We Americans

I always thought this was an impressive book though the format is not that unusual. Celebrating the Nation's bicentennial meant that plenty of publishers saw a marketing opportunity to put a visual history book. This one is certainly a cut above any others, with 439 photos, 220 illustrations and graphics all beautifully handled on the page and well printed, too. A page at the back of the book gives a short biography of the twenty writers and it seems to me that these folk know their stuff and write in a very accessible way about the broad sweep of history. The look of the pages is equally impressive and as a publication design I can appreciate the effort that went into selecting the photos. I've seen many of them before, especially those that show the twenties to the seventies but these are the best photos available and many have achieved icon status. OK, it only runs up to the early seventies but as a very accessible history book of significant events before then I don't think it can be beat. Worth it just for the photos and illustrations. ***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.