Buy used:
$77.12
FREE delivery May 15 - 17
Or fastest delivery May 14 - 16
Used: Good | Details
Sold by ZBK Wholesale
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Robert Frank
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Americans Hardcover – May 15, 2008

by Robert Frank (Author), Jack Kerouac (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,425 ratings
See all formats and editions

First published in France in 1958, then in the United States in 1959, Robert Frank's The Americans changed the course of 20th-century photography

First published in France in 1958, then in the United States in 1959, Robert Frank's The Americans changed the course of twentieth-century photography. In 83 photographs, Frank looked beneath the surface of American life to reveal a people plagued by racism, ill-served by their politicians and rendered numb by a rapidly expanding culture of consumption. Yet he also found novel areas of beauty in simple, overlooked corners of American life. And it was not just Frank's subject matter--cars, jukeboxes and even the road itself―that redefined the icons of America; it was also his seemingly intuitive, immediate, off-kilter style, as well as his method of brilliantly linking his photographs together thematically, conceptually, formally and linguistically, that made The Americans so innovative. More of an ode or a poem than a literal document, the book is as powerful and provocative today as it was 56 years ago.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    180 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Steidl
  4. Publication date
    May 15, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    8.25 x 1 x 7.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    386521584X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-3865215840
  8. See all details
Next page
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

From the Publisher

Robert Frank The Americans
Robert Frank The Americans

Robert Frank The Americans

Robert Frank The Americans

Robert Frank The Americans

Robert Frank The Americans

Robert Frank The Americans

Robert Frank The Americans

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this 50th anniversary reissue, celebrated photographer Frank maintains the format (left page: brief caption, right page: photo) and introduction (Jack Kerouac: "with the agility, mystery, genius, sadness and strange secrecy of a shadow Frank photographed scenes that have never been seen before on film"), the images themselves have been re-scanned, re-cropped by Frank and, in two cases, changed. Frank's images, taken all across the country, leave the viewer with a solemn impression of American life. From funerals to drug store cafeterias to parks, Frank recorded every shade of everyday life he encountered: the lower and upper classes, the living and dead, the hopeful and destitute, all the while experimenting with angle, focus and grain to increase impact. Preceding an exhibition that will tour U.S. galleries in 2009, this volume will no doubt introduce new generations to Frank's inimitable record of daily life fifty years ago. Kerouac says, fittingly, that "after seeing these pictures you end up finally not knowing any more whether a jukebox is sadder than a coffin"; those who don't comprehend Kerouac's comment have yet to experience this classic collection. 83 tri-tone plates.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

The exhibition is as comprehensive as it is ephemeral featuring a wealth of photographs, all of Frank’s books since 1947, and his films that he began focusing on in the early 1960s. -- Lisa Contag ― Artinfo

That is the miracle of great socially committed art: It addresses our sources of deepest unease, helps us to confront what we cannot organize or explain by making all of it unforgettable. -- Nicholas Dawidoff ― The New York Times Magazine

...Robert Frank changed history with the 83 images that appeared in his stark breakthrough “The Americans. -- Sam Whiting ― SFGate

His work is revolutionary in showing an America that was not seen, but also creating a way of seeing in photography that was new, powerful and charged. -- Ken Light ― San Francisco Chronicle

The photographs from his seminal book The Americans, which took a critical look at our nation’s life in the 1950s, are timeless. His work continues to inspire new generations to follow his path to see what is invisible in America. ― L'Oeil de la Photographie

[Frank] pioneered a whole new subject matter that we [now] define as icons: cars, jukeboxes, even the road itself. -- Scott Indrisek ― Artsy

The Americans challenged the presiding midcentury formula for photojournalism. Mr. Frank’s photographs ― of lone individuals, teenage couples, groups at funerals and odd spoors of cultural life ― were cinematic, immediate, off-kilter and grainy, like early television transmissions of the period. -- Philip Gefter ― New York Times

I can’t think of a single living artist who has as secure a status in his or her chosen field, and I doubt there will be one for some time. -- Jim Lewis ― LitHub

Each portrait tells its own story. -- Arthur Lubow ― New York Times

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Steidl; Revised edition (May 15, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 180 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 386521584X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-3865215840
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.25 x 1 x 7.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,425 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Robert Frank

Robert Frank

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
1,425 global ratings
Great images; just a so-so presentation
3 Stars
Great images; just a so-so presentation
Photos: 4 stars.Format: 3 starsCaution: This is not a typically large-sized book of photographs. Check the product desription. The book's dimensions are 7.4 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches. The photos, at their LARGEST are about 4.5 x 7.75 inches vertical, and 5.25 x 7.75 inches horizontal. (See photo with iPhone for comparison.)This is not a criticism, but just a warning. This 2008 edition is the only one widely available, and I have no idea if the original book from the 1950s was larger.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Margherita Maggiore
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonterful photo book
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2024
Verified Purchase
It's a historical reportage of a famous photo reporter
Helpful
 Report
Gio
5.0 out of 5 stars Just a Suggestion:
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2009
Verified Purchase
If you want to understand the USA of today, 2009, there's no better time and place to start than with America in the mid 1950s, when the "post-war-cold-war-post-cold-war" culture first took shape, at the threshold of: rock and roll and youth culture; clvil rights, the end of Jim Crow, 'crossover' culture; global immigration, the culture of diversity; college as a normal expectation for lower-middle class kids; the Beat Generation, Hippies, the turn-on-drop-out culture; two kids, two income families, two cars in every garage, and above all a TV in every home. You'd have been quite a prophet if you'd foreseen 'what we are today' on the basis of 'what we were in 1950,' but the seeds were there.

If you want to 'see' the 1950s, you can do it. You don't need a time-machine. The 85 photographs in this famous collection, taken 'on the road' by the German-Swiss Robert Frank, are worth at least 85,000 words. All in black-and-white, eclectic and experimental in darkroom technology, almost none of them of 'famous' people or familiar sights, these carefully and thoughtfully sequenced photographs reveal more of the shadows upon the American Dream than the sparkling spot lights, but they are as uncompromisingly honest as a dental X-ray. Not a speck of caries can be hidden. Frank saw through the superficial smiles of the 1950s to the cavities of core city and rural poverty, racism, sexism, crassness, and forced conformity - the grotesque 1950s that Flannery O'Connor depicted in Wise Blood and other works, that James Dean and Marlon Brando portrayed in films, and that Jack Kerouac tried to flee by taking to "the road."

If you want to understand Kerouac - or the appeal of Kerouac to a generation of young Americans - you couldn't do better than spend some hours looking at these photos of the culture he fled from. And in fact, Kerouac himself played a role in getting Frank's work recognized and published. The introduction to the first edition of The Americans is possibly Kerouac's most intelligent and coherent piece of social analysis, almost a manifesto of dissatisfaction with the stifling mediocrity of his contemporary USA.

Robert Frank was above all a photographer. A camera artist. The compositional and technical innovations that he achieved in this and other thematic collections of photos nudged the aesthetic of photography in directions that are still evident even in commercials during football games or in fashion shots for auto ads. The huge touring exhibit of his work, now on display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, has reminded me of his powerful impact both as a visual artist and as a social commentator. Don't miss it if you have a chance!
44 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Gato
5.0 out of 5 stars "Anybody doesn’t like these pitchers dont like potry
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
I didn't understand The Americans when it first came out, but I was young then. All these years later, after a career in photography and publishing, I begin to understand it and appreciate just how much Frank did. I don't know that Robert Frank invented photography as we know it today, but if not he certainly gave it a big push forward.

As Jack Kerouac said in his introduction: "Anybody doesn’t like these pitchers dont like potry, see? Anybody dont like potry go home see Television shots of big hatted cowboys being tolerated by kind horses."

Anyone interested in photography, either the practice or the art, should spend some time with this book. Otherwise just go watch TV.

Aside from the content, this edition is a very well made book, very nicely printed and bound. A joy to handle and look at.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Rafael Baquedano Charad
5.0 out of 5 stars Cuando lo entiendes sabes por qué es tan importante
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
Antes de comprar este libro, recomiendo investigar sobre esta obra de Robert Frank. Es vital entender de qué se trata para no llevarse una sorpresa desagradable. Somos muchos los que despreciamos estas fotos de Frank hasta que entendimos de qué va The Americans.
Es muy expresivo y personal. Las fotografías pueden parecer obras individuales, pero hay conexiones entre ellas y no es difícil encontrarlas.
Es un gran libro porque cambió la forma de hacer en la fotografía documental.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Wm. J. Shea
5.0 out of 5 stars A Much Needed Classic
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book is the cornerstone foe seeing it as it is. Not a primer for image quality, but it shows the need for getting the shot regardless of other considerations. Much can be learned from the presentation of these images.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Joel Shiver
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Money
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2009
Verified Purchase
The controversy surrounding this book is the perfectly natural - even compelled - result of the fact that 83 pictures cannot begin to represent the absolute infinite number of perspectives on life in the United States - or, the world, for that matter. Indeed, that it is titled "The Americans," with the intimation that it is a definitive photographic explication of the topic, demands the debate. Nevertheless, the pictures are deeply evocative and I am so pleased to have it in my library.

One other note on Mr. Frank. I became familiar with him through an interview on the Bob Edwards radio show related to the fiftieth anniversary of the book's publication. In that interview, Mr. Frank noted that he saw southerners in the fifties as "arrogant in their righteousness," and went to express his gratitude that things had changed since then. Having been born in the deep south in 1954, and having lived here all my life, I share some of Mr. Frank's gratitude that things have changed. However, pockets of the South remain backwards, despite the changes that have taken place around them. In these pockets, folks remain overbearing in their righteousness - arrogant and primitive in their fundamentalist religious faith. Often as not they abuse - simply because they can get away with it - those who don't think according to their prescribed and, sadly, myopic "norms." In these areas, anti-intellectualism is seen as a positive character trait.

But, if you have a genuine interest in - and are open to the idea of - seeing the world through insightful eyes, you wouldn't be wasting your money on this book.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Brian
5.0 out of 5 stars Overall Top Quality
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2021
Verified Purchase
I purchased the hardcover and the overall quality of the book is excellent. It arrived shrink wrapped for extra protection. I think the size of the book is perfect. If you want a giant coffee table style book, do not buy. I really enjoyed the layout with 1 photo per 2 pages with a brief description on the other page for each photo. Images are excellent! All Black and White. Essential
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Luis Angel Cáceres Caravantes
5.0 out of 5 stars Magnifico
Reviewed in Mexico on May 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
Excelente libro
Report
Johnny B
5.0 out of 5 stars Very fast and exactly what I wanted!
Reviewed in Canada on August 3, 2022
Verified Purchase
The book arrived in perfect shape and even sooner than expected.
This is very good!!!
Report
R. Mauri
5.0 out of 5 stars Capolavoro
Reviewed in Italy on February 17, 2024
Verified Purchase
Un libro che non può mancare nella libreria di ogni appassionato di fotografia moderna. Robert Frank ha cambiato con questo libro la storia della fotografia e le sue immagini sono ormai immortali. Con una introduzione di Kerouc che inquadra il periodo storico, è da leggere e sfogliare ogni volta che si vuole tornare ad ammirare un pietra miliare della storia della fotografia. Ben stampato, economico, formato non grandissimo ma sufficiente per apprezzare le fotografie. Consigliato.
Report
Daniel
5.0 out of 5 stars Obra maestra!
Reviewed in Spain on March 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
Llegó antes de la fecha prometida
La encuadernación, papel, impresión... todo de muy buena calidad
Del libro en si mismo no puedo agregar nada que no se haya dicho ya: un trabajo imprescindible dentro de la fotografía del siglo XX
Recomendable 100%
Report
Henry Milleo
5.0 out of 5 stars Edição primorosa
Reviewed in Brazil on December 18, 2020
Verified Purchase
Livro obrigatório para todo aficionado por fotografia e por livros de fotografia. Edição primorosa.
One person found this helpful
 Report