Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Things, published in association with London's Victoria and Albert Museum and drawn from its superb photography collection, showcases the work of artists, scientists, reporters, and advertising and editorial photographers. Ranging over 150 years, it includes the images of ninety photographers, from Fox Talbot and Julia Margaret Cameron to Edward Weston, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Irving Penn, Diane Arbus, and that of a new generation on the cutting edge of recent technology. Things is an enlightening and coherent study of how we view the physical world, and within its pages is contained the history of photography itself.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Haworth-Booth, curator of photographs at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, here showcases 120 color and black-and-white photographs held by his fine institution. Culled from an earlier exhibit, they document photography's ability to transform our physical world and change mundane objects into works of art. Each photograph is accompanied by a caption of about 100 words describing the photographer's work, how the piece fits into the history of photography, and/or commentary about photographic techniques or theories associated with the image or artist. These captions are written either by Victoria and Albert curators, critics, or the artists themselves and are enjoyable to read. Not all of the 90 featured photographers are well known; a few are entirely unknown scientists, reporters, and advertising and editorial photographers. Some of the better-known images come from Edward Weston, Man Ray, Fox Talbot, Diane Arbus, Walker Evans, Irving Penn, and Julia Margaret Cameron. While Things offers a random sampling of images ranging from an ordinary bobby pin to a macabre still life of a skull, the images are intriguing and loosely tied together with well-written text. Recommended for large public and academic libraries with photography collections.-Valerie Nye, New Mexico State Lib., Santa Fe (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

The best way to enjoy this book is to look at the images, the things themselves, before reading the text. This is the ideal way to appreciate them. As William Carlos Williams wrote, "no ideas but things." Simple enough advice, but almost impossible to follow. Near the beginning of her introduction, Marina Warner says that since its inception, photography has been a means of revealing what the Russians call vesca, "a thing with a soul." Is it possible to look at a photograph without feeling compelled to interpret it, to find its soul? Many of the photographs in the book seem to ask the viewer to do just that. That appears to have been the intent of Charles Jones (1866-1939), an English gardener whose work was "discovered" in a trunk in 1981. The book begins with a chapter called "Natural Things" and ends with one called "Making Things." These bookend chapters sum up the book's intent. The comments that accompany the individual photographs are insightful. For readers without young eyes, the small size of the type can be a problem. A delightful and thought-provoking survey. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through professionals. T. Sexton emeritus, University of Alaska, Anchorage