Joseph Sohm

Visions of America is large and beautiful coffee table photography book. There was much oohing and ahhing over the photos as I pulled it out of the box that first day.

Visions of America is split into thirteen chapters, each addressing a different facet of democracy including: American icons, racial diversity, the fifty states, cityscapes, and rural America (among others).

What I liked about Visions of America is that you can pick it up and flip through the photos, enjoying them for their own beauty, or you can delve deeper into the text to discover more about the photos and the history behind them.


The photographs are stunning, and the author's passion for his work clearly shows through in his photography. I especially liked that there were chapters dealing with the racial diversity of our country. Both Native Americans and African Americans each have their own chapter, and there is a separate section dealing with racial diversity throughout America.

The chapter I liked the best was called "Amer-icons," and it contains many photos of sites around Washington, D.C. - one of my favorite vacation spots. It was fun to browse through the pages of national monuments and see how many I had visited.


My husband had a fun time looking through the chapter with cityscapes, and the chapter with photos of the fifty states. He has traveled a lot and was quick to point out all of the states and cities he had visited. In the states chapter each state is represented by photos of the capital building, state flag, state welcome sign, and vanity plates from that state.

Visions of America is a lovely coffee table book filled with photos of America. I highly recommend it.… (mer)

Paul Sohm had a vision and he was determined to capture that vision in pictures he could share with the rest of us. Sohm wanted to photograph democracy. But how does one take pictures of a concept of government? Sohm worked at the problem for thirty years and his new book, "Visions of America: Photographing Democracy," is filled with the breathtaking results of his efforts.

"Visions of America" is divided into 13 chapters, one for each of the 13 original colonies. Each chapter focuses on a theme critical to Shom's vision of America, including photographic essays on American icons, Native Americans, Black Americans, small town America, the open road, and American presidents. Taken together, the 13 chapters, and the photos used to illustrate them, unite to create a clear picture of what makes the American experience unique. Paul Sohm has, indeed, photographed democracy.

Each of the book's chapters is filled with memorable photographs, but I suspect that each reader will be particularly drawn to one or two chapters because of the personal memories they stir. For me, there were two: Chapter Seven, "Song of the Open Road" and Chapter Ten, "E Pluribus Unum," the chapter on sport (especially the baseball and marathon photos). Others, I am certain, will find their own favorite chapters.

"Visions of America" is more than a coffee-table book of photos. Each chapter is built around an essay of Sohm's in which he visits the theme being illustrated by his photographs. In addition, Sohm often shares anecdotes about the pictures themselves and the effort and planning that went into creating them. Sohm's essays, powerful as they are, are short and to the point. They are so perfectly paired with a set of photos to illustrate the message of each chapter that one comes to realize that neither the essays nor the photos would have nearly the same impact if offered alone.

I have spent nearly a month with "Visions of America" and I keep coming back to Chapter Seven and the sentence that always ends with me studying Sohm's pictures of the American open road,"Few things are more American than getting in your car and driving cross-country." Simple as that sentence is, it never fails to make me wish I were behind the wheel again and wandering rather aimlessly from one small town to the next. That kind of driving is my idea of the perfect vacation and it probably always will be that way. The sentence brings back countless memories of family vacations spent on the road with my parents and brother. I learned as a child that I enjoyed the road trip more than I did the destination, and Sohm's photos remind me of why I still feel that way.

"Visions of America" is a masterpiece. It is an inspirational reminder of what this country once was and what it can be again if we remember who we are. I plan to leave the book out for friends and family to browse through; it is good medicine for these tough economic times.

Rated at: 5.0… (mer)

Visions of America by Joseph Sohm is more than a collection of photos about democracy, it is one man's journey across America to find democracy and reconnect with his nation. Amidst the photographs Sohm intersperses our nation's history and the emergence of our very own icons--the bald eagle, Mount Rushmore, the American flag, and more.

And one point in this "travel" journal, Sohm says, "Maybe the point in photographing icons of democracy is more about seeking perfection than finding it." (Page 7). Not only are the photos gorgeous, the essays are poignant and informative about his journey and our nation's history.

Visions of America is a coffee table book for guests to peruse while dinner is cooking, for friends, family, and neighbors to ogle and discuss. This book compiles some of the most breathtaking images of our nation's countryside, our icons, and our people from all walks of life.

Each page is laid out in a variety of ways from large images with superimposed images of birds and famous quotes from former presidents and others. One of my favorite tidbits from the book is when Sohm talks about how he got out his trusty Mr. Clean and paper towels to wash down the New Hampshire welcome sign for its photo shoot.

There are a series of panoramic photos throughout the books from the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C., to landscapes in Utah, Alaska, and California. Countrysides, cityscapes, everyday men and women, and communities pepper this volume and celebrate democracy in a variety of ways.

Readers eager for a break from traditional reading pursuits should consider picking up this beautiful volume of our American heritage. There are only two possible drawbacks to this book--the cost of $75 and the heft of the book itself. You won't be carrying this one around on the subway. Photographers--amateur and professional--will want to add Visions of America to their collections. However, Sohm has a great eye for what makes this country great and his photography and essays are a testament to our nation's grandeur.… (mer)

I can't remember when I've had the chance to review a book that was so perfect to share with readers of Sunday Salon. Joseph Sohm's stunning Visions of America: Photographing Democracy is his view of the United States. There are over 1300 photographs and twenty-one essays in a book that leaves the reader in awe of the beauty of this country, and its people.

Sohm spent thirty years on this book, a celebration of American democracy, not our politics, but the freedom we have to celebrate our diversity. This book celebrates who we are as a people, and where we came from. Sohm honors everyone in this book, and each state and corner of the country. He wanted to "understand our past and how it impacts our future".

To try to understand this country, Sohm divided the book into thirteen themes, and each one of those themes is beautifully exemplified by his gorgeous photographs. Sohm, who once taught American History, considers himself a photo-historian. With that background, he's the perfect person to devote thirty years to telling our story. His themes include, "In Pursuit of Happiness", "Native America - Peoples,
Landscapes and Animals", "From Africa to America - Red White BLACK". Sohm covers the roots of our country, showing reenactors. He takes us to farms, small towns, and cities.

Although Sohm's photographs celebrate the beauty of the country and its people, he isn't blind. He doesn't hesitate to show us the worst of ourselves, the LA riots, the homeless, the pollution, the endangered animals. He talks about global warming, and our challenges as we continue to grow as a country.

But, I have two favorite sections of the book. "Welcome to America" takes us to all fifty states, showing our state capitols, our flags, and our welcome signs. And, the section, "Avenue of the America: Building Castles in the Sky", shows the skylines of our cities.

This book is just one part of a multi-media package that Sohm wrote, photographed, and produced, "Photo Symphony Concert for America". It premiered in Philadelphia with Peter Nero conducting the Philadelphia Pops just after President Obama's Inauguration. Sohm's story of his journey to photograph democracy was read by Clint Eastwood, and it will soon be available on Sohm's website.

"Visions of America recently won the Gold Medal (IPPY) for the 13th annual Independent Book Publishers Award for best coffee tabletop book," according to the letter I received from Sohm. Deservedly so. Sohm spent thirty years trying to photograph every corner of this country, to tell our story.

After photographing landscapes, cities, our small towns and farms, our people, and our sporting events, Sohm felt as if he was missing something. And, he said he realized he was missing the element that ties us together as a country. What unites us is our voting. Three hundred million people unite to vote. It's part of the ritual that makes us a country.

Sohm's Visions of America is a magnificent tribute to this country. It's a wonderful legacy he'll leave as his life's work. If you've been lucky enough to see so many parts of this country, as I have, it will bring back memories. If you haven't had that opportunity, Sohm willingly shares his photographs. My blog doesn't do justice to the photographs I was able to share with you, with Sohm's permission. Check out his website to see a video and more photographs. Better yet, pick up a copy of Visions of America: Photographing Democracy.… (mer)