An American Odyssey Hardcover – Download: Adobe Reader, June 24, 2014

Overall, this book is impressive. The selected images, their printed quality and overall choices of materials for creating this book are flawless and would be difficult to exceed for commercially printed books. However, for the size, weight and price of the book, a rigid, protective slipcase would have been an appropriate and welcome addition.Granted, a decorated, corrugated shipping box with handle is provided, and it protects the book well from bumps and bruises. But, it is not designed to be the container for protection and display on your coffee table or (very sturdy) bookshelf.The more serious downside is that I wish the same degree of attention were given to the text (based upon the English version) as was for the many images. For example, ironically, there are a few lapses in accuracy on some basic information about Detroit Publishing itself.But, overall, as a representative picture book of Detroit's published colorized and black-and-white images, this book would be hard to beat.

I've always liked old color postcards that I believed to be reproductions of hand-tinted photos. But as this book makes clear, these were actually examples of the earliest color photography, which gives the pictures the atmosphere of a dreamy surreal painting along with the exact accuracy of photographs. And I've always regretted that the postcards were so small. But now we can have them in this wonderful enormous size. The details are so fascinating that I want to study each photo for hours. What can I say? The pictures give me goose bumps. I love this book. It is worth every penny and more. In fact, just the photos of New York City or those of the American Indians would be worth the price.

My book finally arrived today, it is gigantic, I'm not sure how much it weighs but its box comes with a handle. The subject matter of the photos is interesting and there is some excellent photography here. Maybe I'm expecting too much but most all of the photos are grainy and not all of them are in color also, most of the pages up to number 100 are not separated at the top. I'm still deciding if I want to carefully cut them apart or if I will return the book hoping for one that was put together correctly or just return it for good. I feel like I would be happy if it was $60.00 but for twice that... I'm just not sure.

Taschen does it again with another eye popping mammoth XL book. This one is jam packed with incredible photographs shot between 1888 and 1924. It documents things that are long gone... steamboats on the Mississippi, Indian villages and pueblos, crowded streets in turn of the century New York, and the wild west when it was still wild! This book is easily worth double the price, as are all of Taschen's XL books. Beautiful binding, printing and color. The double page spreads line up perfectly at the seams and they even lay flat the way the book is bound. Lots of care put into this one. Don't hesitate.

We just received our book and we are so happy with it. What a gorgeous pictorial history of North America. The pictures are both beautiful and fascinating and the quality of the binding, etc is excellent. I've already purchased a second book to give as gift. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in photography or American history.

Tons of photos...very interesting. Only negative is the book weighs a literal ton also. Will have to buy a new coffee table with metal enforced legs. Pictures are awesome.

It's beautiful -- it's magnificent. But you better have a place for it. It is as big, and as heavy, as a suitcase.

Fasinating Photos that you won't believe.Captures what it must have been like in the time of my Grandfather coming over to Ellis IslandLoved it!!!Beautiful size for a special gift ( Christmas , Birthday )

Can’t say anting more than incroyable as the evening French would say. Worth’s evert penny or centime.

Excellent like all Taschen books.

Bought this book as a present and it lived up to expectations. Excellent graphics.

I received the book today so haven't managed to look at all of it yet. Wonderful and quite fascinating photos of a time gone by. All the photos have a short sentence in English German and French besides them explaining where the photo was taken and the year. It really is a huge book, over 6Kg in weight and as another review mentions it does fold out flat without breaking/cracking the spine of the book when opened out - on a table in my case. It depends on what you enjoy, if you enjoy looking at how things used to be, the buildings, the dress of the time you will enjoy browsing this book. The photos are quite spectacular in their sharpness, and it does seem surreal to see people so clearly from a hundred years ago as if frozen in time, which they were of course. The book arrived extremely well packed, a box inside a box, inside a box, with the book in its own box with carry handle.

un livre absolument magnifique et passionnant qui retrace les débuts de l'Amériqueil regorge de photos étonnantes, pittoresques et émouvantes...il est rédigé en 3 langues, français, allemand et anglais.ouvrage vivement recommandé