Photographic Presidents

"Entertaining yet informative. . . Photographic Presidents is an excellent book that brings context and depth to certain decision points within history and how photography shaped them. It takes on a concept often overlooked by scholars as simply there, and moves it front and center into the discussion." --Congress & the Presidency

"Well-written and engaging . . . What will be the next step in how presidents become photographic? Finnegan cannot—and does not try to—answer that question, but the fact that the question resonates in my head after putting down her book is a testament to how thought-provoking Photographic Presidents is." --Journal of American History

"Very interesting and informative . . . Finnegan has covered a lot of ground in this well-illustrated book. She traces the development of the photographic medium and techniques with the history of visual communications and the image of the presidents, and has done it extremely well." --Journal of American Culture

"Today, the camera, the press, and the presidency are inextricably linked. But how did we get here and, more importantly, how does that evolution inform the present visual and rhetorical landscape? Based on her longstanding research, writing and commentary as a 'presidential visual scholar,' there is no one better equipped to compose this picture than Cara Finnegan. This narrative weaves the evolution of a technology, a communications medium, and the highest office in the land into a vivid historical panorama. In current times, in an atmosphere in which visual politics can be all too affecting and effecting, Photographic Presidents places the visual presidency into a necessary frame."--Michael Shaw, Publisher, Reading the Pictures

​"A valuable resource for students of both American politics and the history of photography." --Booklist

"Informative, knowledgeable, and enjoyable . . . . Photographic Presidents is a valuable addition to presidential history." --Foreword Reviews

"Captivating . . . . Broad in scope and rich in anecdotal detail, this will please photography and history buffs." --Publishers Weekly

"Fascinating." --Air Mail