Pictures of Innocence: The History and Crisis of Ideal Childhood (Interplay)

Pictures of Innoncence is a softcover book with over 250 pages containing nine seperate chapters broken down into two parts and illustrated with about 100 photos with eight of which are in color. The chapter breakdowns are follow:Part I THE INVENTION OF INNONCENCEChapter 1: The Romantic ChildChapter 2: Every Mother's ChildChapter 3: A Golden AgeChapter 4: Innocence InheritedChapter 5: Snapshot FamiliesPart II AN IDEAL IN CRISISChapter 6: Through the Looking GlassChapter 7: Private Pictures, Public DangersChapter 8: Photographs Against the LawChapter 9: Knowing ChildWhether you agree or not with Anne Higonnet's assertions, her book at least displays an earnest and detailed attempt at examining a very volatile and delicate subject at this moment in history. In the early chapters, the auther sites many works of paintings as well as authors from the 19th century to illustrate her point. In the later chapters, she goes into some legal cases from the later half of the 20th century.Detailed, well-illustrated, and perhapes a bit controversial this book presents the reader a chance to have an open discussion about a subject that many find uncomfortable. In a free society, its citizens should have the ability to shine a light on a topic and perhaps one day set it free, this book is one possible avenue to begin that exploration.

Useful book for academics looking at the role of art.Delivery excellent