If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this book is priceless because it is a collection of photographs by arguably one of the most preeminent photographers in American history of one of the darkest time periods in American history. In keeping with his zone system style of photography where the subject is clear, Adams' photos taken at Manzanar give the viewer a glimpse into the souls of the people being photographed. While there are many photos of group activities and a handful of scenic shots, the majority of the photos in this book have individual people as their primary subjects. The value of this book for a classroom teacher or anyone else is humanizing the American citizens who were interned at the Manzanar Relocation Center because of their Japanese ancestry. The photos make the people relatable and can teach us all that our commonalities with those who we perceive as not like us are much stronger than our differences. ( )

This is a collection of photographs taken by Ansel Adams of the Manzanar camp. As humans, we can read about something over and over again, but as they say, a picture is worth a 1,000 words. I find that to be true in this case. Reading about the camps is one thing, but actually seeing what the camps themselves looked like as well as the people imprisoned in them was very powerful.