Material World: A Global Family Portrait

This book is a fantastic picture book and statistical reference of our world. Menzel's idea was brilliant- -to identify a statistically average family in every corner of the world, and photograph them and all of their belongings, as well as capture aspects of their daily life on film. The book is organized by continent, and then by country within each continent. Each entry begins with a multi-page photo of the family in front of their house, with of all their possessions. Beside the photo is an enumeration of the possessions that appear in the photo. The remainder of the article is found on the next 3 or 4 pages. There is usually a short summary of statistics about the country, covering such topics as area, population, population density, life expectancy, and rank of affluence among U.N. member countries. But much more informative are a variety of high-quality color photos showing family members going about their daily activities, at work, at school, or eating a meal in the family home. There is a brief text about the family itself, who they are, what they do, and where they live. The photographer also provides a brief summary of his or her experiences while living with the family and taking the photographs. In the photographer's notes are statistics about the work week, the number of radios, telephones, televisions, VCRs, and automobiles. The photographer also asks each family member to identify their most valued possessions and their dreams for the future. The choice of the family to convey both the ideal and the reality of a typical "American" family was perfect. They have the requisite two children, one of each gender, and a dog. They are shown outside their ranch-style house, with a fairly new pickup truck and minivan in their attached garage. The photographer's idea of commandeering the entire cul-de-sac of the sub-development to showcase the family's possessions for the main photograph does an incredible job at capturing Americans' need for and use of space. (It makes an incredible contrast with the Japanese family, who have just as many possessions or even more, but are photographed with everything crammed together in a tiny block just the width of their house.) The picture of the American family appears on the cover of the book, juxtaposed with the family from Bhutan, with their house and meager possessions perched on a mountainside with no roads in sight. Despite the innumerable differences between the families, there are also many parallels. Both families are obviously proud of what they have and who they are. And in these pictures, and throughout the book, over and over again throughout the world, the family members identify religious objects as their most valued possessions. In addition to the main chapters, the book also includes short features on televisions of the world, meals of the world, and toilets of the world, as well as appendices with more statistics, contributing photographers' biographies, and a list of more possessions that couldn't be included in the photographs. Through its photographs, this book does an amazing job at explaining who we are as a human family, and how we are all similar. It also lets us know what life is like for average people around the world, and does a better job at this than any simple listing of statistics or geography text. When I read this book for the first time, I laughed, and even cried upon seeing how little some people in the world actually have to call their own. This was especially moving when I remembered that each family was chosen not because it was picturesque or poverty-stricken, but because it was statistically average. This book should be in every public library, it could be used by homeschoolers as a geography text, but everyone will find something of interest in it. It is one of the 10 most personally influential books that I have read. If reading this book isn't enough for you, the project also produced a multimedia CD-ROM with added features and a series of children's books with more photographs and information for children about each family. An even more moving sequel called "Women of the Material World" is also available and highly recommended.

I have purchased several copies of this book over the years. I replaced my first copy because my daughter took it to school so many times over the years it became tattered. The book is a series of photographs with brief narratives and data. Peter Menzel traveled forty some odd countries around the world, a good sample. In each, he found a family with the median income for the nation, a family with as many families above it as below it on the distribution of income. He photographed the family in and near its residence, focusing on the families possessions. in each case, one photo shows all the families belongings arrayed together. There are also three comparative photo spreads of meals of the world, televisions, of the world and toilets of the world. The fact that the book is 20 or so years old is obvious in terms of mobile devices and computers. Nonetheless, it is a brilliant exposition of under-consumption, sufficient consumption and over-consumption. I would note that it may be weaker in showing over-consumption given its focus on the median income family. It is still brilliant and poignant.

This book is so fascinating. I always show it, along with "Where Children Sleep", to our guests. What this photographer did is astonishing. It must have taken a lot of guts and charm to approach these families to take all of their Earthly possessions and lay them out in their front yard. For each family, there is one initial image, which shows the family in front of their home, with all of their possessions surrounding them...next to this is a nice table that explains what each item is, and who each person is. Then, there are a few pages of miscellaneous candid photos of the family and town. There is a small table that describes the family's work life and goals and wishes for the future. This book truly opened my eyes to how MUCH we have. One man's wish for the future was only to have a second change of clothes, and I have a huge closet full of clothes I never wear. I am sad... But I have read that if we donate clothing or items to these poor communities, that then they will not be spending money in their local economy and it only makes things worse....those who aren't comfortable Americans, are probably better off anyway. Incredible. Books like this need to be seen!!

This is a wonderful book you can learn so much about other countries and the world well explained good for kids and adults

Es un gran libro que de pronto se volvió inencontrable. Verlo de vuelta fue un gusto. Compré tres para regalar. Es espléndido.

Libro molto educativo ed interessante. Acquistato dopo avere apprezzato una mostra di questo fotografo. La copertina morbida è però una fregatura... rende il libro meno durevole e dà un senso di “cheap”. Anche le pagine interne non sono di una qualità eccelsa, per essere un libro di fotografie... Ma i contenuti valgono la pena.

Livre vraiment super, très beau, très original et étonnant. Ce sont des photos vraiment jolies et parlantes, j'ai adoré lire ce livre.

Recopila y retrata el estilo de vida y posesiones de una muestra de las familias de distintos países del mundo. Con descripciones y fotografías que señalan los aspectos llamativos o singulares de cada hogar. Permite tener una idea global sobre qué hay en el mundo. La investigación y fotografías fueron realizadas durante los años 90 (1993-1994). Sería genial poder contar con una segunda parte actualizada a fecha más actual. Ayuda a sentirnos afortunados a quienes vivimos en países del "primer mundo".