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Rating: 
Summary: AMAZING!
Review: I got this book from the publisher before it was released to the public via the BurningFlags.com website for Glen E. Friedman. Then went to the exhibition in Los Angeles at Sixspace. I bought the 1st edition here at Amazon.com, discounted, almost 5 years ago. What a great book, I've shared the inspiring work with many friends over the years. This is Friedman's art, and his art is amazing! This new edition and the exhibition took my respect for all his work to new heights. For the most part the new edition as stated above is the same, a few pictures missing, and a bunch more added representing 5 more years. But the really unbelievable bonus, besides the new photographs, is the new original words from two former U.S. Presidential candidates, the Reverend Al Sharpton and Ralph Nader, as well as the incredible scholar from Harvard University, presently residing at Princeton University, Professor Cornel West . Where most photographers as artists or reporters would be content to just show their photographs, Friedman feels obligated to inspire us further with words from people he's met and respects. This is a very special book. The words from Ian MacKaye (of Minor Threat and Fugazi) and Ian Svenonious (of Nation of Ulysses, the Make Up, and Weird War) from the 1st edition are also in this new edition, so you won't miss those. This version adds 5 more years but seems even tighter than the previous. It's great. If you are a fan of great photography, whether you know Friedman's more poplar work or not, does not matter. This is a book by an incredible inspiring photographer to be respected and appreciated. GET THIS BOOK NOW.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Deal
Review: In the last decade or so, the 70s and 80s have been exhumed and exploited by industries looking to sell product: music, clothes, soft drinks ad nauseum all "re-packaged" for cheap street cred. As anyone who came of age in that quietly turbulent time can tell you, retro disco and synthesizers, "vintage" sneaks and studded belts are soul-less substitutes for the real deal. This second edition lets us finally, gloriously relive those years in the very real photographs of Glen E Friedman. But skaters, hardcore shows and hip hop are just the beginning of GEF's voyage - and ours as well - through the last quarter century, because we are there with him in that decisive moment when he pulls his Pentax out to shoot, whether it's in some Asian street market or on some anonymous Roman street corner - we're no longer in someone's sweaty basement at a Black Flag show, but out there in the crazy, beautiful, f*cked up world we share and that the idealist Friedman demands us to save, goddamnit. The essays included in this book - esp Stecyk's - are an added bonus, key to understanding just where these photos come from; yeah, a picture is worth a thousand words, blah blah, but in this case, like your peanut butter in my chocolate, both are the better for it: to know who the photographer Glen E Friedman is, no matter how tangentially, enables us ever so slightly to look through his eyes and start, suddenly, to see.
Rating:
Summary: It's Alive
Review: This book is it! I really can't overstate how great this book is even at the first quick view. If you have the first editon of The Idealist, don't be put off by the $6 jump in the price, it's worth a great deal more than that. Moreover, if you were thinking this was just going to be a sloppy re-hash of a previous edition, you won't believe how well the new edit clicks. Books and photographs like these are the reason why I like my eyes and why I tell people my sense of sight would be the last thing I'd want to lose. For those with a more pure interest in photography, this book shows us that Friedman's vision and attitude are the secret reasons why the Pentax K1000 was invented. This book embarrasses those other photographers who struggle to force down garbage with unnecessary equipment that costs thousands of dollars more. This book isn't about equipment, about a process, about celebrity or about an ego. This book really is ANTI-WASTE and BREATHING in a way that "photography" books rarely are: Barnes and Noble should be taking note. If you liked the juxtapositions of the first edition, you'll be pleasesd to see both new and old favorites. I believe these pictures still stand out after years of having them etched on my consciousness and that's the reason I'll always keep coming back to LOOK. That is, Friedman creates pictures and books that age well. Everytime I pick up one of his books, I see something that I never noticed on previous viewings. He never gets boring! You won't be content with filing this in a dusty library. The Idealist 25 makes me happy in a way that very few material things do.
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