The Center for American History Announces Publication of David Hume Kennerly’s Extraordinary Circumstances
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University of Texas Press
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“Extraordinary Circumstances is a wonderful and memorable record of the Ford presidency. David Kennerly’s heart and soul are in this book.” Betty Ford
“It is more than photography—it is history.” Mikhail Gorbachev on Kennerly’s work
The Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin is proud to announce the publication of David Hume Kennerly’s important new book, Extraordinary Circumstances: The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford.
Extraordinary Circumstances is a stunning collection of behind-closed-doors images by President Ford’s personal photographer, David Hume Kennerly. It features an introduction by NBC’s Tom Brokaw and an overview of Ford’s life by famed historian Richard Norton Smith.
“The range of images and perfect moments add up to a master class of great photojournalism, timeless, classic and relevant,” said award-winning photographer Doug Menuez about Extraordinary Circumstances. “It feels very emotional, intimate, and worlds away from our current super-posed, photo-op political culture. What is truly amazing is how easy Kennerly makes the photography look. … Extraordinary Circumstances fills an important gap in American history from a rare talent given a ringside seat, an incredible achievement.”
Extraordinary Circumstances features scenes of the inner workings of the White House; Ford’s family and much-beloved wife Betty; and many of the twentieth-century’s most compelling and elusive figures, including Queen Elizabeth II, Leonid Brezhnev, Emperor Hirohito, Deng Xiaoping, Anwar Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin, Richard Nixon, Andy Warhol, and George Harrison.
Kennerly won a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for his photographs of the Vietnam War and has been a contributing photographer and editor to Time, Life, Newsweek, and Vanity Fair magazines. He is the author of four previous books:Shooter, Seinoff: The Final Days of Seinfeld, and two books published by the University of Texas Press, Photo Op and Photo du Jour: A picture-a-day journey through the Year 2000. He is currently a contributing editor for NBC News.
Extraordinary Circumstances is sponsored and published by the Center for American History, the home of the David Hume Kennerly Photographic Archive. “The publication of Extraordinary Circumstances is a major event for the Center,” said Dr. Don Carleton, executive director of the Center. “His unprecedented access to the inner workings of the White House, as well as his consummate eye, enabled him to capture the historically significant moments of Ford’s presidency. David’s collection is one of the highlights of the Center’s photojournalism holdings, and we’re proud to produce a beautiful book that reflects the power and importance of his work.”
The book is distributed by the University of Texas Press. Kennerly’s photographs are courtesy of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
For more information, please contact: David Hume Kennerly, 818-292-0989, kennerly@aol.com or Erin Purdy at the Center for American History, 512-495-4692, erin.purdy@austin.utexas.edu.
