Secure the Shadow

I was recently perusing the 770's at Milwaukee's Central Library as research for my job. I have been in search of photography books that will inspire children to think outside of the box. This is not an easy task. I am trying to stay away from portrait books that might encourage kids to take silly photographs of their friends (don't get me wrong, this may be of value in certain situations). I am also trying to stay away from boring landscapes and nudes. Much to my dismay, the majority of the library's selection of photography books were just that and, on top of that, they were all in black and white. At this point, I began to stray from my original mission and browse according to my interests.
Although I checked out books with photographs by Robert Frank, Francesca Woodman, Sally Mann, and Bill Jacobson, my most prized find was Secure the Shadow by Jay Ruby. Secure the Shadow explores how photography and death became interconnected throughout history. It takes a look at the widely accepted historical practice of photographing the dead.

Although my interests lie more within the realm of how photography captures death while attempting to preserve life, I definitely could have used this a year ago when I was in the midst of my thesis work!