Exposing Hidden Worlds

October 15, 2017
Grades 5-8 Jacob Riis knew poverty, hunger, and homelessness as a Danish immigrant living in New York, and he never forgot the experience. When he landed a job as a reporter, he made it his business to report on conditions in the city's slums and tenements. The words he wrote never matched the power of the photos he took beginning in 1888, documenting the lives of children and adults in the streets and overcrowded tenements. Still illuminating and moving today, the pictures in his articles and books helped fuel investigative journalism and the Progressive movement in the early 1900s. Burgan writes persuasively about Riis as a reporter, a reformer, and a photographer whose work has lasting power as well as historical significance. Burgan's informative text, detailed captions, and illustrated sidebars give readers the background knowledge needed to understand the historical context and appreciate Riis' work. With a spacious format and simple design, this volume from the Captured History series offers a showcase for the many photos. An intriguing book relevant to classroom units on immigration and social history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
This excellent series examines the history and context of a photo or series of photos and its impact on the culture. Burgan here looks at activist photojournalist Jacob Riis's commitment to exposing the horrible conditions for poor people in late-nineteenth-century America through photography both candid and staged. A thoughtful and compelling angle from which to view the history of poverty. Timeline, reading list. Bib., glos., ind.

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