Magnum America

An epic visual history of the places, people, mythologies and realities of The United States across eight decades: a book that will change our understanding of what ‘America’ means and can be.

What is ‘America’? What does it look like? Where can it be found? What does ‘America’ mean and for whom? This ambitious publication does not attempt to present a comprehensive photographic history of America, but uses the stories and photographs in the Magnum Archive to offer potential answers to those questions. In doing so, it presents a compelling visual portrait of America, past and present, as it stands once again at the crossroads of history.

This book is arranged into decade-by-decade chapters from the 1940s to the present day. Each chapter includes individual ‘Moments’ capturing that decade; deeper views of ‘Collective’ moments where multiple Magnum photographers documented a major historic event; and long-form, story-led portfolios that present issues, peoples and events as portrayed by individual Magnum photographers. Commentaries by the photographers appear throughout, highlighting the multiple voices and perspectives that define both Magnum and America.

Magnum America looks beyond the 50 States to include the concept of ‘America as Empire’, with military and political adventures and misadventures abroad, including Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, featured, as well as soft power and America as a cultural export.

Breathtaking in scope and abundant with the photographic riches and intelligent, insightful authorship for which Magnum’s photographers are renowned, as well as texts by Professor Laura Wexler alongside other contributing writers, this book will be a vital contribution to the documentation of contemporary American history and a future classic of photography publishing.