Reviews
"A loving, minutely researched portrait of the photographer that acknowledges his humanity while confirming his enormous artistic contribution." - Los Angeles Times on Ansel Adams "Ms. Alinder ably chronicles Adams's esthetic breakthroughs and career moves." - New York Times on Ansel Adams, "Alinder pulls together a treasury of assiduously assembled facts and her own personal memories, especially of Adams, for whom she worked as chief assistant, later becoming his biographer. Alinder is particularly revelatory in her coverage of tough and wily Cunningham, the lesser-known but no less intriguing trailblazers Willard Van Dyke, Sonya Noskowiak, and Consuelo Kanaga, and the bold museum directors and collectors who supported the group. As she chronicles the photographers' friendships, tempestuous love lives, epic parties, scrambles to survive, passionate manifestos, heated public debates, social and environmental concerns, and hard-won exhibitions, Alinder achieves an f.64 degree of crisp and commanding detail in this landmark group portrait of the visionary photographers who succeeded in 'forever changing our way of seeing.'" -- Booklist, starred review "This lively group biography . . . tells a distinctly West Coast story about an ambitious, broad-minded, and unusually diverse movement . . . Alinder, who studied under Adams and later worked as his assistant, smoothly alternates between many individual careers while still maintaining a cohesive group narrative." -- Publishers Weekly "In her history of Group f.64 Mary Street Alinder traces the formation and impact of the collective in a colorful and heavily researched account that brings to life the characters and ideas whose impacts on photography today . . . Photographers interested in these individuals, the history of the medium and the cultural and economic milieu that shaped photography in the United States in the 20th century will find much to like in her book." -- Photo District News "Alinder's sympathetic history captures the excitement and energy of determined artists who invigorated and redefined the art of photography." -- Kirkus Reviews "A future classic in the history of American photography, here is the gripping story of a group of extraordinarily talented Bay Area photgraphers who created community for themselves in the midst of the Great Depression--and how from that community emerged a body of work stunning to this day in its bold advance of photography as fine art." --Kevin Starr, University of Southern California "A fascinating and inspiring narrative, Group f.64 reveals both the personal and professional struggles and triumphs of an extraordinary group of photographers who changed the course of twentieth-century photography. This is a groundbreaking, major work of scholarship." -- Peter C. Bunnell, McAlpin Professor of the History of Photography and Modern Art Emeritus, Princeton University "A precise, vivid, and highly readable account that marks Group f.64 as one of the most significant episodes of twentieth-century American visual culture." -- Julian Cox, founding curator of photography and chief curator, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco " Group f.64 offers a rich tapestry of individuals and institutions, of art and personal politics, of the search for truth, the challenge of change, and maybe even the complex triumph of photographic ideals." -- Roy Flukinger, senior curator, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin "Mary Alinder presents the key figures as distinct and memorable personalities, while rescuing a host of previously marginalized figures from historical obscurity. The result is a wonderfully engaging and enlightening new look at one of the most important movements in modern creative photography." -- Keith F. Davis, senior curator of Photography, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art "A fascinating narrative about making revolutionary art in hard times." -- Carol McCusker, curator of photography, Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, A fascinating and inspiring narrative, Group f.64 reveals both the personal and professional struggles and triumphs of an extraordinary group of photographers who changed the course of twentieth-century photography. This is a groundbreaking, major work of scholarship., Alinder's sympathetic history captures the excitement and energy of determined artists who invigorated and redefined the art of photography., "This lively group biography . . . tells a distinctly West Coast story about an ambitious, broad-minded, and unusually diverse movement . . . Alinder, who studied under Adams and later worked as his assistant, smoothly alternates between many individual careers while still maintaining a cohesive group narrative." - Publishers Weekly, Alinder pulls together a treasury of assiduously assembled facts and her own personal memories, especially of Adams, for whom she worked as chief assistant, later becoming his biographer. Alinder is particularly revelatory in her coverage of tough and wily Cunningham, the lesser-known but no less intriguing trailblazers Willard Van Dyke, Sonya Noskowiak, and Consuelo Kanaga, and the bold museum directors and collectors who supported the group. As she chronicles the photographers' friendships, tempestuous love lives, epic parties, scrambles to survive, passionate manifestos, heated public debates, social and environmental concerns, and hard-won exhibitions, Alinder achieves an f.64 degree of crisp and commanding detail in this landmark group portrait of the visionary photographers who succeeded in 'forever changing our way of seeing.', Group f.64 offers a rich tapestry of individuals and institutions, of art and personal politics, of the search for truth, the challenge of change, and maybe even the complex triumph of photographic ideals., A fascinating and inspiring narrative, Group f.64 reveals both the personal and professional struggles and triumphs of an extraordinary group of photographers who changed the course of twentieth-century photography.'This is a groundbreaking, major work of scholarship., A future classic in the history of American photography, here is the gripping story of a group of extraordinarily talented Bay Area photgraphers who created community for themselves in the midst of the Great Depression--and how from that community emerged a body of work stunning to this day in its bold advance of photography as fine art., In her history of Group f.64 Mary Street Alinder traces the formation and impact of the collective in a colorful and heavily researched account that brings to life the characters and ideas whose impacts on photography today . . . Photographers interested in these individuals, the history of the medium and the cultural and economic milieu that shaped photography in the United States in the 20th century will find much to like in her book., "Alinder pulls together a treasury of assiduously assembled facts and her own personal memories, especially of Adams, for whom she worked as chief assistant, later becoming his biographer. Alinder is particularly revelatory in her coverage of tough and wily Cunningham, the lesser-known but no less intriguing trailblazers Willard Van Dyke, Sonya Noskowiak, and Consuelo Kanaga, and the bold museum directors and collectors who supported the group. As she chronicles the photographers' friendships, tempestuous love lives, epic parties, scrambles to survive, passionate manifestos, heated public debates, social and environmental concerns, and hard-won exhibitions, Alinder achieves an f.64 degree of crisp and commanding detail in this landmark group portrait of the visionary photographers who succeeded in 'forever changing our way of seeing.'" - Booklist , starred review "This lively group biography . . . tells a distinctly West Coast story about an ambitious, broad-minded, and unusually diverse movement . . . Alinder, who studied under Adams and later worked as his assistant, smoothly alternates between many individual careers while still maintaining a cohesive group narrative." - Publishers Weekly "In her history of Group f.64 Mary Street Alinder traces the formation and impact of the collective in a colorful and heavily researched account that brings to life the characters and ideas whose impacts on photography today . . . Photographers interested in these individuals, the history of the medium and the cultural and economic milieu that shaped photography in the United States in the 20th century will find much to like in her book." - Photo District News "Alinder's sympathetic history captures the excitement and energy of determined artists who invigorated and redefined the art of photography." - Kirkus Reviews "A future classic in the history of American photography, here is the gripping story of a group of extraordinarily talented Bay Area photgraphers who created community for themselves in the midst of the Great Depression-and how from that community emerged a body of work stunning to this day in its bold advance of photography as fine art." - Kevin Starr, University of Southern California "A fascinating and inspiring narrative, Group f.64 reveals both the personal and professional struggles and triumphs of an extraordinary group of photographers who changed the course of twentieth-century photography. This is a groundbreaking, major work of scholarship." - Peter C. Bunnell, McAlpin Professor of the History of Photography and Modern Art Emeritus, Princeton University "A precise, vivid, and highly readable account that marks Group f.64 as one of the most significant episodes of twentieth-century American visual culture." - Julian Cox, founding curator of photography and chief curator, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco " Group f.64 offers a rich tapestry of individuals and institutions, of art and personal politics, of the search for truth, the challenge of change, and maybe even the complex triumph of photographic ideals." - Roy Flukinger, senior curator, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin "Mary Alinder presents the key figures as distinct and memorable personalities, while rescuing a host of previously marginalized figures from historical obscurity. The result is a wonderfully engaging and enlightening new look at one of the most important movements in modern creative photography." - Keith F. Davis, senior curator of Photography, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art "A fascinating narrative about making revolutionary art in hard times." - Carol McCusker, curator of photography, Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, A precise, vivid, and highly readable account that marks Group f.64 as one of the most significant episodes of twentieth-century American visual culture., Mary Alinder presents the key figures as distinct and memorable personalities, while rescuing a host of previously marginalized figures from historical obscurity. The result is a wonderfully engaging and enlightening new look at one of the most important movements in modern creative photography., This lively group biography . . . tells a distinctly West Coast story about an ambitious, broad-minded, and unusually diverse movement . . . Alinder, who studied under Adams and later worked as his assistant, smoothly alternates between many individual careers while still maintaining a cohesive group narrative.
