In the South Bronx of America [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

The pictures in this book are great. Book on this subject are pretty hard to come by. If you find a book on the Bronx at all, it's probably about how it was in the 50s or earlier. Photos taken during the 70s and 80s are scarce because of the fear people had about going there. So, if you do find a book, chances are it is mostly text about the history of the Bronx and the author skimps on the pictures. NOT THIS BOOK. Every page is full of pictures. What I found especially interesting about this book is that Rosenthal spoke with actual residents there and got their stories rather than just coming up with random theories and opinions about this area. I have researched this area vigarously and can tell you how hard it it to come up with good information. But I can tell you that after hours of painstakingly searching the internet and coming up relatively empty-handed, this book has a lot of quotes and excerpts from different sources that are relevant in understanding the rise and fall of the Bronx and sums it up pretty well.

The other books that are remotely as relevant as this title are Camilo Jose Vergara's "The New American Ghetto", which is excellent and "Bronx Accent", by Lloyd Ultan & Barbara Unger (though the latter of the two has less pictures and is more of a year-by-year history). Nonetheless, Mel Rosenthal has done an excellent job. If you don't have this book, go out and buy it.

"Rosenthal's disturbing stories and portraits of life in this neighborhood during the 1970s and 1980s are the work of an activist's committed lens, revealing how public money does not always result in public progress." --Doubletake

"Rosenthal's protraits convey the still vibrant life of a community hurtling toward ruin." --Erin Christman, Ruminator Review

"The photographer doesn't just give readers the clichés of burned buildings and homeless people. We see the richness and complexity of life that the South Bronx supported, even during its darkest day, and that may be the book's most significant accomplishment." --Damaso Reyes, The New York Amsterdam News

"Whatever historians may conclude about factors involved in the deterioration of the South Bronx, the juxtaposition of photographs of burned out buildings with vibrant portraits of South Bronx residents makes Rosenthal's book a provocative historical and sociological document." --Leslie Cohen, The Jerusalem Post

Based on what was available, I felt for a long time that there was a great gap in books available on the Bronx; either they spoke of the grand old days or focused solely on the destructive elements of the Bronx experience. Or, in other words, there was little on the lives of those who were trying to make a "go" of the place, despite the inexorable forces arrayed against them.

Mr. Rosenthal's work fills that gap in a diligent and eloquent manner.