Harlem: The Unmaking of a Ghetto

by Camilo José Vergara, Timothy J. Gilfoyle (Foreword)

Harlem( The Unmaking of a Ghetto) <> Hardcover <> CamiloJoseVergara <> UniversityofChicagoPress

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, New York, Art

269 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2011

Reviews

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken]

Beautiful work. One would think a book of pictures shouldn't take long to peruse. However, I found myself really looking at these photographs and people, wondering about these places and their lives. I especially enjoyed the time-lapse photos of different sections of Harlem, those I poured over the longest, taking in all the details of how these blocks have changed.

Vergara did an amazing job of making me really care about these people and places, using very little text. I want to know what happened to the people in these photos, I want to know about their lives. Superb, I can't say enough good things about this snapshot of life in Harlem.

[Nuha]

With more pictures than words, this book is a great way to visualize the gentrification in Harlem.

[John]

excellent photo works--

[Frederic]

Although ostensibly focusing on the built environment -- most of the photos are identified by address, and there are several series of the same address over a period of time -- the real subject is the Harlem communities. You see people interacting with each other, with the streets and businesses, and occasionally with the photographer. Photos date from the 1970s through the early 2010s, and record the dramatic changes that have taken place over that period. Vergara is an excellent photographer, but his text here is also really well done (each subsection has an introductory text, and there are a couple of longer sections as well).

[Bill]

Camilo Jose Vergara brings a fine photographic eye, a sociologist's curiosity and expertise, and tremendous commitment to his explorations of cities, their decay and their resilience. This study of Harlem is most enlightening.