The Historian's Eye

“By turns erudite and irreverent, observant and moving, The Historian’s Eye brings a scholar’s sensibility to the tradition of first-person reportage. I cannot overstate my admiration for this illuminating and accomplished book.”–Franny Nudelman, author of John Brown’s Body: Slavery, Violence, and the Culture of War

“Channeling the zeal of WPA writers and artists who were sent out to document American lives during the Great Depression, Jacobson’s remarkable national tour serves up a bittersweet aftertaste of the Obama years – when a wave of toxic white blacklash washed up against the popular joy over his presidency.”–Andrew Ross, author of Creditocracy and the Case for Debt Refusal

“Contains over 100 photos that the author took over a six-year period, structured by essays that are at once historically analytical, reflective, and critical.”–Ethnic and Racial Studies Review

“Jacobson excels at creating meaning by integrating words and pictures.”–The Journal of American History

“Raises larger questions about photographs as a kind of primary source evidence and about how historians might engage photographs as historical documents… . [Jacobson’s] intentions as a photographer and reflections as a historian are woven into the images, not easily disentangled by anyone who might want to think about these pictures in a different way.”–Reviews in American History

Matthew Frye Jacobson is the William Robertson Coe Professor of American Studies and History at Yale University.