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Material World: A Global Family Portrait

by Peter Menzel

A photographic comparison of households, possessions, and global inequality

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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A photographic comparison of households, possessions, and global inequality

Sixteen photographers spent a week with statistically average families in thirty countries, creating a cross-national portrait of daily material life. Each household is pictured outside its home with its possessions, making differences in resources immediately visible—from a small collection of containers to extensive consumer electronics. The collection frames these images within larger questions of population, environmental pressure, social justice, and consumption. Published in 1995, it documents a particular moment while using the family home and its belongings as a concrete way to consider how material wealth is distributed around the world.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Photography readers interested in portrait-based documentary projects
  • Readers exploring global inequality, consumption, and household life
  • Students and general readers seeking visual material for discussions of environment and social justice

Themes

Material cultureGlobal inequalityConsumptionFamily lifeEnvironment and social justice

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

This beloved photography collection--called "Fascinating! An incredible book" by Oprah Winfrey--vividly portrays the look and feel of the human condition everywhere on Earth

In an unprecedented effort, sixteen of the world's foremost photographers traveled to thirty nations around the globe to live for a week with families that were statistically average for that nation. At the end of each visit, photographer and family collaborated on a remarkable portrait of the family members outside their home, surrounded by all of their possessions; a few jars and jugs for some, an explosion of electronic gadgetry for others.

This internationally acclaimed bestseller puts a human face on the issues of population, environment, social justice, and consumption as it illuminates the crucial question facing our species today: Can all six billion of us have all the things we want?
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