Impounded

Impounded presents photographs taken by Dorothea Lange during her work documenting Japanese American internment camps in 1942. The images were originally censored by the U.S. government and remained largely unseen for decades. Linda Gordon provides historical context and analysis to accompany Lange's stark photographs of families being relocated and life inside the internment camps. The book includes Lange's own notes and captions, revealing her perspective as she witnessed and recorded these events. Through the pairing of photographs and text, the book creates a record of a dark chapter in American history that was deliberately hidden from public view. This work serves as both historical documentation and a meditation on the role of photography in exposing injustice.

Readers found the book provides an unflinching look at Japanese American internment through Lange's censored photographs and detailed historical context. Many noted the power of seeing images that were deliberately hidden from the public during WWII. Liked: - Quality of photo reproductions - Gordon's historical analysis adds depth to the images - Documents systematic nature of internment through visual evidence - Shows daily life and dignity of internees despite circumstances Disliked: - Some found Gordon's writing style academic and dry - Several mentioned wanting more photos and fewer essays - A few readers noted redundancy between photo captions and text Ratings: Goodreads: 4.24/5 (232 ratings) Amazon: 4.7/5 (46 ratings) "The photos tell stories words cannot," wrote one Amazon reviewer. A Goodreads reader commented that "seeing government censorship in action through these suppressed images was chilling and powerful."

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🔸 Dorothea Lange's photographs of Japanese American internment were so powerful and damning that the U.S. military impounded them for decades, keeping them hidden from public view until 2006. 🔸 Many of Lange's internment photos show people smiling—a deliberate choice by the subjects to show dignity and resilience in the face of injustice, rather than genuine happiness. 🔸 While documenting the internment, Lange was technically working for the War Relocation Authority (WRA), the same government agency responsible for the camps she was criticizing through her work. 🔸 The collection includes rare photos of the Manzanar camp's Riot of December 1942, one of the largest uprisings against the internment conditions, which resulted in two deaths and multiple injuries. 🔸 Despite suffering from post-polio syndrome and chronic ulcers, Lange worked tirelessly for months photographing the internment, often in harsh conditions and rough terrain, until the military terminated her employment due to her increasingly critical perspective.