Review by Booklist Review
For those yearning to hit the road for the first time or maybe the hundredth, National Geographic provides an alternative way to see the wonders of the U.S. This incredible collection of photographs, assembled from National Geographic's archives of more than 20 million images, begins with an introduction by historian and best-selling author Jill Lepore describing Katharine Lee Bates' journey across the U.S. in 1893. This tour by train inspired Bates to write "America, the Beautiful," the poem that became the country's unofficial anthem. Lepore writes: "She had an eye for grandeur and for wonder, for landscape and miniature, the poet's version of the photographer's eye that's on display on every page of this extraordinary volume." Organized geographically, America the Beautiful begins in the West as stunning photographs guide readers from one region to another. Each picture highlights the distinct landscape and unique culture of every state and territory alongside a descriptive caption or personal message from one of its well-known offspring: Barack Obama, Maya Rudolph, Wayne Newton, Eva Longoria, and many others. These aren't just beautiful images; they're momentary encapsulations of people, wildlife, environment, and emotion at their essence. Readers will be transported as they experience the expansiveness of the nation and the connectedness of its people.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This generous collection of more than 250 National Geographic Society photographs, inspired, as Jill Lepore notes in the foreword, by the poem "America the Beautiful," captures the splendor of all 50 states as well as six U.S. territories. The images are organized into four regions: "The West & Pacific," where snow-covered trees stand in Yellowstone National Park and the Golden Gate Bridge in California is shown at sunset; "The East & Mid-Atlantic," where the Chrysler Building looms in New York City and water cascades over the Elakala Falls in West Virginia; "The South & Caribbean," where a view of valleys in Puerto Rico is seen from the opening of Cueva Ventana and waves crash onto a pier in the Outer Banks, North Carolina; and "The Midwest & Central Plains," where a rainbow arches over a wheat field in Kansas and tourists balance on slanted glass to marvel at the view from the 360 Chicago Observation Deck. Celebrities (and some scholars) provide brief but moving commentary on their connection to each state, such as James Earl Jones on Michigan, "a place where a young boy can find his true voice" and Tara Westover on Idaho, who notes "home is not so much a place as a lens through which we perceive the world." This is a rewarding visual journey. (Oct.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A photographic homage to the natural and cultural treasures of the U.S. This magnificent collection of images was culled from the "more than 20 million photographs from the extensive National Geographic archives and spans more than 100 years of the country's history." In the foreword, Harvard historian and New Yorker contributor Jill Lepore, whose 2018 book, These Truths, was an excellent one-volume history of the U.S., reflects on the life and travels of American writer and professor Katharine Lee Bates, the author of the lyrics to the titular song, which contains "echoes of Whitman." Organized by region--the West and Pacific, East and Mid-Atlantic, South & Caribbean, and Midwest and Central Plains--the collection also includes tributes from prominent citizens from a wide variety of backgrounds, including Barack Obama ("what's best in me, and what's best in my message, is consistent with the tradition of Hawaii"), Cal Ripken Jr., Benicio Del Toro, Maya Rudolph, Jewel, John Mellencamp, James Earl Jones, and Tom Brokaw (South Dakota was where I was born and where I'll be buried"). The consistently high-quality, striking photos are as diverse as the country's citizenry: aurora borealis shining over a snow-covered Alaskan highway; scientists scaling a 3,200-year-old tree in Sequoia National Park; bison and elk roaming the frozen ranges of Wyoming; farmers harvesting wheat in Kansas; children enjoying a fountain in Chicago's Millennium Park; massive waves crashing on the rocks next to Maine's oldest lighthouse; Martin Luther King Jr. standing with other civil rights leaders during the 1963 March on Washington; blues legend B.B. King playing in a small club in Mississippi; and Mexican American students standing for the Pledge of Allegiance in Brownsville, Texas. This outstanding collection meets the high standards that readers have come to expect from National Geographic, providing a wonderful representation of the country's rich and diverse culture, heritage, and landscape. A stunning celebration of a country's beauty. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
