No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs, Public Culture, and Liberal Democracy - Hardcover

"Historians of photography will want to read No Caption Needed not only for its insightful examination of individual photographs but also for its sophisticated analysis of the role of photography in a democratic society." (Journal of American History) "A penetrating and provocative analysis.... An extraordinary feat of research and reporting." (American Interest)"

In "No Caption Needed", Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites provide the definitive study of the iconic photograph as a dynamic form of public art. Their critical analyses of nine individual icons explore the photographs themselves and their subsequent circulation through an astonishing array of media, including stamps, posters, billboards, editorial cartoons, TV shows, Web pages, tattoos, and more. Iconic images are revealed as models of visual eloquence, signposts for collective memory, means of persuasion across the political spectrum, and a crucial resource for critical reflection. Arguing against the conventional belief that visual images short-circuit rational deliberation and radical critique, Hariman and Lucaites make a bold case for the value of visual imagery in a liberal-democratic society. "No Caption Needed" is a compelling demonstration of photojournalism's vital contribution to public life.