Summary
- National Geographic.
- The United States of America brings together more than 700 photographs from the National Geographic archives.
- The XL-format book spans 792 pages and is structured as a state-by-state visual journey.
- Its selection traces photography from black-and-white and autochrome to Kodachrome and the digital era.
- The English edition is available from TASCHEN.
National Geographic opens its photographic archive for an expansive journey across the United States, bringing together more than 700 images that span roughly a century of history, society and landscape.
National Geographic. The United States of America, published by TASCHEN, organizes the material state by state and combines historic photographs, documentary photography, landscapes, urban life and everyday scenes. The visual timeline begins in the 1920s and 1930s and continues into the digital era.
The book is notable not only for its subject, but also for the way the photographs themselves document changes in photographic technology and visual style over time.
From black-and-white and autochrome to Kodachrome and digital
The selection moves from early black-and-white and autochrome images of the 1920s and 1930s to the distinctive color palette of mid-century Kodachrome, then to the more direct reportage of the 1970s and 1980s, before arriving at digital imagery from the late 1990s onward.
A state-by-state visual journey
The book follows a geographic structure, from Alabama and Alaska to Wisconsin and Wyoming. Natural landscapes, industry, rural life, small towns, major cities and cultural scenes appear side by side, allowing the archive to function both as a historical record and as a study of American visual culture.
TASCHEN points to a route that ranges from Colorado ski slopes and New Orleans jazz bars to Hollywood, Manhattan’s Chinatown and river baptisms in Mississippi. That breadth helps explain why the book reads more like a large-scale visual archive than a simple collection of iconic images.
792 pages in an XL edition
The hardcover measures 27 × 37.4 cm, runs to 792 pages and carries ISBN 978-3-7544-0246-7. TASCHEN’s current product page lists the English edition as available to buy at €150 at the time of checking.
The volume includes an introductory essay by photo editor David Walker, prefaces to the individual sections and detailed captions. More information is available on TASCHEN’s official product page.
What we think
For photographers and readers interested in documentary photography, the value of the edition lies in seeing how technology, color, composition and editorial perspective change within one body of work. It is not simply a book about the United States, but also a compact lesson in how photography records a country while that country changes.
Frequently asked questions
How many photographs does the book include?
More than 700 images from the National Geographic archives.
How many pages does it have?
The hardcover edition contains 792 pages in an XL format.
What time period does it cover?
It spans roughly a century, from the early decades of the 20th century into the digital era.
What language is the edition in?
The edition listed on TASCHEN’s official product page is in English.
