BOOKLIST On-line Exclusive: April 17, 2014
* Star Review

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

Eye on the 60s: The Iconic Photography of Rowland Scherman. Released Nov 2013. Chris Szwedo, DVD

The 1960s were filled with memorable individuals and events—Woodstock Festival, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and more, and photographer Rowland Scherman was there to capture it all. In this chronologically arranged tribute to the photographer and his iconic photographs, Scherman and others, including singer Judy Collins, offer insight. Scherman arrived at the headquarters of the newly formed Peace Corps in 1961, announcing he wanted to be their photographer, and that’s just what happened. He traveled the globe with Peace Corps volunteers, recording places and faces.

Back in the States, he spent time at the Shriver family estate photographing family members, including Eunice Shriver and special-needs children. In August 1963 he captured the March on Washington and then months later the Beatles’ first American concert. Finally in 1966, he fulfilled his dream to become a special-assignment photographer for the weekly magazine LIFE.

It seems as if Scherman and his camera were present at all pivotal 1960s events, lovingly recorded in this impressive film. Nicely edited with some unobtrusive background music (including “All My Trials,” playing against the final credits), this adulatory tribute to a talented photographer and a crazy decade is a fascinating choice for both viewers who lived through the 1960s and those who wonder what all the fuss is about.

— Candace Smith
      ALA Reviewer