Liebling, Jerome. The People, Yes by Jerome Liebling.

Aperture, 1995. Foreword by Carroll T. Hartwell. Introduction by Ken Burns. Hardcover, fine, first edition, first printing with fine protected dust jacket. Blind stamp of previous owner, Michael Lang, on front flyleaf. Retrospective of Liebling’s photographs over nearly 50 years.  Illustrations in both color and black and white.  Subjects of photographs include Native Americans; Miners; Shakers; Cadavers; Butchers; Handball Players; Mannequins; Portraits, et al. Includes chronology of Liebling’s life and career.  Summary:

The People, Yes by Jerome Liebling is a powerful photographic monograph published by Aperture that gathers together more than 100 of the artist’s most compelling images from a career that spanned nearly fifty years. The book functions as both a retrospective of Liebling’s work and a visual meditation on the human condition, celebrating everyday life with depth, empathy, and visual clarity.

Rather than focusing on celebrity or spectacle, Liebling’s photographs document the ordinary courage and dignity of people, animals, and environments across a wide range of American experience—from the streets of 1940s New York City to quiet rural settings like Amherst, Massachusetts. His images range from scenes of a Shaker community and elderly handball players to portraits and environments that reflect the resilience and integrity of individuals facing life’s challenges.

The book’s title, taken from Carl Sandburg’s poetic epic, echoes Liebling’s humanistic vision: a belief in the essential value and strength of “the people” and their lives. Accompanied by stills from his documentary films and enriched with the photographer’s own notes, the work presents Liebling not just as a photographer but as a chronicler of everyday heroism—observing without sentimentality or judgment, and revealing the extraordinary in the ordinary.

An introduction by filmmaker Ken Burns and a foreword by Carroll T. Hartwell add context to Liebling’s approach and legacy, framing The People, Yes as both an artistic achievement and a tribute to one of the great teachers and practitioners of American photography.