Captured History Series

Discusses the iconic photo of a lone protester, Tank Man, stopping a row of tanks near Tiananmen Square during protests in 1989.

In Beijing on June 5, 1989, army tanks rolled down the city's main avenues in a show of government force. When a man suddenly and bravely stepped in front of the tanks, halting their progress, the image became an iconic symbol of protest.

Death at Kent State

by Michael Burgan

Published 1 August 2016

It didn t seem possible. Four college students shot dead May 4, 1970, by Ohio National Guardsmen during a protest against the Vietnam War. The shootings at Kent State University would shock the nation and spark a mass student strike across the country, the only one in U.S. history. A photojournalism student s photograph of a teen girl crying in anguish over a victim s dead body would win the Pulitzer Prize and become a symbol of the antiwar movement.

Exposing Hidden Worlds

by Michael Burgan

Published 1 August 2017

President Theodore Roosevelt called Jacob Riis the best American I ever knew. The pioneering photojournalist an immigrant from Denmark drew attention to the poverty and evils of slum life in the late 1800s. Riis won national acclaim when his photos illustrated his bestselling book How the Other Half Lives. The book focused on the difficult time immigrants faced as thousands of newcomers flooded into the United States each year. Riis called for reform and hoped to prod government officials to help the poor people who were forced to live under horrible conditions. The impact of Riis photos came from capturing the poor and homeless as they lived and worked, with the subjects eyes often staring directly into the camera. The great photographer Ansel Adams called them magnificent achievements in the field of humanistic photography. But the reforms that came from Riis work have not eliminated urban poverty and homelessness, and important work remains to be done.

Breaker Boys

by Michael Burgan

Published 1 July 2011

Shadow Catcher

by Michael Burgan

Published 1 January 2015

"Chronicles the life of Edward S. Curtis and his 20-volume life's work, The North American Indian"--Provided by publisher.

Raising the Flag

by Michael Burgan

Published 1 December 2010

Captured History

by Don Nardo and Michael Burgan

Published 1 January 2015

The Blue Marble

by Don Nardo

Published 1 January 2014

Discusses the iconic Blue Marble photo of Earth taken by the Apollo 17 astronauts in December 1972. The astronauts headed to the moon in December 1972 thought they knew what to expect. They would soon be exploring the moon s surface in a lunar rover, traveling farther than anyone before them. They would be collecting soil and rock samples for study back.

Hitler in Paris

by Don Nardo

Published 1 January 2014

Discusses the iconic photograph of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in front of the Eiffel Tower in 1940 taken by his personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann. World War II was in its early days when brutal German dictator Adolf Hitler paid a visit to Paris, the capital of France. Only days before, on June 14, 1940, German soldiers had overrun the city, shocking the world. Hitler now viewed the city s cultural t.