On Alexander Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War

Art historian Lee (Picturing Chinatown) and literary scholar Young (Disarming the Nation) deconstruct the work of Alexander Gardner's seminal 1866 book of Civil War photos in separate, short essays. Soon after its publication, Gardner's work became ""the first book to rely so heavily on pictures for its meanings,"" as Hay notes in the book's introduction. Lee focuses on the images in his essay, ""The Image of War,"" and Young on the words or ""sketches"" in ""Verbal Battlefields."" Hay offers a comparison to other photographers' war work, concentrating on Gardner's ""commitment to the limited view and the celebration of vignette over narrative."" Young offers interpretations of Gardner's images and words on several topics, including African Americans and President Lincoln. The book, Young contends, is ""strongly shaped by racially marked character and metaphors."" The written sketches ""offer alternative literary vocabularies that throw the dynamics of racial hierarchy-including its erotic connotations-into exaggerated relief, if not also providing narrative templates for their possible reversal."" As those words indicate, the essays are heavily academic and make for edifying, if less than electrifying, reading.