Alan Trachtenberg: Reading American Photographs

Winner of the Charles C. Eldredge PrizeIn this book, Alan Trachtenberg reinterprets some of America’s mostsignificant photographs, presenting them not as static images but ratheras rich cultural texts suffused with meaning and historical content.Reading American Photographs is lavishly illustrated with the work ofsuch luminaries as Mathew Brady, Timothy O’Sullivan, and WalkerEvans–pictures that document the American experience from 1839 to 1938.In an outstanding analysis, Trachtenberg eloquently articulates how theart of photography has both followed and shaped the course of Americanhistory, and how images captured decades ago provocatively illuminatethe present.