The Spirit of Family

by Al Gore, Tipper Gore

An inspiring array of world-class photographs revealing the changing face of the American family

The American family has undergone dramatic changes in the last two generations, as interfaith and interracial marriage, new gender and age configurations, and different roles have created increasingly complex emotional and spiritual bonds. In The Spirit of Family , Al and Tipper Gore chart this evolution in an entirely fresh way, with 260 black-and-white and color images from many of the country's most acclaimed photographers-including Tina Barney, Mitch Epstein, Lee Friedlander, Sally Mann, Mary Ellen Mark, Nicholas Nixon-and from rising stars such as Gerald Cyrus, Arlene Gottfried, and Jennette Williams. The result is a visual narrative that brilliantly illustrates the traditional stages of life and the unique challenges and opportunities facing today's families. The perfect complement to the Gores' equally eye-opening book about family, Joined at the Heart , this astonishing collection of photographs offers a powerful vision of our most essential relationships.

Genres: Photography

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2002

About the author

Albert Gore, Junior, known as Al, served earlier as a United States senator from Tennessee from 1985 to 1993 and as vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under William Jefferson Clinton and shared the Nobel Prize of 2007 for peace for his efforts to raise awareness about global warming.

This forty-fifth vice president also served in the House of Representatives of the United States from 1977 to 1985. Gore, the Democratic nominee for president in the election of 2000, ultimately lost to the Republican candidate George Walker Bush in spite of winning the popular vote. The Supreme Court eventually settled a legal controversy over the election recount of Florida in favor of Bush.

People awarded this prominent environmental activist together with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the "efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."

He also starred in the Academy Award–winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, on the topic of global warming. Gore helped to organize the Live Earth benefit concert for global warming on 7 July 2007.

Gore is currently chairman of the Emmy Award–winning American television channel Current TV, chairman of Generation Investment Management, a director on the board of Apple Inc., an unofficial advisor to Google's senior management, chairman of the Alliance for Climate Protection, and a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading that firm's climate change solutions group.

Reviews

[Tressa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been curious about what draws a person to another, so that they desire to become a family unit, with or without children. This book is a beautiful example of social documentary photography. It shows people big and small; tall and short; light and dark; lovely and homely; poor and rich, surrounded by their families in their homes, out in nature, walking the streets of their cities, in stores and markets and restaurants. You may not notice it at first, but it chronicles the stages of life, and throughout it's peppered with fantastic quotes expounding on these life stages. At this age in my life, this one's meaning I understand: "Healthy children will not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death." I'm so happy I picked this book off a library shelf on a whim and read it.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice Diverse Selection of Photographs displaying a range of American family types

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a sentimental title and politician authors, this book might seem to have little to offer. But it's short on commentary—an innocuous three-page preface is the only text outside of credits—and long on what are truly artful, unexpected, and often fascinating photos. There are 256 photos included, from more than 15,000 considered, according to the preface. They were well-chosen.

The elephant in the room with this book about family is the Gore's own separated relationship. But that must be put aside, for the work sings. Tipper's role in shaping the collection was likely great; the dust jacket notes that she's a former photojournalist who twice curated national traveling exhibits of photography. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, the selections (her selections?) are almost all worthwhile, and only a handful of photographers are featured multiple times.

I particularly appreciated the work of Jennette Williams, Birney Imes, and Alex Webb. But this is a collection with impressive quality and range: favorites are difficult to pick. And many will stick with me.