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Book Reviews
Books within fields of interest define and frame the collective thinking of people exploring these arenas of interest. Photography was, first, a technology which changed how we view the world because, suddenly, we did not have to be there to witness events, places and people. To see is to better understand and integrate understanding into our own, personal world view.
This marked our entry into a new age and thinkers, scientists, and philosophers have said much about the impact of image on Western Culture.
The books reviewed here each have had a role in impacting how the world is perceived, either to expand a transparent and objective understanding the the world or as part of the ongoing attempt to manufacture and control people carried out by such individuals as Edward Bernays, the author of "Propaganda," and Robert Sterling Yard, who ran the PR campaign which persuaded Americans to allow the exploitation of trust lands for golf courses and commerce.
Leonard Shlain - In four books, Art & Physics - Parallel Visions in Space, Time & Light, The Alphabet vs the Goddess - The Conflict Between Word and Image, Sex, Time & Power - How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution, & Leonardo's Brain.
Shlain's books explore the potential for humankind through the life, art, and mind of the first true Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci. The author hypothesizes that da Vinci’s staggering range of achievements demonstrates a harbinger of the future of our species. Da Vinci’s innovations as an artist, scientist, and inventor are recast through a modern lens, with Shlain applying contemporary neuroscience to illuminate da Vinci’s creative process.
Ted Orland - Man &Yosemite, A Photographer's View of the Early Years - A Review by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
