© All Images Courtesy of Thames & Hudson
“My dream is of a place and of a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.”–Abraham Lincoln
With a week to go before the 2024 US Election, we are undergoing an unprecedented time here in the United States. The idea of what it means to be an “American” and the direction of this country are being redefined. I think it is fair to say; this is an extraordinary period in our history.
Everyone has their own idea of America. We are a nation of 335 million people with individual points of view. We each see the United States through our own experience. How we identify and feel as Americans is unique. “Photography, like experience, often defies neat narrative frameworks,” Peter van Agtmael writes. He, along with fellow editor Laura Wexler pored through 227,450 images in the Magnum archive while asking themselves the question: What is “America?”
Their efforts, along with leading scholars and 80 Magnum photographers are presented here in Magnum America from Thames & Hudson. Offering more than 600 images, original portfolios from their vast archive, and probing essays, this epic volume takes us decade by decade on a sweeping, visual journey through our nation’s history. This is a landmark photobook, singular, and a precious contribution to our collective memory–it will become a classic.
And as we Americans face the future of an uncertain road ahead, perhaps it will also help us to dream of a place and of a time. –Lane Nevares