Witness to the Fifties: The Pittsburgh Photographic Library, 1950-1953 (General, Photography)

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Summary: witness to the fifties
Review: This is an amazing book full of beautiful photographs and corresponding text that captures a time in American history when everthing and anything seemed possible. Pittsburgh undertook a massive urban renewal campaign in the early 1950's and this book chronicles the events that occurred as the city was transformed from Twain's "hell with the lid off" to the modern city it is today. The book is printed on museum quality archive paper and is a quality production throughout. The cost was kept down by grants from local agencies and we reap the benefits of a high quality book at a very affordable price. The book is composed of full page sepia tone prints from a cadre of photographers who were brought to Pittsburgh specifically for this project. It strikes a balance between chronicling the construction of a "new city" with an insightful view of the social fabric of the time. It is also one of the only chronicles of the dislocation of an entire African-American urban community to make way for urban "progress". The photographic project was coordinated and created by the same individual who administered the FHA photography projects for the WPA during the depression, of which Dorthea Lange's pictures are so famous. That same feel of chronicling a unigue time and place in history is evident in this book. The text is equally enlightening and creates a unified whole with the photo's. I cannot recommend this book highy enough. I have a copy in my home and a framed print of the cover photo hanging on my wall. This book will be of interest to anyone who enjoys photography, history, social issues, or just wants a beautiful, informational book for themselves or as a gift.