{"product_id":"witness-to-the-fifties-the-pittsburgh-photographic-library-1950-1953-9780822941118","title":"Witness to the Fifties: The Pittsburgh Photographic Library, 1950-1953","description":"Initially commissioned to record the progress of Pittsburgh's Renaissance I, these unforgettable black-and-white photographs of Roy Stryker's Pittsburgh Photographic Library (PPL) capture the city in a state of flux. They reveal a union of opposites--the suited wonderment of the downtown businessman with the easy grace and competence of a shirtless construction worker balanced high over his head; the anonymity and isolation of planned housing with the belief in expansion and renewal; the energy and excitement of a city on the move with the traditions of the established elite; the juxtaposition between the growing optimism about the ability of technology to improve our lives; and the traditional steel and other heavy smokestack industries that still dominated the region. The Renaissance was seen as a way for Pittsburgh to keep abreast of modern urban life and to preserve its economic position, but the rapid development of a white suburban middle class was sapping the very essence of the personalized downtown neighborhoods. These photographers have captured the convergence of destruction and rejuvenation that is the essence of an urban renaissance--all the anxiety and hope of the decade is reflected in these poignant photographs.\u003cbr\u003eConstance Schulz's fascinating essay on the story of the PPL, in order to present a full picture of the political and civic goals, achievements, and failings of the project, provides a thorough discussion of the background of the Pittsburgh Photographic Library, putting into perspective the Allegheny Conference's purpose for initiating the PPL, Roy Stryker's own vision and work, as well as those of the photographers who worked for Stryker on the project, and the politics that undermined the full implementation of it. Clark M. Thomas's accompanying narrative offers an eclectic range of facts and fascinating bits of the city's history and neighborhood lore, as well as noting important political and economic episodes. It also provides a glimpse into the often underrepresented lives of minorities and women in the region's development. Anyone moved by the incredible social upheaval and expansion that occurred in cities across the nation in the 1950s following years of depression and war will want to have this collection.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Constance Schulz\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Pittsburgh Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/07\/1999\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 192\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 3.43lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 10.88h x 11.18w x 0.84d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780822941118\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eReference and Research Bk News\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2000 pg. 53\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ep.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} \u003cb\u003eConstance B. Schulz, \u003c\/b\u003e professor of history and director of the Public History Program at the University of South Carolina, is author and editor of several works on documentary photography, most recently, \u003ci\u003eBust to Boom: Documentary Photographs of Kansas, 1936-1949.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eSteven W. Plattner\u003c\/b\u003e has studied Roy Stryker's work since 1976, and edited \u003ci\u003eRoy Stryker: USA, 1943-1950\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eClarke M. Thomas\u003c\/b\u003e was a senior editor at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and author of \"They Came to Pittsburgh,\" a series of articles on the ethnic groups in Pittsburgh published through the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and author of a series of volumes about Pittsburgh, published by the University of Pittsburgh's Institute of Politics.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Pittsburgh Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44456489549939,"sku":"9780822941118","price":54.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/files\/img_fe6783a6-b0c1-4751-b5ad-c1eaffbed779.jpg?v=1773751717","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/witness-to-the-fifties-the-pittsburgh-photographic-library-1950-1953-9780822941118","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}