Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee, with photography by Walker Evans, is an uncompromising look at the lives of three impoverished tenant farmer families in Depression Era Alabama. Through a mix of meditative prose and striking, black and white photographs, the book provides an intimate portrayal of their daily struggles and hardships while exploring the complex relationship between the documentarians and their subjects. The book includes themes of severe poverty and hunger.

Gritty

Melancholic

Contemplative

Informative

Challenging

Reviews & Readership

4.1

4,251 ratings

71%

Loved it

17%

Mixed feelings

12%

Not a fan

Review Roundup

James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men receives acclaim for its poignant prose and unflinching portrayal of tenant farmers during the Great Depression. Critics laud its emotional depth and innovative blend of journalism and literature. However, some find its dense, often meandering style challenging. Overall, it's celebrated as a powerful, albeit demanding, read.

Who Should Read Let Us Now Praise Famous Men?

Readers who appreciate deeply introspective, poetic prose and photographic documentation will enjoy Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee. Fans of works like Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath or Walker Evans' photography could find this exploration of sharecropper lives equally compelling and moving.

4.1

4,251 ratings

71%

Loved it

17%

Mixed feelings

12%

Not a fan

Fun Facts

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men was initially a collaborative project between writer James Agee and photographer Walker Evans, originally commissioned by Fortune magazine in 1936, though the story was never published in the magazine.

Despite its initial commercial failure upon release in 1941, the book later gained significant critical acclaim and became influential in various artistic fields, thanks to its innovative blending of written narrative and photographic imagery.

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The title of the book comes from a passage in the Apocrypha, specifically the Book of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 44:1, which traditionally praises the valor of great figures in history.

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Book Details

Pages

432

Format

Book • Nonfiction

Genre

American Literature

•

Classic Fiction

•

Biography

Setting