ForeWord Magazine 2008 Silver Award Winner for Excellence in Photography BooksA rich collection of images celebrating African American faith communitiesldquo;Clevelandrsquo;s African American houses of worship exemplify the best of American civic vision: building community together for the common goodhellip; . African American ministers have struggled to define the best way to lead their people toward successful liveshellip; . They have been leading their flocks since the first black church was founded in Cleveland in 1833hellip; . The photographs in this bookhellip; reflect the universal themes of the struggle for empowerment; the need for comfort and guidance; and the need for mutual support common to all people.rdquo;mdash;from the Afterword by Norman Krumholz and Michael J. TeveszPhotographer and teacher Mike Levy has spent most of his career in northeastern Ohio. He was given an assignment from the Cleveland Plain Dealer to photograph a small; storefront church in Cleveland; Ohio; called Manna House. Levy; experiencing some difficult life situations at the time; found healing in the church so he continued to attend and to photograph during the services. Revelations grew out of this assignment.Revelations captures the spirit of the African American worship experience through arresting images of congregantsrsquo; facial expressions and body language; their colorful uniforms and dress; and the solemnity of their worship. The images of baptisms; weddings; funerals; Sunday services; and special celebrations are at once serene and exaltant; pensive and inspirational. Revelations honors not only the spiritual dimension of the African American church but the pride and dignity that prevails within the churchgoing family.Published in cooperation with Cleveland State Universityrsquo;s Maxine Goodman Levine College of Urban Affairsrsquo; Center for Sacred Landmarks
#4462679 in eBooks 2013-12-19 2013-12-19File Name: B00HFTU2VG
Review
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. So many books of this type get lost in boring and academic proseBy Michael FalkI just devoured this book. I read a lot of books on history and architecture and I must say this one really stands out for a couple of reasons. First; it is just plain well written. So many books of this type get lost in boring and academic prose. It is the opposite of a tome ndash; just a nicely proportioned book that is easy to dig into. Second; it is well documented and researched without bogging down in references. (I like the use of end notes rather than footnotes.) Obviously we turn to a book like this with the expectation that the topics are well researched and no fancy writing can substitute for that. Finally; it is fun to apply the concepts outlined in the book to the place where you grew up; where you live now or where you are visiting. I have had the book sitting on my desk at work and everyone who asks me about it seems genuinely taken with the premise.9 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating look at features of urbanism...By Jill Meyer"Dream Cities: Seven Urban Ideas That Shape The World"; by Wade Graham; is a dream book for armchair urbanists. The book is not long; but Graham covers the seven architectural concepts that he claims have influenced the development of cities over the years. His seven; "Castles"; "Monuments"; "Slabs"; "Homesteads"; "Corals"; "Malls"; and "Habitats" ; are fleshed out by giving the prime architects who either conceived the ideas or were leading practitioners of them.Lets take "Slabs". These are those rows of tall buildings designed to house people on masse. Think Robert Moses - city planner of New York City - who proposed these buildings as both offices and apartments. As Wade Graham writes; "Building slabs has been a collective exercise; or at least a widespread one...Many tens of thousands of different agents - architects; planners; developers; governments - have built them to supply new housing for growing populations; and to accommodate new modes of transportation; especially cars. In this sense; slabs were a "rational" choice made by many people in many places; in response to actual modern conditions". The reader might ask; "what WERE these conditions that required these soulless pieces of concrete?Well; in the 1930s and on; when Robert Moses was charged with modernising the city of New York and the boroughs; he proposed these building to house the growing population. They were to house people whose neighborhoods had been destroyed by both urban blight and the roads and highways Moses was proposing to slash though the city. Graham writes about how many of Moses plans were never built - the LOMEX through lower Manhattan; for instance - many in response to community protests at the destruction of their settled neighborhoods. Jane Jacobs - author of "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" - was a foremost opponent of Moses lofty plans. In the relatively short chapter on "Slabs"; Wade Graham goes into detail about slabs; Robert Moses; and Swiss architect Le Corbusier.Now; maybe youre not interested in "Slabs"; there are plenty of other sections in Grahams book to curl up with. His book is wonderful; because it is a book that spurs the reader on to investigate further. Reading the book on an Ipad is perfect because I can flip to Wiki to look up a term or person I was unfamiliar with. Graham also gives pictures and a lexicon at the end of each chapter. I really did love this book and all I learned from it.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Interesting perspective on architectureBy Jeri L. MillerFascinating book; very well written; clever and insightful review of seven different architectural concepts; complete with photos.
