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Photographing the 2nd Gold Rush: Dorothea Lange and the East Bay at War 1941-1945
"Photographing the Second Gold Rush offers sixty photographs, most of them nevery before published, plus an introduction by noted historial Charles Wollenberg on Dorothea Lange and the Bay Area during these formative years."--from the back cover.
- GenresPhotographyArtHistory
86 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1995
36 people want to read
About the author
Dorothea Lange
61 books57 followersDorothea Lange was an influential American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lange's photographs humanized the tragic consequences of the Great Depression and profoundly influenced the development of documentary photography.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 26, 2019
6 Star Book!
review from the Contra Costa County Books facebook page Just read an amazing book, "Photographing the Second Gold Rush - Dorothea Lange and the Bay Area at War, 1941-1945" w/an introduction by Charles Wollenberg, published by Heyday Books(of course). i didn't know Lange lived most of her life in the Bay Area. These photos are of Richmond and Oakland. Her Depression photos of Brentwood and the East county show up on CoCoCo History and Mark Harrigan's 680/24 page, but these are the first i remember from WW2 in CoCoCo.
review from the Contra Costa County Books facebook page Just read an amazing book, "Photographing the Second Gold Rush - Dorothea Lange and the Bay Area at War, 1941-1945" w/an introduction by Charles Wollenberg, published by Heyday Books(of course). i didn't know Lange lived most of her life in the Bay Area. These photos are of Richmond and Oakland. Her Depression photos of Brentwood and the East county show up on CoCoCo History and Mark Harrigan's 680/24 page, but these are the first i remember from WW2 in CoCoCo.
January 24, 2015
I wonder if history had been presented to us in this manner if more of us would have understood it better. Maybe you have to be ready for a history lesson though, no matter how it's presented. I learned a lot and understood much more about the Second World War from the brief but informational text and photos that were gathered together for this volume.
The war was a boon to all the migrants after the great depression. The jobs that were created by ship builders offered some much needed hope and relief after the dust bowl years. Women, blacks, migrants and even the Chinese were welcomed into the job force while the men were off fighting the war. They were all given equal wage to what a white male worker was getting, but there was no opportunity for advancement to these workers. Still you can imagine the relief they felt at having the jobs.
When the war ended, so did the shipbuilding jobs, but the wheels of progress were already set into motion and they rolled into some good years. The first signs of tract housing appeared, roads were built and Dorothea Lange was there to document the change. Very interesting book and photos.
The war was a boon to all the migrants after the great depression. The jobs that were created by ship builders offered some much needed hope and relief after the dust bowl years. Women, blacks, migrants and even the Chinese were welcomed into the job force while the men were off fighting the war. They were all given equal wage to what a white male worker was getting, but there was no opportunity for advancement to these workers. Still you can imagine the relief they felt at having the jobs.
When the war ended, so did the shipbuilding jobs, but the wheels of progress were already set into motion and they rolled into some good years. The first signs of tract housing appeared, roads were built and Dorothea Lange was there to document the change. Very interesting book and photos.
May 11, 2014
I actually liked this book a bit better than An American Exodus (1939) re-print (1969), in that the intro here provides a more complete understanding of Lange, her background, personal life, and her various Works projects.. I have long been a fan of Lange's Depression/Dustbowl images.. with their stark, soul-filled haunted expressions... and while American Exodus provided a larger survey of time and place regarding the Depression era.. THIS book deals specifically with early 1940s SF/ East Bay.
These images are witness to both the forced removal of Japanese-American families for internment, contrasted with the "importing" of Mexican laborers to help with the work shortages, and the even larger population influx that occurred with the shipbuilding industry. A few of the images might be a bit repetitive (MacDonald Ave, Richmond or the the 10th St Market, Oakland), but through this, you get a sense of the process and theme she employed in photographing a larger sample of War-boom subjects. As a photography hobbyist, I feel I have learned a little something extra beyond the historic value of the photos.
These images are witness to both the forced removal of Japanese-American families for internment, contrasted with the "importing" of Mexican laborers to help with the work shortages, and the even larger population influx that occurred with the shipbuilding industry. A few of the images might be a bit repetitive (MacDonald Ave, Richmond or the the 10th St Market, Oakland), but through this, you get a sense of the process and theme she employed in photographing a larger sample of War-boom subjects. As a photography hobbyist, I feel I have learned a little something extra beyond the historic value of the photos.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews