Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

Three Tenant Families

By: James Agee

Narrated by: Lloyd James

A landmark work of American photojournalism "renowned for its fusion of social conscience and artistic radicality" (New York Times).

In the summer of 1936, James Agee and Walker Evans set out on assignment for Fortune magazine to explore the daily lives of sharecroppers in the South. Their journey would prove an extraordinary collaboration and a watershed literary event when Let Us Now Praise Famous Men was first published in 1941 to enormous critical acclaim. This unsparing record of place, the people who shaped the land, and the rhythm of their lives is intensely moving and unrelentingly honest, and today—recognized by the New York Public Library as one of the most influential books of the 20th century—it stands as a poetic tract of its time. With a 64-page photographic prologue featuring archival reproductions of Evans' classic images, this book offers listeners a window into a remarkable slice of American history.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©1939, 1940 © 1941 by James Agee and Walker Evans. © renewed 1969 by Mia Fritsch Agee and Walker Evans. © 1960 by Walker Evans. © renewed 1988 by John T. Hill, executor of the estate of Walker Evans (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Well crafted work of art.

I was disappointed with the performance. I have probably read this book five or six times and think it is one of the most eloquent pieces of American letters I have ever read. The performance failed to capture Agee's sense of urgency and lyrical rhythm.

full of words

author seems to want to impress with his descriptive vocabulary and long sentences with abstract meanings. nothing practical here

Way too wordy

The author spent so much time describing things that I would actually zone out and forget who or what he was talking about by the time he finished his description. I’ve been listening to audiobooks for decades and, while I have definitely come across books I did not like, I have never before had that happen. This could have been an amazing piece of work with the right editing. The narration was okay considering what he’d had to work with.

Share the Evans pics, so critical to this story.

How many are listening on media with displays? Walker Evans pics are so special it's a shame to not permit listeners (with the ability) to see them.

Awful, boring to the point of Anger

Pretentious, spent chapters describing rooms, plants, silverware, the worse book I've ever listened to ever.