From Publishers Weekly
Complemented by a three-page introduction and a smattering of quotes from John Milton, Plato and others, this impressive collection showcases more than 250 photographs of contemporary American families, taken by the likes of Nan Goldin, David LaChapelle, Sally Mann and Nicholas Nixon. The so-called spirit of these images ranges from heartbreaking to smile inducing. Al and Tipper have arranged the photographs by theme (e.g., photos of farming families, families at mealtime, couples reading the paper, parents smoking around children, white children with black nannies, etc.). Without explanations, some are confusing, e.g., two little girls-one white, one black-stand side-by-side in their bathing suits. Are they sisters? Cousins? Friends? Yet this approach allows the more complex work here to maintain its socio-sexual zing. A nervous-looking bride walks through a park with her fiance, while a couple sits on a nearby park bench, kissing. A trio of pudgy adults smiles as they dig into a meal of ribs, corn on the cob and Diet Pepsi. Teens mourn over the casket of a classmate. A laughing woman sprays a young girl with a garden hose. A family of four stands at a busy intersection in Manhattan, underneath a Calvin Klein billboard showing an underwear-clad hunk. The book includes families from all walks of life and potential voting demographics-and it is oddly successful at describing the beauty and awkwardness of family in its current incarnations, including same-sex couples. The ambient tolerance, plus a few less-than-clothed figures, may provoke responses from a variety of camps.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
This book begins with an excellent objective-to portray the dramatic changes in the American family over the past two generations-and the Gores did a fine job of selecting and arranging an outstanding collection of photographs. The 260 color and black-and-white images are by some of the finest contemporary photographers in North America, including Sally Mann, Mary Ellen Mark, Tina Barney, Mitch Epstein, Lee Friedlander, and Nicholas Nixon. However, the book consists almost entirely of these loosely strung-together photographs, with only brief, informal comments by the authors buried among the early pages and occasional, distracting snippets of quotes. Not a single photograph is captioned, and the fine photographers are credited only in the small print at the end of the volume. The publisher sees this volume as an excellent complement to the Gores' recent Joined at the Heart, but other than the concept of family, no substantive connection is apparent. Carefully selected and beautifully reproduced, the photographs are nothing short of brilliant. Yet so many questions go unasked and so many issues are not addressed that one is left disappointed. For comprehensive collections.--Raymond Bial, Parkland Coll. Lib., Champaign, IL Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
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.



About the Author
Al Gore is the former Vice President of the United States and author of the New York Times bestseller Earth in the Balance. During twenty-five years of public service, he has made the family a priority by fighting for programs and policies that are responsive to the needs of families and communities.

Tipper Gore has served as adviser to the President on Mental Health Policy and was special adviser to the Interagency Council on the Homeless during her husband's years in the White House. She worked as a photojournalist for the Tennessean; Picture This, a collection of her photographs, was published in1996. Her first book, Raising PG Kids in an X-Rated Society, was published in 1987.

Together, the Gores have organized an annual two-day forum called "Family
Re-Union," now in its eleventh year. They have four children and two grandchildren, and live in Nashville, Tennessee.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"In this collection of more than 250 extraordinary photographs, Al and Tipper Gore visually explore the central relationships that define us and bind us together. The images presented here show the emotional richness of American families, their remarkable diversity, and the many ways in which they are discovering a new strength and spirit." With these dynamic and intimate black-and-white and color photographs, the Gores illustrate the myriad experiences of the American family. Selected from more than 15,000 images, the photographs in The Spirit of Family present an inspiring, wide-ranging body of work. Collected here are the images of such renowned art photographers as Tina Barney, Mitch Epstein, Lee Friedlander, Sally Mann, Mary Ellen Mark, and Nicholas Nixon; the work of National Geographic photojournalists William Albert Allard, Jodi Cobb, and David Alan Harvey; and relatively unknown works by a group of women who specialize in lyrical photographs of their own children, including Debbie Fleming Caffery, Maude Schuyler Clay, and Jennette Williams. Snapshots are juxtaposed with expansive compositions, while stylized portraits are interspersed with candid moments, vividly bringing to life the experience of families from every part of our nation.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Complemented by a three-page introduction and a smattering of quotes from John Milton, Plato and others, this impressive collection showcases more than 250 photographs of contemporary American families, taken by the likes of Nan Goldin, David LaChapelle, Sally Mann and Nicholas Nixon. The so-called spirit of these images ranges from heartbreaking to smile inducing. Al and Tipper have arranged the photographs by theme (e.g., photos of farming families, families at mealtime, couples reading the paper, parents smoking around children, white children with black nannies, etc.). Without explanations, some are confusing, e.g., two little girls-one white, one black-stand side-by-side in their bathing suits. Are they sisters? Cousins? Friends? Yet this approach allows the more complex work here to maintain its socio-sexual zing. A nervous-looking bride walks through a park with her fianc , while a couple sits on a nearby park bench, kissing. A trio of pudgy adults smiles as they dig into a meal of ribs, corn on the cob and Diet Pepsi. Teens mourn over the casket of a classmate. A laughing woman sprays a young girl with a garden hose. A family of four stands at a busy intersection in Manhattan, underneath a Calvin Klein billboard showing an underwear-clad hunk. The book includes families from all walks of life and potential voting demographics-and it is oddly successful at describing the beauty and awkwardness of family in its current incarnations, including same-sex couples. The ambient tolerance, plus a few less-than-clothed figures, may provoke responses from a variety of camps. (Nov. 12) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal