The photographic selection is not - in my opinion - as good and consistent as the one contained in The Photographer's eye. But the distinction which gives the book its title (generated by the opposition between Minor White and Robert Frank) is fundamental for the history of photography. ( )

One of my touchstones ...

A major overview and thesis by a brilliant writer/critic near the end of the Modern Period.

". . . go to the root issue of the photographer's art and function." John Szarkowski's selection of photographs lets one build that definition for oneself. Do that before you read his essay.