Holding on
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Book Overview
This book is a tribute to some of America's greatest characters, people holding on to unique ways of life at all costs. A castle builder, a forty-year veteran Woolworth's lunch-counter waitress, a... This description may be from another edition of this product.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0393037541
ISBN13:9780393037548
Release Date:January 1995
Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company
Length:216 Pages
Weight:1.60 lbs.
Dimensions:1.0" x 6.9" x 9.5"
Customer Reviews
4 ratings
A marvelous companion to the NPR series
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
Holding On is a compilation of 56 profiles interviewed by David Isay and photographed by Harvey Wang. The stories are full of humor, tenderness, and spirit, such as all that David Isay touches. Amongst those featured are a writer, an activist, a prisoner, serpent handlers, a healer, a bell collector, a hat blocker, all of which hold onto their ways of life, with relentless passion and drive. The photographs are evocative black and white portraits of the subjects in their surroundings, gazing directly at Wang's camera, echoing the 1st person monologues captured by Isay. There is nothing exploitative here, no obsession with the bizarre and unusual, only pure poetry.
A delightful look into real Americana.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Holding On is a delightful book. These people are so much more of what America is all about than all of "the Donalds", the Bill Gates' and the Britney Spears' in the headlines. David Isay and Harvey Wang treat these characters (and some really are characters!) with a tenderness that is deserved. I would bet that every reader either knows someone like someone in the book or knows someone who should be in the book! It is an easy read and it will leave you wanting more.
Inspiring Portraits You Won't Soon Forget
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
50 inspiring individuals portraying an American work ethic of days gone by. You'll meet the lunch counter lady, the country doctor, the castle builder and so many more interesting people who made this country great. It's like sitting with your grandparents listening to the "good old days" around the pot belly stove.
An Absolute Gem
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
"Holding On" is an alternately delightful and thought-provoking homage to the spirit and people that make our nation so unique. This is a rare book that will please any reader until the last page...because you will be left eager to meet more of these proud real-life characters.
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