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Out of the Forties
In the early 1980s, journalist Nicholas Lemann decided to find out what had happened to some of the people and places the Standard Oil photographs record. First published in 1983, Out of the Forties is at once a compilation of the stories he heard and a portrait of a nation that has seen the strong yet sometimes repressive bonds of family and community give way to the greater prosperity and personal freedom of subsequent decades.
149 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 10, 2015
This is all about expectations. Nicholas Lemann has a distinguished career as a teacher and historian. He has a deserved reputation for looking beyond the first impression to fundamental truths about people and culture.
Photographers Roy Stryker, Gordon Parks, Russell Lee, Berenice Abbott, Esther Bubley, and John Vachon are known for their documentary realism.
The photographs, commissioned by Standard Oil of New Jersey (now Exxon Mobil), show plants and people in five locations. This book, published by Simon & Schuster, looks at where America and a society was during the 1940's. It was published in 1981 with commentary by Lemann. It looks at the culture and people and issues that surround the Standard Oil facilities in New Jersey, Texas, and the Gulf Coast.
The photographs are a window into what America was like during this period. Lemann adds his observations and raises many important questions about race, class and the way modern (1940's) industry functioned.
It would have been better if:
1. The quality and format of the book gave the photographs better rendition; and,
2. Lehmann's views were expanded or joined by other points of view.
Photographers Roy Stryker, Gordon Parks, Russell Lee, Berenice Abbott, Esther Bubley, and John Vachon are known for their documentary realism.
The photographs, commissioned by Standard Oil of New Jersey (now Exxon Mobil), show plants and people in five locations. This book, published by Simon & Schuster, looks at where America and a society was during the 1940's. It was published in 1981 with commentary by Lemann. It looks at the culture and people and issues that surround the Standard Oil facilities in New Jersey, Texas, and the Gulf Coast.
The photographs are a window into what America was like during this period. Lemann adds his observations and raises many important questions about race, class and the way modern (1940's) industry functioned.
It would have been better if:
1. The quality and format of the book gave the photographs better rendition; and,
2. Lehmann's views were expanded or joined by other points of view.
April 25, 2013
I believe the title is misleading. One would think the entire US would be encased in this writing but instead it was most entirely involved with Standard Gas Co later to be known as Exon. Boston was mentioned at first because the Standard refinery was in New Jersey. After that came Texas & immigrants & cowboys etc. this part of history was indeed interesting but what about the rest of the nation? I was disappointed from tle lack of content. Maybe if the title was different it would have not been such a failure in my eye.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews