Picture This: A Visual Diary

New York: Broadway Books, 1996. First Edition. First Printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Tipper Gore (Photographer) and others.. 10.5" x 8.5", 151 pages. Profusely illustrated with 120 color and black-and-white photographs. Inscribed by the author. Tipper Gore was an experienced photojournalist long before she took up residence in D.C. This "diary" is a compilation of pictures taken during the first four years of the Clinton-Gore administration. They run the gamut from unusually intimate coverage of White House activities to a variety of people and places she has experienced in her recent international travels. Gore reveals a keen eye for "the defining moment"--especially in her photographs of Rwandan and Haitian children. A frank assessment of how being part of a presidential administration has affected the author's children, her marriage, and her daily life. Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore (née Aitcheson; born August 19, 1948) is an American author, photographer, and social issues advocate who was the wife of Al Gore, the 45th Vice President of the United States. Gore worked part-time as a newspaper photographer for Nashville's The Tennessean and continued as a freelance photographer in Washington after her husband was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1976. Gore rose to prominence for her work with the Parents Music Resource Center, voicing strong opinions and advocating censorship, for the labeling of record covers of releases featuring profanity especially in the heavy metal, punk and hip hop genres. She has advocated for mental health, homelessness, women and children. Tipper Gore has been a passionate photographer for many years, but when her husband was elected Vice President of the United States, she began taking more pictures than ever before. Now, in this beautiful and very personal book, Mrs. Gore uses both words and photographs to give us an intimate view of her new life at home, her work as a member of the current administration, and her travels around the world. In a lively introductory chapter, Mrs. Gore offers a wonderfully candid self-portrait. She tells the story of how she became a photographer--receiving her first camera as a gift from her husband, Al, working as a photojournalist for The Tennessean, and gradually discovering that she expresses herself best through the images she captures on film. She writes about the causes that she has cared about most, especially those involving the mentally ill and the homeless. And, with surprising frankness, she describes how being part of a presidential administration has affected her children, her marriage, and her daily life. The centerpiece of Picture This is an inspired collection of more than 120 of her recent photographs, both color and black and white. Mrs. Gore has an unusual gift for catching people at their most natural--witness her photographs of the President and Vice President at work, of men and women from a rich diversity of cultures, and of her husband and children during private moments. She has a keen eye for pictures that tell dramatic stories, as illustrated by her eloquent photographs of starving children in Rwanda and homeless people in America. This fascinating visual diary of Tipper Gore's past four years is remarkable for its freshness, its candor, and its spirit. As warm and appealing as the author herself, Picture This provides a revealing look into the private world of a much admired public woman.