"The Oxford Project is like a still-life documentary, a narrative about change. This huge, handsome book, with its gatefold photographs, its maps and memories, offers a fascinating piece of contemporary history, a treasure of social and cultural commentary"
"The book is at once strikingly intimate and expansive. The townspeople of Oxford do little to hide themselves from Feldstein or Bloom; they look directly at the camera, and their words are as open as their gazes. They own their lives- every wrinkle, every pound, every joy, every sorrow- and share them as freely as they would a cup of sugar with a neighbor [...] It's both personal and historical, which makes Feldstein's achievement doubly absorbing and doubly affecting"
"... the real deal—a picture that is honest, gripping, and incredibly moving"
"His book is a time capsule that offers the reader a unique glimpse of the changing face of life in small town America and I'm certain that it will make a fine addition to your personal library"
"... more than a coffee-table book. Its like a nonfiction, illustrated version of 'Our Town'"
"...a stunning, alternatively inspiring and heartbreaking, work that will prove to be an enduring portrait of an America in transition"
"...turning the pages is like rifling through a time capsule, or perhaps a forgotten archive in a small-town library. The book's many gatefolds enhance the sensation of discovery. Oxford's residents rise up from the book's pages and hidden nooks, some with vigor"
"Not The Iowan, but Iowans. Americans. Humans. Six hundred and seventy of them [...] a captivating mix of formats sensitively presents Feldstein's black and white still portraits as emotionally moving pictures of full-color lives and the community they call home"
"The residents of Oxford come alive because of the now and then photographs interspersed with brief yet revealing text in their own words"
"a spellbinding portrait of small-town life and the passage of time....The pictures and names function as a key to the town; you can track the silk strands that make up the intricate web of small-town life. The context is layered and rich..."
"taken slowly and allowed to unfold (much like the project itself), The Oxford Project has much to reveal and does so beautifully"
"Here are the people of Oxford, paired with themselves in an eerie and beautiful reckoning with the past"
"The result is a book of words and images that inform each other, deeply resonant stories that remind us of our own lives—what we longed to be, and who we became"
"More than 20 years ago, photographer Peter Feldstein took on the project of photographing everyone who lived in the tiny (as in 676 people) Oxford, Iowa. The result is the illuminating and very human The Oxford Project"
"The book is at once strikingly intimate and expansive...[The Oxford Project has] the sweeping scope and power of Our Town or Spoon River Anthology. It's both personal and historical, which makes Feldstein's achievement doubly absorbing and doubly affecting."
"The Oxford Project is an extraordinary undertaking and a fascinating book. These magnificent and poignant photos and oral histories make for a can't-put-it-down read, and prove that the stories we find all around us are the most interesting and important of all. You'll be awed by the poetry in the words, dreams and faces of Oxford Iowa."
"To stumble upon a small town like Oxford is one thing—to be able to consider its whole
population face by face, at your own leisure, is something else entirely."
"These photographs and stories are American documentary work at its finest."
"I had heard about The Oxford Project. The premise was certainly interesting, but nothing had prepared me for viewing the actual pages. Schwartz Bookshops immediately decided to get behind it in a big way and make it our featured title for the season.
A coffee table book that will lead to many discussions, The Oxford Project is also a book to read cover to cover. It is a record of humanity during the last years of the 20th century. Everyone will find something of themselves in the people of Oxford."
A coffee table book that will lead to many discussions, The Oxford Project is also a book to read cover to cover. It is a record of humanity during the last years of the 20th century. Everyone will find something of themselves in the people of Oxford."
"The arresting lenticular photograph on the cover of this book is a boy, Hunter Tandy in 1984 and as a man in 2005. The diversity of human experiences is engrossing and the photos are captivating. This is an American small town's story but also the story of American lives. Humane, poignant but also a work of art, The Oxford Project deserves to be in every library and home to remind us of who our neighbors are."
"The black and white photographs in this oversized book are stunning and even though the before and after photos are sure to grab your attention, it's the life stories attached to them that will keep you turning pages."