Rating: 
Summary: Stunning photography
Review: It's perplexing to me that this book should garner any controversy. I am not a proponent of "naturism" nor is anyone in my family. I grew up with what I consider to be among the best, most loving, protective and capable parents ever. But if Sally Mann's work constitutes something immoral or illegal, then my parents and those of most of my friends should be arrested for the content of our family photo albums. The photos in this book are nothing more or less than extraordinarily beautiful captures an ordinary childhood. Any one of the photos could have been taken at my house growing up (with, of course, a gifted photographer) under normal circumstances. My sister basically refused to wear clothes until she was 5. We actually lived in an apartment building then and she was known to run naked in the hallways if my parents opened the door a crack. As a result, there are a hell of a lot of photos of my sister naked as a child. There's nothing exploitative or innapropriate about any of them, nor do I get any sense of impropriety whatsoever with Mann's photos. I suspect that any impropriety perceived has to do with the person looking at the photo - and by extension that individual's cultural sensibilities and personal experience - rather than the photos themselves, and likewise, unfortunately I think I can safely presume that they didn't cause a ripple of controversy anywhere outside of the US. They are simply stunning works of photography. The one of her daughter wearing the rollerskates on the porch is one of my favorites, perhaps because it reminds me most of my own childhood. The rural Virginian setting is remarkable in its own right and as a backdrop no doubt makes the photos even more evocative for those who, unlike myself, grew up in similar environs.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning photography
Review: It's perplexing to me that this book should garner any controversy. I am not a proponent of "naturism" nor is anyone in my family. I grew up with what I consider to be among the best, most loving, protective and capable parents ever. But if Sally Mann's work constitutes something immoral or illegal, then my parents and those of most of my friends should be arrested for the content of our family photo albums. The photos in this book are nothing more or less than extraordinarily beautiful captures an ordinary childhood. Any one of the photos could have been taken at my house growing up (with, of course, a gifted photographer) under normal circumstances. My sister basically refused to wear clothes until she was 5. We actually lived in an apartment building then and she was known to run naked in the hallways if my parents opened the door a crack. As a result, there are a hell of a lot of photos of my sister naked as a child. There's nothing exploitative or innapropriate about any of them, nor do I get any sense of impropriety whatsoever with Mann's photos. I suspect that any impropriety perceived has to do with the person looking at the photo - and by extension that individual's cultural sensibilities and personal experience - rather than the photos themselves, and likewise, unfortunately I think I can safely presume that they didn't cause a ripple of controversy anywhere outside of the US. They are simply stunning works of photography. The one of her daughter wearing the rollerskates on the porch is one of my favorites, perhaps because it reminds me most of my own childhood. The rural Virginian setting is remarkable in its own right and as a backdrop no doubt makes the photos even more evocative for those who, unlike myself, grew up in similar environs.
Rating:
Summary: a trip back in time.
Review: I`ve owned this book for many years now and it never fails to take me back to my own childhood each time I look at it.Who hasn`t had the pox or had a father perform some sort of 1st aid for our cuts and bruses or skinny dippied down on the river.I highly recommend this book.Some advice for those who may be worried that it could be legally dangerious to own this book in some areas of the U.S.- If some local prosecutor is crazy enough to go after a U.S. citizen for owning this book than when you walk away with the title to the local court house,I`am sure you`ll also get your book back.The 1st Amendment applies in every state.So I say buy this book put that other stuff out of your mind and enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing
Review: Mann's photographs in "Immediate Family" are certainly beautiful technically. I want to like this woman who also grew up in the '60s and speaks so tenderly in her preface about her children and her own childhood. Her photographs, shot in a hauntingly beautiful mountain setting offer us an interesting and often charming glimpse of "feral" childhood. After seeing the photos I later couldn't shake an uneasiness about them. In retrospect, sometimes the children seem to glare, possibly angry, affronted or looking violated as in the photo, "The Last Time Emmett Posed Nude". The photo "Dirty Jesse" seems a broken child discarded in a field. The photo of the little nude girl standing behind the strangely posed hands of a nude or bare legged adult has a decidedly frightening edge. And then there is "Wet Bed". (For some children bed wetting is a pathetic form of self defense.) After thinking on this for quite a while, I decided that this uneasy, queasy feeling, albeit subjective, was probably the key to the seemingly out of proportion public outrage in response to Mann's photographs. I believe the negative public response stems from the fact that in this sick society, many people have survived exploitation and abuse at the hands of parents or other trusted loved ones. Photos like Mann's, mild as they appear, could trigger memories provoking fear, pain, depression or rage in some survivors. I sincerely doubt that simple prudery or religious convictions were the catalyst for the death threats Mann has reportedly recieved. For example, in prison, pedophiles are most commonly brutalized by inmate survivors of sexual abuse and not religious zealots. I think children themselves are more valuable than whatever images we might project upon or desire to take of them. As all good advertising executives know, the image is an extremely powerful tool. Images are successfully used to educate, persuade, motivate and stimulate desire. In the end, the production of more and more nude images of children can only serve to commodify and marginalize them further in a society that already devours them daily. I recognize that Sally Mann is a gifted photographer but I also question her ethics. Her work ties into the current political/art phenomena surrounding children's issues. It seems wherever I go, the buzz words "NOTIONS of innocence and childhood" are on the lips of artists and educators. Films such as "Pretty Baby" and "Lolita" are becoming popular again with their self serving suggestion that adults are just helpless pawns in the hands of babes; many current art shows and performances cynically parody or denigrate childhood and innocence. I was introduced to this book through a university course that also touted the writing of Gayle Rubin, Pat Califa and Daniel Tsang, all notorious pedophile advocates who are taking their info on the road to other major universities across the country. ... As a mother and an artist, I find Mann's work disturbing, especially since it has been used as a tool by those with such a sinister agenda
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent photographs override those of lesser quality
Review: Overall I liked her book, most of her photographs were excellent. The few that were not of the high quality I expected were more than overridden by the outstanding pictures like "Jessie at 6, 1988", "Emmett 1985", and especially "Emmett, Jessie, and Virginia, 1989", and "The Last Time Emmett Modeled Nude, 1987". I had hoped that the book would include "The Perfect Tomato" but it does not.
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Summary: CHECK OUT these photos! Sally Mann is... um... the Mann.
Review: POSSIBLY MY FAVORITE BOOK! I carry this book with me everywhere I go. I bring it with me on two-day trips. It's ridiculous. Sally Mann is an incredible photographer and in this book, contrary to previous criticism, she photographs her children in DECENT and human, natural poses (nudity reigns, but tastefully so). She is by far my favorite photographer and, as a photo major in college, constantly cures me of those dreaded uninspired days of my life. Every time I flip through this book, I'm crazed with new ideas and inspiration. Not to mention awe.
Rating:
Summary: Photo's which remind us of our search for identity.
Review: Sally Mann is a master at capturing emotion. Her family photographs bring the observer back to the days of self discovery and the search for ones own identity. They remind us that the search is ever lasting and provoke pride in that notion. Her children appear independent and mature, however, there are subtle messages in the photographs which remind us of the often false face we present to the camera--to the world. I recommend this book to anyone in search of themselves and/or nostalgic of childhood.
Rating:
Summary: I love these photos!
Review: Sally Mann is so talented! I love these photographs. She has captured the reality of life with creativity and love. Love for art,love for her children, and love for life. After looking through the book, I found that I felt that I KNEW the three children pictured. I wondered where they are now, 10+ years later. An Amazing piece of Art and American Culture
Rating:
Summary: I love these photos!
Review: Sally Mann is so talented! I love these photographs. She has captured the reality of life with creativity and love. Love for art,love for her children, and love for life. After looking through the book, I found that I felt that I KNEW the three children pictured. I wondered where they are now, 10+ years later. An Amazing piece of Art and American Culture
Rating:
Summary: Acceptance
Review: Sally Mann was introduced to me in my college photography class through a video and I was facinated from the start. She is incredibly creative and her ideas were shot down by many because of nudity. It is not nudity, it is a beautiful art that she has been able to transform to film. She is wonderous and very talented. The book helps to show the childrens lives. How they lived within themselves and Sally was simply there constantly repeating, hold that pose. A lot of heart was put into this, creating amazing work.
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