November 2023 MBR The Photography Shelf

The Photography Shelf

New York City Yesterday and Today
Jamie McDonald
The Globe Pequot Press
www.globepequot.com
9781493052110, $29.95, HC, 168pp

https://www.amazon.com/New-York-City-Yesterday-Today/dp/149305211X

Synopsis: "New York City Yesterday and Today: Exploring the City's Tax Photographs" by author and photographer Jamie McDonald is a compendium of little-known, but utterly fascinating tax photographs taken from The City of New York's Hall of Records and also reveals how those areas look today.

The photographs are an interesting page in the history of the city's municipal workings alone, but provide a fascinating look into daily city life in the 1940's. They were taken to help figure out property tax assessments.

Incredibly, city officials employed a team of photographers to go out to all five boroughs and photograph literally every building in the city. The result is tens of thousands of photos of practically every nook and cranny of the streets of New York.

With the publication of "New York City Yesterday and Today: Exploring the City's Tax Photographs", interested readers can now compare the old locations with modern photos -- and marvel at the changes some neighborhoods have undergone, whereas some parts of the city have remained remarkably unchanged. This is a truly remarkable look at the city's past and present.

Critique: A unique, informative, and inherently fascinating approach to the history of the singularly American city, "New York City Yesterday and Today: Exploring the City's Tax Photographs" is a special and unreservedly recommended addition for personal, professional, community, and college/university library American History collections in general and New York City History collections in particular. It should be noted that "New York City Yesterday and Today: Exploring the City's Tax Photographs" is also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $26.46).

Editorial Note: Jamie McDonald wrote, directed and hosted the Emmy award winning PBS television series "New York Originals," which brought about the subsequent book of the same name published by Universe/Rizzoli. He is a former producer at Fox News and an award-winning documentary filmmaker. His last film, "Pulp Fiction Art: Cheap Thrills and Painted Nightmares" was broadcast on several public television stations nationwide. The film received three out of four stars from USA Today, and won two "Best Documentary" awards. He also co-produced "The Latin Legends of Comedy," which has played in several theaters and has also been released on DVD. Jamie has a Bachelor's Degree in Communications from Boston University and a Master's Degree from New York University. He is also the author of No Access New York.

Just a Minor Threat
Glen E. Friedman, photographer
Akashic Books
www.akashicbooks.com
9781636141367, $35.00, HC, 138pp

https://www.amazon.com/Just-Minor-Threat-Photographs-Friedman/dp/1636141366

Synopsis: "Just a Minor Threat: The Minor Threat Photographs of Glen E. Friedman" is a large format (10.5 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches, 2.12 pounds) volume of Glen E. Friedman's most outstanding photographs of the Washington, DC, band Minor Threat -- one of the most influential hardcore punk bands in music history. While this edition of "Just a Minor Threat" from Akashic Books offers Friedman's best-known photographs of the band, most of the pictures comprising this volume, shot in 1982 and '83, have never been seen before.

Along with the photography, "Just a Minor Threat" also features writings by Jello Biafra, Alec MacKaye, Guy Picciotto, Zack de la Rocha, Jamie Shanahan, and Ian F. Svenonius. Friedman's own introduction explains how he initially met the band, and the lifelong friendships that grew from there.

The first time Friedman made pictures of Minor Threat was in Southern California early in the summer of 1982, then later on their home turf of Washington, DC. At the end of that same year, he shot them at an "explosive and uncontrollable" performance at CBGB in New York City. In addition to these, Just a Minor Threat also comprises very rare candid and posed photos of the band, including many from the same roll as the now classic "Salad Days" image on the front steps of their "Dischord House."

Critique: This unique collection includes Glen E. Friedman's most iconic images of Minor Threat, as well as many never-before-seen photographs is a 'must' for the fans of Minor Threat and a strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library American Photography and 20th Century American Music History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Glen E. Friedman (http://burningflags.com/home) is one of the most important photographers of his generation. He is principally known for his influential and iconic images of rebellious artists from classic skateboarding, punk, and hip-hop cultures. As a true artist, his process was much more incendiary than it was documentary. Friedman, first published at the age of fourteen, has produced over one hundred record covers, countless magazine pages, and almost a dozen books, including What I See: The Black Flag Photographs, Keep Your Eyes Open: The Fugazi Photographs, DogTown: The Legend of the Z-Boys, My Rules, and Together Forever: The Run-DMC and Beastie Boys Photographs. His work is now included in a number of notable international collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review