Liberty for All

Library Journal

This coffee-table book is a photographic celebration of the Statue of Liberty. The photographs were taken over several years by Kaplan, and the short text is by Iacocca, who relates his story as founding chairman of The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. As chair, his main duty was fund-raising for the huge restoration of the statue that began in 1983 and continued until its rededication in 1986 after a complete overhaul. Iacocca's account includes stories of individual donors as well as schools that collected money to save Lady Liberty. The book's focus is the excellent photography of the statue, which is viewed from every conceivable angle. A number of pictures show the statue with the workers' scaffolding surrounding it. Many others illustrate the restoration in progress, from dismantling and restoring Liberty's flame to reconstructing the armature bars that hold the statue together. The book closes with a photographic portrayal of the rededication ceremony. Iacocca's account serves as the mortar that gives the photographs coherence but is not otherwise remarkable. The photos alone are worth the price of the book. Any public libraries without good pictures of this patriotic symbol should seriously consider.-Grant A. Fredericksen, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., Metamora Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.