New York Exposed: Photographs from the Daily News

a compilation of photos from the daily news photographersincredible collection here. my only disappoitment, which is a slight one, is that the 90's section does not seem to have the same feel as the other decades do

The New York Daily News was always the largest circulation tabloid in America and as Pete Hamill says in his excellent twenty page essay "The Daily News was possessed of a quality derived from the city itself: energy. The tone was brash, sarcastic, irreverent." All successful tabloid papers have two things in common: the headlines and the photos and this beautifuuly produced book has hundreds of the latter. To get great photos the paper had always invested in its photo department, which by the fifties had two planes, ten radio cars, a brigade of motorcycle couriers and a staff of sixty-three to insure no story was missed. This book shows the benefits of this investment. Eight chapters are devoted to a photo record of the decades from the twenties through to the nineties and as the News was a tabloid, the rough and tumble of daily toil is revealed: politicians; celebrities; sport; crime (some of these predictably stark) and when appropriate, the weather. Each photo has very detailed captions and thankfully, the photographer's name. Shawn O'Sullivan, who works on the paper, writes in a short essay titled 'Photography at the Daily News' "In making this book, we sought to show the images in all of their original beauty, as the photographer originally witnessed the scene....". I think this was a mistake, newspaper photographers don't know how a photo is going to be used on the page and they try to take plenty of shots, so that Photo Editors will have lots of choice. I have a book published in 1979 celebrating fifty years of the News and it has many of the same photos as this latest book but in the earlier one the photos are handled in a much tighter way and sensibly trimmed to get the best from the image. Apart from some of the photo trimming I enjoyed New York Exposed, a photographic book that captures the dailiness of New York life. If you lived in the city it will be a stimulating reminder of the last eighty years. ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

New York Exposed is photographic journey down memory lane.I won this book about a month ago and was so taken by the photography and the history of the photos that I have since purchased it as a gift for my Dad. The book consists of photos of NYC from 1919 until the year 2000. Each photograph includes a descriptive caption. The skyline changed so many times throughout the time span that the book takes us through, although there are no photos of that dreaded day in September.From air disasters to a traffic accident circa the early 1930's, from J. Edgar Hoover in a Mickey Mouse mask at the Stork Club in the 30's to the Yankee's World Series win in 1999. New York Exposed is a wonderful book for those of us who grew up in the greatest city in the world.A reminder of the way we were..

As the grandson of NY Daily News photographer Charles Hoff, this book offered much insight in to family (as well as New York) history. Only a hint at the tremendous photographic contribution of the NYDN can be addressed in one book, even in a volume this large. Still, it reveals fascinating insight in to the last eighty years of New York visual history through stunningly beautiful photographs. The quality is only enhanced by the fact that the book was published just prior to the tragic events of September, 2001 -- the book closes with a wonderfful photograph of the World Trade Center, as well as text by Shawn O'Sullivan that in retrospect is perfectly appropriate -- that the picture press remains vigilant in a constantly changing city.