Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

The intrepid documentary photographer Bruce Davidson, veteran of the civil rights movement and the ghetto ( East 100th Street ), has taken his camera into the New York subways, and has emerged, as might be expected, bereft of a camera. That was a small price to pay for these sensitive and intensely colorful pictures. He hopes that we will see the beauty he found there, but the gritty, seamy images reproduced here will not increase ridership. The bizarre inhabitants of the underground are the majority, with the sober nine-to-five'ers seeming distinctly out of place. In addition to the excellent reproduction quality, this NEA-supported project is enhanced by Davidson's down-to-earth text, a brief afterword, and technical notes. Recommended. Kathleen Collins, Library of Congress (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

A powerful and engrossing look at the New York City subway system. Having dedicated years to this very personal and obsessive project, Davidson has arrived at a collection of striking images that dramatizes the subterranean existence of its inhabitants. Our own expectations and fears are confronted with Davidson's direct camera style. His use of color is extremely well suited for these environmental portraits. He leads the eye from foreground to background, demands attention, and awakens viewers to the reality of this underground life-style. Davidson's introduction clearly and poignantly describes personal experiences, that range from life-threatening to heartwarming encounter; it also treats his personal philosophy, working style, and goals-this introduction is as important to the success of the book as are the photographs. The color reproductions are of superior quality. Along with Davidson's East 100th Street (CH, Sep '71), this book solidifies Davidson's importance to contemporary photography. Highly recommended for all libraries.-P. Laytin, Fitchburg State College

Booklist Review

Two large, sturdy paperbacks afford an inexpensive opportunity to augment collections of the most popular nineteenth-century French painters. Crespelle provides a biographical introduction and generous notes to 48 colorplates of the premier impressionist's work. His comments on Monet are intelligent and informative, while the prints are bright and clear, suggesting the vibrant textures of the actual canvases, which are among the most difficult of any artworks to capture in printed reproduction. The U.S. edition of this French product carries the subtitle The Masterworks; Crespelle never argues that these 48 are indeed finer than the rest of Monet's work, so the added verbiage seems to be publisher's hype. List of plates, short bibliography, and chronology are appended. Langdon's slightly smaller (11-by-10-inch rather than 12-by-11) sheaf boasts 32 colorplates, mostly Pissarros, Renoirs, Sisleys, and Monets (only one repeated from Crespelle), with one or two pictures apiece by CDavidson, Bruce. Subway. 1986. 87p. col. illus. Aperture; dist. by Farrar, $29.95 (0-89381-231-5) Since 1959, when he began photographing teenage gangs, Bruce Davidson has committed himself to an exploration of society's lower depths, even though he is a well-paid and successful commercial photographer. His East 100th Street (Booklist 67:399 Ja 15 71) documented one crowded block in New York's Spanish Harlem, and in Subway he has taken the New York subway system as his territory. Lower depths, indeed; this book is the most wrenching, even shocking of Davidson's career. Using flash and color film, he has revealed a dark richness of color that doesn't beautify the harsh setting but somehow makes it even more menacing. The 60 exquisitely printed full-page colorplates are not captioned, but in the introduction Davidson recounts incidents connected with many of them. Writing about his adventure, he clearly suggests mythical (even biblical) dimensions to his role as hero, hunter, and moral witness. A remarkable art book full of stunning images, Subway is at the same time a valuable social document of life in New York. GG. 779'.092 Photography, Documentary / Subways New York (New York) Pictorial works [OCLC] 86-70604