good as or better than any other collection of his work that I have seen. The short introductory biographies in the catalog were informative, if a bit trite at times. The exhibit is a must see and the (paperback) catalog a good buy.
Rating:
Summary: A masterful restrospective
Review: If you can only afford to buy one photo book / coffee table book this year . . . this is the book to buy. Period. This oversized book is beautifully reproduced and lovingly bound to last for ages; a commemorative print, not available elsewhere, is reproduced as a separate plate -- suitable for framing, which is a nice touch: Who among us can afford an original Ansel Adams photograph? As beautiful as this is as an example of book-making, its real value lies in the selection of photos.
Of course, no two photographers will ever agree as to what photos should have been included in this massive retrospective -- outside of the obvious ones like "Moonrise Over Hernandez County" -- but every photographer who looks at this book should find inspiration in Ansel's inimitable "eye" that saw, and captured on film, the ordinary and transformed it into the extraordinary; a photographer who saw the extraordinary and transformed it into the sublime.
As for the text: I think an academic perspective is certainly appropriate for such a retrospective, but I would dearly have loved to see a piece by, say, Joseph Holmes (NATURAL LIGHT--a gorgeous collection of photos) or another photographer to give it, so to speak, a "through the lens" perspective.
Although there are other coffee-table sized books published of Ansel Adams's work, this one sets a high watermark and, as such, should find a permanent place in the library of every serious photographer, aspiring photographer, or anyone with a sense of beauty who can appreciate the rare and wonderful talent that is Ansel Adams.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Tribute to a Great Artist
Review: In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Ansel Adams' birth, John Szarkowski has selected what he considers Adams' finest works and offers a critique that ranks the photographer as one of the great artists of our time. Szarkowski, Director Emeritus of the Department of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, often selects unexpected and unfamiliar prints in his collection. The book is great in every way. It was printed in tritones at Meridian Printing on paper made in Toulouse, France. The plates are scaled to reflect the relative size of the original photographs; the book and slipcase are bound in a linen cloth made in the Netherlands. It is a fitting tribute to Ansel Adams' art. Adams' pictures define for me what the term landscape means. This is a great collection of his work and should serve provide a firm foundation for Adams' elevation from a photographer to an artist.
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Summary: what about color and the commercial work?
Review: John Szarkowski is one of my favorite writers on photographic subjects. He is brief but every sentence is worth reading. He has also picked a lot of Ansel Adams photos that you've probably never seen. But Ansel Adams had to pay the bills and consequently did some work in color and some commercial (advertising) work. None of that is represented here and our view of the artist is therefore distorted.
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