U.S. Travel - General & Miscellaneous, U.S. Travel Photography - General & Miscellaneous, Travel Pictorials

These United States

Name: These United States
Author: Jake Rajs
ISBN: 9780847825806

by Jake Rajs

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Overview

These United States is a celebration of the magnificence of the United States of America and a tribute to all that makes it great. Photographer Jake Rajs devoted the past eighteen years to traveling and photographing the United States in all its glory.

In the tradition of such outstanding publishing achievements as The Art of Florence, The Sistine Chapel, and New York New York, Rizzoli International Publications is pleased to present the publication of These United States

This sumptuous, stately volume showcases breathtaking panoramic photos from the East to West Coast; from the wilderness of the frontier to the cities; and from the earliest American historical landmarks to images of America post-9/11. Each panorama is reproduced in a double-page spread, resulting in a single stunning photograph that measures twelve inches tall and thirty-two inches in length. Additionally, there are ten gatefold reproductions, some of which result in a single image more than five feet long.

Each one of these luxurious books is individually numbered, in a strictly limited edition of 5,000 copies, and includes a numbered print signed and numbered by Jake Rajs.

About the Author, Jake Rajs

JAKE RAJS's assignments have taken him to exotic locations around the world and have led to publication in Life, Esquire, and Travel + Leisure, among other magazines. His previous Rizzoli titles include America and Manhattan: An Island in Focus.
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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

The photographer of two previous Rizzoli titles who has been published in Life, Esquire, National Geographic and many other magazines, Rajs here delivers a huge, 16" x 12" book that features 220 full-color photos, many of which are full-bleeds, and 10 of which are gatefolds. Aerial shots, pastorals, cityscapes-they're all here. As Cronkite notes, "Jake has woven a stunning tapestry of the many threads of America." (Oct. 15) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Remarkable? Yes. But worth the hefty price tag? No. Selling an oversized photography book at $175 is difficult in any market, so it has to be fantastic to go in the current struggling economy. Unfortunately, Rizzoli's attempt to capture the majesty of America's wilderness and the clang of its cities is much too mundane to justify the cost for any but the most comprehensive collections. Photographer Rajs (Manhattan: An Island in Focus) does have some real gems here, especially the etching-like landscape of South Dakota's Badlands, a cranberry harvest in Massachusetts, and the vast marvels of Canyonlands' sandstone and Gunnison National Forest's aspen trees. However, all too many of his expansive images, presented in panoramic gatefolds and full spreads, fail to ignite the eye or the imagination. Part of this failure results from the odd, grainy quality of some of the reproductions, which, though perhaps intentional, dampens the color in some and simply distorts it in others. Other subjects, especially those in cities, struggle to come alive within the conservative choices Rajs makes in framing, which ultimately capture an all-too-postcard-perfect United States.-Rebecca Miller, "Library Journal" Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.