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Book cover of New York: Portrait of a City-Portrat einer Stadt-Portrait d’une ville
United States History - Northeastern & Middle Atlantic Region, U.S. Travel - Major Cities, Travel - General & Miscellaneous, U.S. Travel - States, Photography - Travel, Travel Photography, Travel - Cities of the United States

New York: Portrait of a City-Portrat einer Stadt-Portrait d’une ville

by Reuel Golden
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Overview

This book presents the epic story of New York in photographs, photo-portraits, maps, and aerial views—nearly 600 pages of emotional, atmospheric images, from the mid-19th century to the present day. Supplementing this treasure trove of images are hundreds of quotations and references from relevant books, movies, shows and songs. The city's fluctuating fortunes are all represented, from the wild nights of the Jazz Age and the hedonistic disco era, to the grim days of the Depression and the devastation of 9/11 and its aftermath, as its broken-hearted but unbowed citizens picked up the pieces. 
Chapter One (1850-1913) focuses on New York's dramatic emergence as America's greatest metropolis. Chapter Two (1914-1945) traces the boom of the 1920s, the Great Depression, and the construction of the city's most famous landmarks: the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Center. Chapter Three (1946-1965) sees New York become the world's first truly international city, with the construction of the U.N. headquarters. In Chapter Four, the Big Apple loses its shine (1966-1987) during a period of economic decline, social protest and mean streets. Chapter Five (1988-2009) sees New York rise again from the lean times of the 1970s and early 80s, only to be devastated by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which forever alter the city's landscape—and its sense of self. More than just a remarkable tribute to the metropolis and its civic, social, and photographic heritage, New York: Portrait of a City pays homage to the indomnitable spirit of those who call themselves New Yorkers: full of hope and strength, resolute in their determination to succeed among its glass and granite towers.
Features hundreds of iconic images, sourced from dozens of archives and private collections—many never before published—and the work of over 150 celebrated photographers, including: Victor Prevost, Jacob Riis, Lewis Hine, Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Berenice Abbott, Walker Evans, Weegee, Margaret Bourke-White, Saul Leiter, Esther Bubley, Arnold Newman, William Claxton, Ralph Gibson, Ryan McGinley, Mitch Epstein, Steve Schapiro, Mary Ellen Mark, Marvin Newman, Allen Ginsberg, Joel Meyerowitz, Andreas Feininger, Neil Leifer, Charles Cushman, Joseph Rodriguez, Garry Winogrand, Larry Fink, Jamal Shabazz, Allan Tannenbaum, Bruce Davidson, Helen Levitt, Eugene de Salignac, James Nachtwey, Ruth Orkin, Joel Sternfeld, Bruce Davidson, Keizo Kitajima, and many many more.

Synopsis

This book presents the epic story of New York on nearly 600 pages of emotional, atmospheric photographs, from the mid-19th century to the present day. Supplementing this treasure trove of images are over a hundred quotations and references from seminal books, movies, shows, and songs. The city's fluctuating fortunes are all represented, from the wild nights of the Jazz Age to the hedonistic disco era, from to the grim days of the Depression to the devastation of 9/11 and its aftermath, as its brokenhearted but unbowed citizens picked up the pieces.

New York's remarkable rise, reinvention, and growth are not just the tale of a city, but the story of a nation, From the building of the Brooklyn Bridge to the immigrants arriving at Ellis Island; from the slums of the Lower East Side to the magnificent art deco skyscrapers. The urban beach of Coney Island and the sleaze of Times Square; the vistas of Central Park and the crowds on Fifth Avenue. The streets, the sidewalks, the chaos, the energy, the ethnic diversity, the culture, the fashion, the architecture, the anger, and the complexity of the city are all laid out in this kaleidoscopic book. This is the greatest city in the world after all and great are its extremes, contradictions, and attitude.

More than just a remarkable tribute to the metropolis and its civic, social, and photographic heritage, New York: Portrait of a City pays homage to the indomitable spirit of those who call themselves New Yorkers: full of hope and strength, resolute in their determination to succeed among its glass and granite towers.

Features hundreds of iconic images, sourced from dozens of archives and private collections-many never before published-and the work of over 150 celebrated photographers, including Victor Prevost, Jacob Riis, Lewis Hine, Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Berenice Abbott, Walker Evans, Weegee, Margaret Bourke-White, Saul Leiter, Esther Bubley, Arnold Newman, William Claxton, Ralph Gibson, Ryan McGinley, Mitch Epstein, Steve Schapiro, Marvin Newman, Joel Meyerowitz, Andreas Feininger, Charles Cushman, Joseph Rodriguez, Garry Winogrand, Larry Fink, Jamel Shabazz, Allan Tannenbaum, Bruce Davidson, Helen Levitt, Eugene de Salignac, Ruth Orkin, Joel Sternfeld, Keizo Kitajima, and many more.

About the Author, Reuel Golden

Reuel Golden graduated in politics from the University of Sussex, England. Formerly the editor of British Journal of Photography and executive editor at Photo District News, he is the author of two books: Masters of Photography and Witness: The World's Greatest News Photographers. He has lectured on photography in London, New York and Los Angeles, and judged numerous photography competitions. He lives in Brooklyn.

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Editorials

Joseph Berger

For New York-ophiles who want a lively distillation of their city in holiday-wrapped form, it's hard to ask for a handsomer album than New York: Portrait of a City…The photographs capture the city's zaniness, raffishness and panache…And the book is delightfully accented with quotations from writers dazzled or dismayed by the city—Wharton, Fitzgerald, Salinger, Ellison, Bellow—and homage paid by composers and moviemakers.
—The New York Times

Book Details

Published
September 30, 2010
Publisher
Taschen America, LLC
Pages
572
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9783836505147

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